THE CARIBBEAN Examinations Council (CXC) launched its associate degree programme earlier this month.
The council is offering associate degrees in business studies, computer science, environmental science, general studies, humanities, mathematics, modern languages, natural sciences and technical studies.
To qualify for an associate degree, candidates will be required to obtain Grades I to V in a minimum of seven Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations units, of which Caribbean studies and communications studies are compulsory.
Professor Kenneth Hall, CXC chairman, said the council agreed at its annual meeting in Antigua last December to award associate degrees. "In doing so, it took account of the radical changes that are occurring in the education arena," he said.
Professor Hall said that the region has to find creative ways of extending access to quality education and the CXC associate degree is a direct response to this need.
The CXC chairman noted that this is an era "where there is a need for portable qualification as graduates are now even less likely to be limited to their national space".
Atheline Haynes, permanent secretary in the Barbadian Ministry of Education, said: "As we implement the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), the need for clear linkages between programmes at different levels is even greater as our people move freely in an effort to better themselves and to strengthen the economies of our small island states."
OPPORTUNITY FOR REGIONAL EDUCATION
The introduction of CXC associate degree, she said, is an opportunity for regional educational institutions to collaborate. "It provides an opportunity for all institutions and awarding bodies to work together to achieve a well-articulated system for tertiary education," Mrs. Haynes emphasised.
Candidates will complete the CXC associate degree in two years; however, the programme offers the flexibility for mature and out-of-school candidates to complete the seven units required over a maximum period of five years.
