The University of the West Indies Open Campus (UWIOC) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

and distance only,

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

headquartered Cave Hill,

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

. It is one of 5 general autonomous units of the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

system. Its main campus is located inside the

University of the West Indies at Cave Hill University of the West Indies at Cave Hill is a public research university in Cave Hill, Barbados. It is one of five general campuses in the University of the West Indies system. It was the third campus to be established by the UWI System, follow ...

, but remains a distinct and separate institution.

History

The Open Campus was established to improve services to the non-campus territories. It brought together several existing UWI units, namely the University of the West Indies Distance Education Centre (UWIDEC), the School of Continuing Studies (originally the Extra Mural Department), the Tertiary Level Institutions Unit, and the Office of the Board for Non-Campus Countries & Distance Education (BNNCDE). The Extra-Mural Department was first established in 1947 when UWI was still the University College of the West Indies. As it developed into the School of Continuing Studies, it eventually incorporated the Caribbean Child Development Centre, the Hugh Lawson Shearer Trade Union Education Institute, the Human Resources Development Unit, the Social Welfare Training Centre and the Women and Development Unit. The University of the West Indies Distance Teaching Experiment (UWIDITE) was an initiative funded by a USD 600,000 grant from USAID. The telecommunications system was first used in St. Lucia, Dominica, Antigua and Grenada to provide access to courses in non-campus territories. At the same time, there was a Challenge Examinations scheme that allowed students to undertake initial (first year) studies in their home territories before joining one of the three campuses. The UWIDITE facilities were used to support the Challenge program. In 1996, UWIDEC, incorporating the UWIDITE and the Challenge Examinations scheme, was established. Further development of the UWIDEC was implemented in 2003. In 2007, the Open Campus was approved. This Campus was provided with additional financial, human, technology and administrative resources and a structure that was intended to better serve non-campus territories. Aside from the main campus in Barbados, UWIOC maintains presence in 17 English-speaking

countries A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, so ...

and

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Anguilla Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territo ...

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two maj ...

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...

St. Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of ...

St. Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerin ...

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea wh ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

, and

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and n ...

Open Campus country sites

The Open Campus maintains physical sites in most contributing countries. The country sites conduct marketing and recruit new students, facilitate some face to face courses, provide spaces for studying, and some have UWI library branches. *

- one site *

Antigua & Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two major ...

- one site *

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

- one site *

- one site plus the Open Learning Centre at the Cave Hill Campus *

- one site *

- 11 sites plus the Open Learning Centre at the Mona Campus *

- one site *

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

- one site * St. Kitts & Nevis - one site * St. Vincent & the Grenadines - one site *

Turks and Caicos The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and nor ...

- one site *

Trinidad & Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of Gr ...

- 13 sites (sites, satellite centres, and IT Academy) plus the Open Learning Centre at the St. Augustine Campus

does not currently have a Country Site.

Academic programmes

The Open Campus offers a wide range of programmes in both distance mode and face-to-face mode at one of its many regional learning centres. At the undergraduate level, the Open Campus offers programmes at the certificate, diploma, associate and bachelor levels in fields such as education, business and public administration, sports, technology, humanities and social sciences. Similarly, at the graduate level, the Open Campus offers programmes at the advanced certificate, postgraduate diploma, masters and doctoral levels in similar areas. The Campus includes courses and certificates that would be considered part of continuing and professional education, prior learning assessment, and summer school courses. While the Open Campus is the main distance education unit of the University, some other units offer programmes by distance. For example, the UWI/FIFA/CIES Diploma in Sports Management is offered by distance and managed by UWI Mona. Similarly, the Department of Library and Information Studies offers several masters-level programmes in a

blended learning Norm Friesen (born March 21, 1966) is Professor in Educational Technology at Boise State University. Norm Friesen studied German Literature, Secondary Education, and Communication at the Johns Hopkins University, University of Alberta and Simon Fr ...

format.

Accreditation

In 2019, UWI Open Campus was re-accredited by the Barbados Accreditation Council for the maximum term, ending in 2026. Subsequently, as the Open Campus operates across countries and territories, sought mutual recognition in contributing countries/territories.

Research and development

The Open Campus, as with the landed UWI campus, has an active research and development environment. The main research unit is th
Consortium for Social Development & Research (CSDR)
It units several units that were already established before the Open Campus amalgamated several existing units. The units with a significant research mandate (along with educational development) include:
Caribbean Child Development Centre (CCDC)

Hugh Shearer Labour Studies Institute (HSLSI)

Social Work Training and Research Centre (SWTRC)

The Women and Development Unit (WAND)
Other units are more developmental in nature, in the sense of improving access to education and training: * Human Resources Development Unit (HRDU) * Radio Education Unit (REU) * a yet-to-be-formed Cultural Studies Unit (CSU)

References

{{authority control Open universities Education in Barbados Educational organisations based in Barbados Universities and colleges in Barbados University of the West Indies Universities and colleges in British Overseas Territories

History

Open Campus country sites

Academic programmes

Accreditation

Research and development

See also

References