RECOMMENDATIONS
RE-DEVELOPMENT PLAN
FOR
THE DOMINICA COLLEGE
For the Government of Dominica
& The OECS Tertiary Education Program
Consultants: Hilroy A. Thomas, Ed. D. & Donald C. Peters, Ph. D.
November 2000
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5
1.1. Issues and Challenges............................................................. 8
1.2. The Name “The Dominica College”............................................ 9
1.3.
Purpose
of Consultation.......................................................... 9
1.4.
Terms
of Reference............................................................... 9
1.5. Methodology...................................................................... 10
1.6. Existing Colleges: History, Structure and
Programmes........................ 11
1.6.1. Nursing School........................................................ 11
1.6.2. Dominica Teachers Training
College............................... 11
1.6.3. Clifton Dupigny College............................................. 12
II. CRITICAL SITUATION ANALYSIS.............................................. 12
2.1. Possible Impacts of Proposed Organizational
Change........................ 12
2.2. Dominica’s Capacity to Absorb the
Re-Development of its College 13
2.3. Managements Capacity: Administrative,
Operational and Procedural 13
III. RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................. 14
3.1. Background to Recommendations............................................... 14
3.2. Establishing the Transition...................................................... 15
3.2.1. The Management Team.............................................. 15
3.2.2. Institutional Self-study................................................ 16
3.3. Hiring of Consultants............................................................. 16
3.4. Organization Structure of the Dominica
College.............................. 16
3.4.1. Proposed Governance Structure...................................... 16
3.4.2. Table of Organization................................................. 17
3.5. Legal Authority to Operate a College.......................................... 18
3.5.1. The Dominica College Act.......................................... 18
3.5.2. College Governance.................................................. 18
3.5.3. Structure of College Board........................................... 18
3.5.4. Terms of Reference and
Guidelines................................. 19
3.5.5. Functions of the Board of
Governors............................... 20
3.6. Systems and Operations.......................................................... 21
3.7. Programme and Course Development.......................................... 22
3.8. Academic Development and Expansion........................................ 23
3.9. Non-Academic Development and Expansion.................................. 24
3.10. Administrative Structure: Development and
Expansion..................... 24
3.11. Teaching (Faculty): Development and
Expansion........................... 25
3.12.
Technical,
Administrative, Clerical and Support Development............. 25
3.13.
Custodial
Staff Development................................................... 25
3.14.
Physical
Facilities Expansion................................................... 25
3.15.
Existing
Tertiary Institutions: Development................................. 25
3.15.1. Nursing School.......................................................... 26
3.15.2. Dominica Teachers Training
College................................. 26
3.15.3. Clifton Dupigny College:
Technical Studies Division................ 27
3.15.4. Clifton Dupigny College: Academic
Studies Division................ 28
3.16.
Financing,
Budgeting and Financial Management............................. 28
3.16.1. Budget Development and
Consolidation of Expenditure............ 29
3.16.2. Income Generation and Other
Revenues.............................. 29
3.16.3. Financial Aid and
Scholarships......................................... 30
3.17.
Tuition
Fees and Related Revenues............................................ 30
3.18.
Role
of Private Sector........................................................... 31
3.19.
Staff
Training in Management and Policy Development.................... 31
3.20.
Monitoring
and Quality Control............................................... 32
3.21.
Human
Resources Development: Policies and Procedures................... 32
3.21.1. Human Resource Development........................................ 32
3.21.2. Personnel Policy Development....................................... 33
3.22.
Communications
and Public Relations Plan Strategies and Policies 34
3.22.1. Goals.................................................................... 34
3.22.2. Policy................................................................... 35
3.23.
Articulation
and Association................................................... 35
3.23.1. Persons................................................................... 35
3.23.2. Non-Academic Institutions............................................ 35
3.23.3. Educational Institutions................................................ 35
3.24.
Accreditation
with the United Kingdom and North America................ 36
3.24.1. Associations and Partnerships............................................... 36
3.24.2. Accreditation- A Future Goal................................................ 36
3.25.
