The University of the West Indies (UWI), along with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the various regional cricket teams, has long been one of three tangible products of much talked-about Caribbean integration which has had substantial government support.

It has not, however, been the most accessible of institutions, not least of all because it has only three campuses, Cave Hill in Barbados, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Mona in Jamaica, from the 15 territories it serves. Mona, which has limited housing on campus, has the additional disadvantage of being far removed from the rural areas, with traffic congestion making daily travel a daunting affair.

With this in mind it is, of course, welcome that the UWI is planning to open a 'fourth campus', this one sited in that most accessible of places, cyberspace. As reported in Wednesday's Gleaner, Professor E. Nigel Harris, vice-chancellor of the UWI, on Monday, announced the initiative as part of a five-year, US$600 million plan not only to increase but also turn out 'work-ready' graduates.

We cannot help thinking, though, that competition is in part a catalyst for this logical development on the long-standing UWI's distance-teaching programme. The mental repositioning of the former College of Arts, Science and Technology to the University of Technology is long complete since being formally granted university status in 1995. The Northern Caribbean University has had close to a fresh start when as it was not saddled with extreme popularity of its former name, the West Indies College, and with its Mandeville location serves an area from which learning at the UWI's Mona campus is physically distant.

In addition, there is the University College of the Caribbean (UCC), which in 2005 launched its Distance Education and Global Learning initiative, as well as any number of overseas universities which offer a combination of ongoing virtual classes and regular face-to-face instruction.

Even with its prestigious position of being 'The Light Shining From The West' for 45 years, moving from being a College of the University of London in 1948 to a full university in 1962, the UWI cannot afford to rest on its laurels. New eras of technology arise, new lights shine and healthy competition in offering tertiary education, as in all spheres of life, cannot but benefit the consumer.

How this competition will affect the cost of education and its attendant opportunities remains to be seen and we hope that tertiary education will not only be closer to more persons but also more affordable to them.

We are also intrigued by Professor Harris' statement of UWI's commitment to turning out graduates who are ready for work. This will, no doubt, please employers who need educated persons who do not require extensive on-the-job instruction, as well as graduates who are entering the workplace and are faced with intense scrutiny, especially from those who have not been through the rigours of tertiary education.

A piece of paper indicating that the required number of courses has been passed is simply not enough.

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