The University College of the Caribbean (UCC) is now formally registered and recognised by the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ), the official accreditation body for higher education in Jamaica, and has made history as the first university college in the region to receive this status.

Having met the operating standards required for the conduct of quality tertiary education in Jamaica, UCC received institu-tional registration status from the UCJ to develop, deliver and award programmes in business and related areas.

Welcomed milestone

This is a welcome and significant milestone according to UCC executive chairman and president, Winston Adams. "It is an expression of confidence in the institution's missions and goals, the quality of our faculty and students, our academic programmes and the level and appropriateness of our resources to deliver quality academic programmes in keeping with our mission."

Vice-president of academic and student affairs, Dr. Alison Cross, in underscoring the president's sentiments, added: "This team effort by UCC has borne fruit. This accomplishment signifies our commitment to seek distinction in all areas of practice."

Dr. Cross further added a quote from W. Foster: "Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skilful execution."

Institutional registration and recognition are a much sought after status in this highly competitive global environment where higher education operation has become borderless - not limited to country, geography or culture. In such an environment, formal recognition of an institution will provide graduates with tremendous advantages including the fact that it will enhance the credibility of their institution and by extension ensure and enhance their employability and mobility.

The UCC sought registration from UCJ, the nation's quality assurance agency for tertiary education, when it emerged as the new entity from a merger of the Institute of Management Sciences and the Institute of Management and Production. Both entities were UCJ registered but by the UCJ's own regulations it became necessary to register the new organisation and corporate structure.

What remained valid throughout was the accreditation of the programmes offered by the former IMS and IMP - the bachelor of science degree in human resource management, the associate degree in business administration and the associate degree in business studies.