Developmental
Funding an Technical Assistance............................ 37
IV. CONCLUSION........................................................................ 38
A.
Persons Consulted................................................................. 35
B.
References................................................................. 40
C.
Short
List of Selected Donor/Organizations/Institutions....................... 42
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Much appreciation and thanks to the many persons who contributed to the ideas and concepts reflected in this document referred as the Report and entitled: “The Re-Development Plans for the Dominica College”. The list includes the numerous persons consulted as well as others who gave critical comments on several drafts. The consultations and subsequent Report was efficiently facilitated and assisted by Mr. Zechariah Pollock, Senior Planning Officer, Ministry of Education, (Project Counterpart during the consultancy); paid for by the OECS; supported financially by the Government of Dominica; and conducted by Dr. Hilroy Thomas and Dr. Donald Peters, both nationals of Dominica. Dr. Peters provided input and feedback to several drafts. However, the Final Report was prepared and written by Dr. Hilroy Thomas who assumes full responsibility for what is contained herein.
Over the past few years, the Government of Dominica has undertaken a series of activities to upgrade and modernize its primary and secondary education sectors, including the Basic Education Reform Initiatives that is partly funded by the World Bank. To date, an important achievement of the education sector in Dominica is the near universal enrollment in schools of primary age children and the rapid expansion of secondary education opportunities for secondary school students.
The new challenge for Dominica, however, is not only the improvement of the quality of education at the primary and secondary levels, but also to create opportunities to connect that education to higher learning levels and to labour market needs. OECS studies and recent world economic trends suggest that there is an urgent need for Dominica to upgrade and develop its labour force skills among the youth, as well as the experienced workers, to meet the demands of the rapidly evolving global economy.
To achieve those tasks, Dominica must re-examine and re-think the role of all its colleges in a way to upgrade and modernize the system. Increasing the manpower skills and improving the colleges in an efficient way is the task of the Government of Dominica. The college system must play a vital and expeditious role if the country is to attain its desired economic objectives.
Dominica must embark on a program to develop its tertiary education sector and to establish a college system that can create the critical human resource mass needed to significantly increase productivity and competitiveness in the region and global economy. Dominica’s social, economic and cultural development depend on the development of that critical human resource mass.
Currently in Dominica, three colleges comprise the college system that provides post-secondary education and training. They are the Nursing School, Clifton Dupigny Community College and the Dominica Teachers Training College with a combined enrollment of 759 students, 47 full-time and 25 part-time instructors.
For many years it is known that a principal cause of low productivity and lack of competitiveness in Dominica is the lack of trained human resources participating in the country’s economy. The main contributor to this shortage of trained human resources has been the national colleges’ limited capacity to deliver. This is evidenced by the fact that about 66% of the labour force have been educated to primary level only, about 50% have no occupational or professional training, and less than 7% of primary school graduates have had access to a college education, even though Dominica has had a college system for more than twenty eight years.
However, the task to modernize will not be easy. There are numerous systemic and other difficulties endemic within the current college system in Dominica. Those difficulties range from the critical under-funding of both physical and learning/teaching resources (as is indicated by current expenditure on tertiary education representing 7% of the total education budget); a constricted and limited system of institutional leadership; inefficiency in programme content, development and delivery; to an overall deficiency in mission, vision, creativity and critical resources.
This is not the time to lay blame. Instead, now is the time to propose and implement strategies to address those deficiencies and inefficiencies for the advancement of Dominica.
Under the proposed re-development, the Government of Dominica is being challenged to ensure that all aspects of the college system are examined critically and appropriate actions taken so that:
The main aspects of the Dominica College’s redevelopment strategy seek to:
Today, there is no more room to resist the pressures to change and re-develop the college system. Traditional sources of development funding and technical assistance from donor countries are rapidly disappearing. Dominica must quickly develop the technical and professional skills of its citizens to be able to adequately compete globally in this ever-changing social and economic environment.
