Page 25 - Self-Study Report for Institutional Accreditation

A Message from the Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal
When we commenced this journey in 2017, I was struck by the magnitude of the opportunity which the conduct of the self-assessment exercise would afford The University of the West Indies Open Campus. Such periods of self-reflection, particularly against external standards, provide an ideal opportunity to critically analyse the effectiveness, efficiency and reliability of processes and procedures and, by extension, the congruence of policies and practices. I also reflected that self- assessment opens up the possibility for enhanced self-awareness, and that self- awareness and acceptance of self was a necessary component of success. Interestingly, as a Campus we are committed to developing graduates who are self- reflective practitioners, but I sometimes wonder whether we truly appreciate the immense value that we too as individuals and as a Campus community could derive from the self-reflective process. As I reflected on the words of noted Greek Philosopher, Thales, who said the ‘most difficult thing to do” was to know oneself, I would have to add “but if achieved, it is most rewarding and beneficial”.
Seventy years ago, the University College of the West Indies was established in Jamaica at Mona and 10 years ago, at 60 years of age, through a process of self- reflection informed by self-awareness, The UWI took the bold but risky step, within the volatile global economic environment and its own tempestuous financial climate to establish its fourth and youngest campus, the Open Campus, the little sister to three much older siblings. This bold move was revolutionary for the ‘Grand old Lady’- the birth of a Campus without boundaries, a Campus with a non-traditional structure, a Campus with long reach, a Campus like no other UWI Campus, a Campus of the Times, a Campus for the Future. I remember being part of the deliberations and wondered myself at the possibilities and potential of such an undertaking. The challenges of realizing this dream were and are great but the rewards are much greater. With the world as our oyster, we rose like our iconic pelican to grasp the many opportunities, but armed with a template of resilience to pre-empt and overcome the obstacles.
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