Representatives of Monroe College, St. Lucia Campus, will be visiting St. Vincent and the Grenadines, February 9-11, 2011. “The purpose of our visit is to increase awareness about our campus in St. Lucia,” noted the Dean of the St. Lucia Campus, Prof. Ramesh Sinanan.{{more}} “We also wish to encourage Vincentians to see Monroe College as a practical, first choice for their higher education needs.”

Towards this end, the school will hold an Open House on Thursday, February 10, 2011, at the Methodist Church Hall Conference Room in Kingstown, starting at 5.30pm. This will include presentations by school representatives, followed by a Question and Answer period. “We will be prepared to answer all possible questions from our audience, where these concerns are about academics, costs, campus life and living in St. Lucia”, stated Dean Sinanan. The public is invited, including recent secondary school graduates, Associate degree holders, for parents, HR Managers, for business owners and their employees.

“This Open Day is truly an opportunity for us at Monroe College to assess higher education needs of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and what role we can play in meeting some of these needs. It is also a good time for potential students to assess whether Monroe College can in any way help them get qualifications beyond Associates degrees,” Professor Sinanan stressed.

The Monroe College team recently completed similar visits to Dominica and Guyana. In Dominica, the government has decided – as part of its vision for a better Dominica – to work towards one university graduate in each household by the year 2015. In supporting the government in this regard, Sinanan states: “We have offered the government of Dominica a number of scholarships to assist it in the attainment of this vision. We would certainly like to explore similar arrangements with the government of St. Vincent as well.”

In addition to the Open Day, Monroe College representatives plan to meet with officials of the Ministry of Education, and also visit secondary schools to inform students of degree programmers available at the Monroe College Campus in St. Lucia.

Monroe College is an American education institution accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The commission accredits degree-granting colleges and universities in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and several locations internationally. Monroe is authorized to grant degrees by the New York State Board of Regents. Its programmes of study are registered by the New York State Education Department. Monroe College believes in a practitioner-based model of education. Monroe draws its faculty from leading, academically qualified professionals – a combination of American and Caribbean nationals – who often spend their working lives doing what they teach. In 2007, with the approval and blessings of the St. Lucia government, Monroe College, opened its campus in St. Lucia where it offers bachelor’s degree programmers in Business Management/Accounting, Criminal Justice, Hospitality Management, Information Technology and Public Health and the Master of Business Administration (MBA).

Already, Vincentian students registered at the St. Lucia Campus continue to grow, and several have graduated. CARICOM students make up 25 per cent of the enrollment at Monroe College, St. Lucia Campus.

“We value our Caricom students”, noted Academic Dean, Dr. Robert Lewis, “not only because we share historical and cultural ties but also because our Caricom students add to the diversity of the student body in St. Lucia and contribute to the economy as well.”