Dominica can no longer depend only on its banana crops to sustain its development. Utilizing the college system, it may be able to quickly catch up economically with its Caribbean and North American neighbors, wherever possible.
Developing the college system is perhaps the most important initiative since Dominica’s attainment of Independence. Since undertaking this initiative will be challenging, the full participation of all sectors of the Dominican society and economy (business, labour, academia, government, nationals overseas and the community at large) should be sought and developed.
Already, many persons and institutions have been consulted. Their support for this initiative is tremendous. It is urgent that the Government continues this process and facilitates the following:
The Government of Dominica has recently undertaken a series of activities to upgrade and modernize its primary and secondary education sectors, including the Basic Education Reform Initiatives that is partly funded by the World Bank. To date, an important achievement of the education sector in Dominica is the near universal enrollment in schools of primary age children and the rapid expansion of secondary education opportunities for secondary school students.
The new challenge for Dominica, however, is not only the improvement of the quality of education at the primary and secondary levels, but also to create opportunities to connect that education to higher learning levels and to labour market needs. The recent world economic trends suggest that there is an urgent need among the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) for the upgrading and development of labour force skills among the youth, as well as the experienced workers, to meet the demands of the rapidly evolving global economy.
For Dominica, one of the most important issues and challenges for the economic and education sectors is how to increase the manpower skills, and improve, in an efficient way, the quality of its human resource base, given its limited economic resources. Achieving those goals is necessary for Dominica and other OECS countries to attain their desired economic objectives.
Towards this end, Dominica is embarking on a program to develop its tertiary education sector. This is important to the creation of the critical human resources needed to significantly increase productivity and competitiveness in the global economy. The social, economic and cultural development of Dominica depend on the development of that critical human resource mass.
Recently eight OECS governments signed an agreement with the European Union to implement a programme to develop their tertiary institutions. The main purpose of the programme is to make those institutions better equipped to carry out their role of human resource development in the changing economic, social and cultural environment of the OECS region.
Numerous studies, as well as education and economic experts, have concluded that a principle cause of low productivity and lack of competitiveness in those countries is the lack of trained human resources in the economy of the OECS. They have also identified the main contributor to this shortage of trained human resources as the limited capacity of the indigenous tertiary education sector to deliver. Upgrading the level of trained human resources in Dominica’s labour market in priority sectors, using the indigenous tertiary institution, is of the highest priority and the subject of this Report.
The Government of Dominica’s recently published Education Development Plan, 1999-2005 (July 1999), also called for the creation of a highly skilled workforce to be fully employed within industrial and service sectors of the Dominica economy. The Plan restated Government’s policy recognizing that “effective growth and employment oriented diversification implied a highly trained labour force” (p. 71). According to the Plan, this situation offered major challenges for a country bent on ensuring increased employment opportunities in the service sector. This is especially relevant since 66.3 % of the labour force has been educated to primary level only, and that 49.6 % had no occupational training.
The recent World Bank Report “A Caribbean Regional Education Strategy’ highlighted the urgency for Caribbean Governments to invest in tertiary education. Among other indicators, the Report cited the changing demographics in region as a driving force to expand this education sector. This Report comes at a time when the public expenditure on tertiary education was barely 7% of the total expenditure on education.
The Education Development Plan, 1999-2005 (July 1999), also identified some of the problems relating to tertiary education to be addressed by the education system. They are consistent with what the Consultants who have prepared this Report have identified. These problems include critical under-funding of both physical and learning/teaching resources; a constricted and limited system of organizational leadership; inefficiency in programme content, development and delivery; and an overall deficiency or lack of critical resources, mission, originality, vision and creativity.
For the purpose of this Report, any reference made to the name of “Dominica College” represents the proposed new College and the subject of this Report- its structure and operations. Please note that this name “Dominica College” has neither been proposed nor approved by the Dominica Government. It is anticipated that a new name may be chosen for this proposed college in the immediate future.
The purpose of the consultation was to assist in providing recommendations for the establishment of an effective and efficient system in the tertiary education sector of Dominica, and to recommend ways to make it responsive to the human resource needs of the country.
