The appointment of Professor Eudine Barriteau as the new head of the Open Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) is most welcome at a time of profound uncertainty for the regional institution of higher learning. Her task is a demanding one as she must ensure the UWI remains relevant in meeting the region’s needs.
Professor Barriteau has been well prepared for this job but her challenge will be to implement a platform of change; one which needs new thinking and innovation.
Stepping out of the shadow of Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, under whom she has served as deputy principal at the Cave Hill campus, will require a mind-shift. Professor Barriteau, who has respected credentials in institutional and academic leadership, will now have to show her strategic and financial skills, given the prevailing environment and what lies ahead.
It will not be a situation of expanding on bricks and mortar or replicating operations being undertaken at other campuses; neither must it be a case of simply growing the numbers enrolled in the various disciplines and seeking corporate support for her section of the UWI. She will have to set out plans for reaching out to students worldwide, offering them a quality education at affordable cost.
Given the new technologies, the Open Campus, like all other campuses within the UWI system, has to fight off foreign universities that are also delivering education online and are looking for and accepting students from anywhere in the world. Many of the prestigious universities offer such courses; some of them not just accredited but ranked in the World University Rankings, put out by Times Higher Education, a London magazine that tracks the higher education market.
The UWI can no longer promote an elitist boast of its being the only regional university and attracting the region’s cream of intellectuals. The competition is here, even from within the UWI itself; each of the three campuses offers medicine and law; and it may only be a matter of time until the overlapping becomes more widespread. The regional integration which the UWI once provided has certainly shrunk.
Given the available choices, Caribbean people must now decide where they want to study, given that graduates are looking worldwide to achieve their career goals. A recognised brand in education today is critical for those who want to compete on the world stage.
Professor Barriteau will have to steer the Open Campus along a new path, one that is financially sound, while providing a flexible education in subjects relevant both to the needs of the individual and the region. Her task must be to build a relevant, respectable institution.
We have no doubt she has a commitment to the mission of the UWI, having been a part of the system for a long time. What she must be unswerving in seeking to achieve is the fulfilment of the aspirations of the region’s people.
