College offering Associate Degree programes

The Community College Division of Arts, Sciences and General Studies opens a new chapter this September with the introduction of five associate degree programmes.{{more}}

The Associate Degree programme targets mainly employed Vincentians to provide them with an equal opportunity to advance their tertiary level studies.

The new core programmes are Law, Psychology, Business Studies, Computer Science and Information Technology.

This means that the Division of Arts, Sciences and General Studies will operate from 8a.m. to 9p.m.

Dr. Joel Warrican, Director of the St.Vincent and the Grenadines Community College, in an interview with SEARCHLIGHT on Friday, September 3, said because the college is trying to cater to people who are working, the Associate Degree programme will take place in the afternoons from 4:30 p.m. to 9:00p.m.

The programmes are part of a pilot project.

Warrican said: “We wanted to hold the Associate Degree on a grand scale, but common sense says that you should go small and then expand.” He noted that the institution will introduce other programmes during the 2011-2012 academic year. One of the programmes that will be offered during the expansion phase, said Warrican, is Tourism.

So far over 100 persons have registered to pursue the associate degree programme this year, he said.

There is a registration fee of $200 and each course will cost $150. Each programme also comprises 20 three credit courses. As a result, a student will be required to pursue a minimum of 60 courses over two academic years and two summers.

Warrican used the opportunity to remind students that the programmes are heavily subsidized by the government and as a result, they should take advantage of it.

“Cabinet insisted we needed to price them reasonably,” said Warrican.

Speaking of the advantages of pursing an associate degree programme, Warrican said: “With an associate degree you automatically matriculate into the University of the West Indies, just as if you have your three CAPE or three A’Level subjects.”

He added that students can pursue a combination of programmes.

“You can do a degree in Law and Psychology; Business and Law, that kind of thing,” said Warrican.

Warrican said prior to this, the Division of Arts, Sciences and General Studies operated in a limited capacity. He is of the view that it excluded most Vincentians from the College.

“As I keep saying, if you have a community college it must serve everyone; no one should be excluded,” said Warrican.

Traditionally, the Division of Arts, Sciences and General Studies offered the Cambridge GCE and CAPE Advanced Level subjects. The Director, however, contended that there are many people who would like to study, but have no intention of doing the GCE A’Levels or CAPE. Recognising this need, the Division’s administration took the decision to explore another option that will give people the academic grounding for and matriculation into most universities.

“The obvious choice was the Associate Degree, because with an associate degree it is pretty much equivalent to CAPE or A’Levels in the sense of what does it do,” said Warrican.

The Associate Degree programme is being run by the St.Vincent and the Grenadines Community College. However, the College will not be executing the programme in isolation.

Warrican said in the Eastern Caribbean islands and Barbados, there are community colleges which offer associate degrees along similar programmes. He said such is the case because the University of the West Indies (UWI) has an agreement with all the colleges that if they offer an associate degree following certain guidelines, it serves automatically as matriculation for the students.

“The University of the West Indies in a way sets the standard, but it is our programme,” said Warrican.

Students who pursue the Associate Degree at the Community College can also matriculate into other universities in Europe and North America.

“In fact, the American institutions understand far, far better, an associate degree than A’Levels or the traditional certificate-like programme that divisions say Technical College would have been doing for many years,” said Warrican, adding that the Associate Degree is an American concept.

“So they are accustomed to how those courses are organized and UWI’s Associate [Degree] guidelines is modelled from the American system. So the American universities very well understand it. I have worked at a community college before in the British Virgin Islands and they have an associate degree, and in many cases, even without agreements with colleges in the US, once students apply to them they get sometimes up to two years off.

“It mirrors pretty much what they would do in their first and second year in a degree programme,” said Warrican.

Meanwhile, Warrican disclosed that all programmes at the Division of Technical and Vocational Education will be changed to associate degree from September also. (HN)