More specifically, the task entailed researching and analyzing the present structure and operations of the existing colleges in Dominica in relation to their missions and mandates. It also included providing advice (included in the Report) to the relevant authorities with regards to the modalities and approaches for the further development of the College System.
The advice given relates, but is not limited, to governance, administration, personnel, student services, career guidance and counseling, physical facilities, development funding and academic supports. The Report was carefully designed after reviewing comments and input from numerous stakeholders consulted, as well as critically analyzing numerous published reports on the subject of developing tertiary education in Dominica.
The recommendations that follow identify and outline the critical areas that need to be fully developed and implemented in order to realize a modern college for Dominica. To achieve its objectives and be cost efficient, the proposed plan needs efficient and effective management in its implementation. By implication, the plan necessitates the participation of talented and committed managers and visionaries to achieve its desired results.
Specifically, the Consultants were required to propose to the OECS’ Human Resources Development Tertiary Level Programme and the Government of Dominica a list of recommendations to conclusively address the following:
In preparing the Report, it became necessary to combine or expand some of those items as described above in the “Terms of Reference”. This was necessary to prevent the overlap that became evident as the Report evolved. Nonetheless, each of the items has been addressed, and recommendations are provided in the text of the Report, even though the headings and titles have been modified.
In undertaking this assignment, the Consultants conducted a literature review, a critical situation analysis and management scan of the tertiary education sector in Dominica. That included a review of the country’s tertiary education programs and their organizational structures, services, management practices, operations and polices, financial resources and internal and external control mechanisms. This Report on the Re-Development of the Dominica College acknowledges that three tertiary level educational institutions currently exist. It is also cognizant that given the new goals of the tertiary education system as defined earlier, the current modalities of the tertiary education system in Dominica require re-engineering to be positioned differently to accomplish those new goals and become more efficient and effective.
The Consultants’ role was also to facilitate a process for optimum participation by stakeholders in the initial deliberations, planning and in subsequent engagements and to provide a foundation for launching new measures to strengthen and expand the Dominica College. The ensuing analysis and recommendations are the result of a most intensive consultation involving a wide range of stakeholders. A complete list of those consulted is contained in the Appendix.
There are three institutions that make up the tertiary education sector in Dominica. They are the School of Nursing, the Dominica Teachers Training College and the Dominica Clifton Dupigny College. Together they share a total enrollment of 759 of students, 47 full-time and 25 part-time faculty. These institutions are located on three separate campuses with a total of 42 classrooms, including labs, libraries and storage spaces.
1.6.1. School of Nursing
The School of Nursing is Dominica’s oldest tertiary institution, having opened its doors since 1961. It operates out of two main classrooms and a demonstration room (or laboratory) located on the facilities of the Princess Margaret Hospital. As a pre-service institution, students attend classes full-time and are required to acquire significant professional knowledge and participate in simulation and hands on exercises before they are allowed to intern at hospitals.
The School operates two levels of training: Level I for Registered Nurses with post-midwifery training and Level II for Nursing Assistants with post-midwifery and mental health training. Both levels of training follow a common curriculum used in each Caricom country. Each country also administers the Regional Nursing Examinations through its local General Nursing Council.
The School offers three Certificate Programmes of varying lengths, leading to certification in Midwifery (15 months), Mental Health (27 months) and Registered Nurse (30 months). The certificate programmes are jointly developed with the University of the West Indies and are affiliated with the Regional Nursing Body (an umbrella organization comprising all Chief Nursing Officers from each Caricom country.
The basic nursing curriculum consists of fourteen courses taught over a two and a half year period. The courses are Applied Human Biology and Biochemistry, Applied Pharmacology, Basic Nutrition & Nutrition in Diet Therapy, Applied Microbiology, Pathology & Psychopathology, Surgery, Gynecology, Medicine, Psychiatry, Ophthalmology, Pediatrics, Neonatology, Introduction to Sociology and Introduction to Psychology.
Six full-time staff
teaches the current enrollment of 57 students.
Other resource persons are utilized as needed. Admissions to the School of Nursing is very competitive
1.6.2. Dominica Teachers
Training College
The Dominica Teachers’ Training College was established in 1973 for the education of primary school teachers. Prior to this, teachers were trained at universities and colleges overseas. The College concentrates mainly on in service training of primary and secondary school teachers consisting of four terms of full-time study, followed by a two-term practicum. During the practicum, trainees teach full-time at a primary or secondary school supervised by Teachers’ College tutors.
The Teachers’ College is located on the periphery of the capital city of Roseau. At present, the enrollment of 94 trainees is divided among Primary Year 1, Primary Year 2 and secondary school teachers. Primary school trainees pursue the University of the West Indies (UWI) Teacher Certification while the secondary school teacher trainees pursue an Associate degree in Education. There is 11 full-time and 4 part-time instructional staff.
The Dominica Teachers’ Training College is affiliated with the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, which also moderates its programme content and examinations. The programme consists of eight core subjects and two optional subjects. The core subjects are Education & Psychology, Social Studies, Science, Language Arts, Mathematics, Health & Family Life Education, Research Methods and Practical Teaching. The two electives must be selected from the following subjects: Music, Arts & Crafts, Physical Education, French, Woodwork and Agriculture.
1.6.3. Clifton Dupigny
Community College
What is now known as the Clifton Dupigny College began as the Clifton Dupigny Technical College in 1972. In 1983, the Technical College was merged with the Sixth Form College to form the present Clifton Dupigny College.
Clifton Dupigny now has two divisions: the Technical Studies Division and the Academic Studies Division. The Technical Studies Division, with 187 full-time and 18 part-time students, offers seven Certificate and three Diploma programmes. The Certificate programmes are Building Trades, Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Foundation in Industrial Arts, Motor Vehicle Engineering, Plumbing and Refrigeration & Air Conditioning. The Diploma programmes are Agriculture, Building & Civil Engineering and Mechanical & Electrical Engineering. There is 14 full-time and 10 part-time instructional staff.
The Academic Studies Division offers a two-year General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level academic training programme in traditional high school subjects and a two-year Secretarial Programme. The Division has a full-time student enrollment of 421 (350 in CXC academic and 71 in Secretarial programmes). It has 16 full-time and 11 part-time instructors.
II. CRITICAL SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
Re-developing the existing college structures and adding new ones to accommodate the vision of a comprehensive Dominica College poses numerous challenges for the education sector, the Ministry of Education (MOE), stakeholders and the existing “parts’ of the college system as they now exist. With careful planning and sensitivity, those challenges will in fact provide the adrenaline the development of the new college system will be driven. These challenges include:
1. Tertiary education becoming more accessible throughout the country to more people.
2. More applicants and people to serve will put pressure on the limited physical and other resources.
3. Moving from a relatively free education service to a “fee for service” system, in which tuition and other fees will be routinely charged and expected.
4. Educational programmes and services will no longer be dispensed in a stationary site traditionally known as a “college building”. Programmes and services will be provided virtually in every region of the country, using a variety of delivery modes.
5. The finite control now enjoyed by the administration of the Ministry of Education will no longer exist. A College Board of Governors with its own authority will replace the total and central control of the MOE.
6. Staff and faculty will be expected to be professional, have high credentials and advanced training.
7. Schooling and education will become life-long enterprises, affecting not only the seventeen-year old high school graduate, but also his or her parents and others, long considered “too old to learn”. A new culture of learning and training will be borne out of this new initiative.
8. Extension sites and new facilities will be constructed or remodeled to accommodate the new vision and expansion of programmes and services.
9. More financial and capital resources will be needed and expected.
10. A higher threshold of accountability will be demanded of the new Dominica College, its staff and graduates.
11. A higher quality of graduates will be expected and more will be expected of them.
The capacity of Dominica, the Ministry of Education and the Government as a whole, to absorb the impact of the re-development of the Dominica College is strong. Already there are three existing units that can be easily restructured and expanded to include enhanced programme content, modern learning resources and diverse delivery modes. The staffing that currently exists will be adequate, but only in the short term for a short period, both as personnel to operate the institution and to provide significant input in its re-development.
There will also be an urgent need for professional and technical assistance from other OECS or overseas partners to assist in the tasks as outlined in this Report.
However, developing or finding the complete critical mass of persons to implement the overall expansion of the Dominica College must be considered and acted on immediately. This will include forming partnerships with outside governments, universities, colleges, other institutions and individuals. With creative budgeting, efficient management, reallocation of existing financial and other resources, and the re-deployment of physical and human resources, Dominica stands to benefit significantly from the re-development of the Dominica College.
2.3.
MANAGEMENT CAPACITY: ADMINISTRATIVE, OPERATIONAL AND PROCEDURAL
Currently, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health centrally manage the three institutions that make up the tertiary education sector. Although each institution has an administrative person as Director or Principal, their roles and responsibilities are relegated to the day-to-day functioning of those institutions. Their respective Ministries centrally determine how the institutions are organized, their operations, policies and regulations. With the proposed statutorisation of the Dominica College and its reorganization, those functions will be devolved to the College Board of Governors, its management team and staff.
Each tertiary institution currently operates independently of each other and is “directed” in very limited ways by highly competent, credentialed and experienced administrators. When given its autonomy and under the leadership of the proposed Board of Governors, the new Dominica College has the capacity to effectively and efficiently plan and manage its own affairs.
Establishing goals, maintaining academic standards, providing direction and ensuring that the College is efficiently managed will be the role and responsibility of the Board of Governors. The role of the Dominica College administrators will be to provide both academic and administrative leadership to its faculty, staff and students. At the same time they must: a) advise the Board on establishing policies, operations and programmes, b) ensure that all Board of Governors’ policies and mandates are carried out, and c) represent the Board of Governors on all official matters.
The current administrative staff of the three tertiary institutions has the professional and technical expertise and experience to oversee the transition to the proposed Dominica College, provide support and strong institutional leadership to the Board and College as needed. See the “Human Resource Development” section of this Report for more on this issue.
Because the new Dominica College will need more skilled personnel than the system now has, it will be necessary for the Government of Dominica to look overseas for the complement of skills which will be needed to complete the re-design and implementation of the transition to the new Dominica College. There are several places where such skills and experiences may be found:
1. Throughout the OECS and Caricom, there are many persons with extensive knowledge and experiences who are available and willing to assist their neighbors in professional and/or technical ways. Inter-governmental agreements can be established to facilitate the utilization of such persons as needed. Those countries should be Government’s first priority list for its skills’ complement.
2. The massive “brain drain” of the past 30 years has fortunately also created a large cadre of experienced and skilled professionals who are now looking forward to returning to their Caribbean homeland to share their skills, expertise and experiences. Those persons are based throughout Europe and North America and would welcome opportunities to contribute to their homeland, sometimes at no cost to the host country. These skills should be Government’s second priority list.
3. Many international governments already have or are willing to enter into bi-lateral agreements whereby they provide skilled and professional expertise as part of their developmental aid programmes. Although the cost to Government is usually minimal or free, its cultural and social prejudices and insensitivities also limit this type of assistance, somewhat neutralizing its potential impact. With careful recruiting, this should be Government’s third priority list.
In summary, Dominica and the Dominica College have an urgent need to develop the human resource capacity of the country. Numerous studies, reports, and most recently, the country’s Education Development Plan, 1999-2005 (July 1999), have called for the consolidation and expansion of Dominica’s tertiary education system to achieve this objective. There is also a large potential resource base at the country’s disposal to develop its national college to meet the country’s human resource needs. The discussions and recommendations that follow consider this potential resource in the context of the country’s present and future needs.
III.
RECOMMENDATIONS
3.1. BACKGROUND TO RECOMMENDATIONS
The Report considers the logistical and procedural impediments to a quick and efficient re-designing of the college sector. It recommends how the Dominica College can be restructured and expanded for efficiency and high achievement. Some of the recommendations (and proposed activities) are time sensitive, and the Report anticipates that the Dominica College will become fully operational by September 2004.
The recommendations assume that the re-development of the Dominica College will be divided into several phases along the traditional lines that strategic planning tasks are normally implemented. Although the Report identifies clear units of independent functions, the units of functionality may be blurred, making it difficult to accomplish each task independently and in isolation.
In this Report, core tasks are identified and assigned to different areas in the re-development process. As the plan unfolds during the design and implementation, priorities will also change. However the tasks are managed, there will be overlaps, mainly because the process is gradual and very much functionally dependent. The challenge, therefore, is to rationally divide the realm of College re-development activities into smaller distinct tasks and phases. That challenge is left to the Management Team and others who will have the responsibility of implementation.
Finally, the recommendations contained in the Report are the result of intensive consultations, detailed examinations of the country’s needs, its existing structures, programmes, services and procedures. Careful reflection of the possible impacts of the proposed planned change on the country’s infrastructure as well as its ability to sustain those changes has been made.
3.2.1. The
Management Team
The Ministry of Education should without delay:
1. Appoint a Management Team to supervise and manage the transition and re-development of the Dominica College. This unit will work closely with any OECS or other consultants assigned to this initiative.
2. Designate a local counterpart to provide professional and administrative support to the Team and consultants. That person should be a senior official within the Ministry, and possess advanced educational planning and project management skills.
The main functions of this Management Team are as follows:
The Management Team should comprise of seven to nine persons to which Government should appoint as needed. The Team should be broadly represented and include persons from the private and labour sectors as well as the following:
Until the proposed Board of Governors is fully established and operational, the Management Team will report directly to the Dominica Cabinet through the Minister of Education. When the Board of Governors assumes duty, the Management Team will report to it. The term of duty of the Management Team will expire at the end of August 2002 at which time the Board of Governors should be knowledgeable enough about the implementation process to assume hands on responsibility for its final phases of implementation.
3.2.2. Institutional
Self-Study
Immediately
following the establishment of the Management Team and the appointment of the
College Board of Governors, the current colleges (School of Nursing, Dominica
Teachers Training and Clifton Dupigny Colleges) should participate in a process
of self-study. To be successful, this
self-study must be comprehensive and broadly participatory, including
instructors, staff, administrators, board members and students. The Government of Dominica should appoint an
outstanding citizen to organize and chair this Institutional Self-Study with
help from the Transitional Committees.
3.3. HIRING OF CONSULTANTS
It will also be necessary for the Government of Dominica to retain the services of consultants to provide the Management Team with the professional and technical assistance required during this process, and to provide advice, training or services in other areas, but particularly in the recommendations re “Academic and Non-Academic Development and Expansion” sections of the Report.
3.4. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE DOMINICA
COLLEGE
The organization structure of the Dominica College, including a Table of Organization,
is presented below. Dominica, as a new nation, has the good fortune of developing an institution of higher education with a body of knowledge and experience from other jurisdictions that will allow for a strong and vibrant college in the decades to come. Success, therefore, will depend primarily on a governance structure that seeks participation from all sectors in the country. A modern college depends on the people, students, politicians and academic standards to legitimize its existence in both the local and international communities.
The preferred form of governance used in many other jurisdictions is the “Shared Governance System”. The larger college community defines such a governance system as one in which the college executive manages the institution with participation and consensus on decision making. Shared governance has the following characteristics:
3.4.2. Table of
Organization for Dominica College
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BOARD OF GOVERNORS |
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PRESIDENT |
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Institutional
Development, Marketing and Public Relations |
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FACULTY SENATE |
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VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE & ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES |
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VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AND STUDENT AFFAIRS |
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ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENTS |
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Bursars Offices, Registrar, Physical Plant, Human Resources,
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Dean Faculty
of Arts & Sciences |
Dean
Faculty
of Applied Science & Technology |
Dean
Faculty
of Hotel & Business Administration |
Dean Faculty
of Agriculture & Environ-mental Sciences |
Dean
Faculty of Education |
Dean Faculty
of Continuing & Adult Education |
Dean
of Students (Admission,
Financial Aid, Student Govt.) |
Dean,
Faculty of Information Technology |
Dean Faculty
of Nursing and Health Sciences |
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3.5.1. The Dominica College Act 2001
The Government of Dominica should consider drafting
the legal authority (the Dominica College Act 2000) to operate the proposed
Dominica College and to:
3.5.2. College Governance
b)
In
a manner that will effectively prepare students to compete in a rapidly
changing global economy.
c)
In
a way that encourages officers, faculty, staff and students to work
collectively to set common goals for the future of the institution.
3.5.3. Structure of Board of Governors
The structure of College Board of Governors should also have the following characteristics:
The membership and structure of the Dominica College Board of Governors should reflect the general demography of Dominica. In that regard, it should be particularly sensitive to gender parity, representative of the private sector of the Dominican economy, labour, academe, government, the Carib Community, the non-profit sector and the University of the West Indies, and appointed by the Minister of Education or in accordance with the terms set out in the Dominica College Act 2001.
The Board of
Governors of the Dominica College should consist of a Chairperson, Deputy
Chairperson and not more than eleven (11) other members, including ex-officio
members, appointed by the Minister of Education or in accordance with the terms
of the Dominica College Act 2001.
In many other jurisdictions, the initial
appointment to the Board is for one calendar year. However, the Dominica College Act 2001 should provide the
Minister of Education with the authority to appoint members to hold office for
such time as may be specified in the particular appointment. Board members should be eligible for
re-appointment after the initial year.
The structure should also include structures and procedures for:
Including, but are not limited to:
a)
Board meetings
b)
Removal of a Board Member
c)
Reimbursement of a Board Member
d) Orientation of New Members
3.5.4. Terms of Reference and Guidelines
There should be clearly defined “Terms of Reference” and “Guidelines” for College Board of Governors. Individually and collectively, the Governors of the Dominica College have the potential to exercise considerable influence on the intellectual, social and cultural environments within which the College operates. It is within this context that the corporate and individual responsibilities of the Board should be established. To support this activity, a written manual should be developed for reference and guidance of the College Board of Governors. It should contain, but not limited to, the following information and characteristics:
1.
Purpose
The terms of reference should provide the College’s Governors and other stakeholders with:
a) An overview of the Dominica College.
b) Dominica College’s governance structure.
c) An understanding of the Governors’ role in the management of the College.
d) Operational framework of the Dominica College
2. The
Guidelines should define:
a)
Particular
responsibilities of the College Board of Governors
b) Corporate Responsibilities of College Governors
c) Individual Responsibilities of College Governors
d) Specific inter-relationships characterizing the Dominica College
e) Activities, programmes and structures of the Dominica College
f) Means by which the Dominica College is supported
g) The roles and relationships of the President of the Dominica College
h) The general College operations
i) How Programmes of Instructions should be delivered
j) Programme Diversity
k) Diversity of Delivery
l) Composition and Structure of Curriculum and Programme Advisory Committees:
i. Structure
ii. Memberships
iii. Functions
m) Establishment of New Academic Programmes
n) Establishment of the College Council
o) Establishment of Faculty Senate
p) Definition of Profile of Student Body
q) Mechanism for Delivery of Services
r) Union Representation and Collective Bargaining Processes
s) Performance Appraisal System
t) Harassment and Discrimination Policies
3.5.5. Functions of the Board of Governors
The Dominica College Act 2001 must entrust to the Dominica College Board of Governors the general management and administrative leadership of the Dominica College. In that regard, the functions and roles of the College Board must reflect the following:
1. Establishing Goals and
Providing Direction, including:
a) Definition of a Mission Statement
b) Strategic Plans
c) College Annual Reports to the Minister
d) Programme Development and Review
a) Taking the necessary procedures to prevent the Board’s involvement in the day-to-day management and operation of the College.
b) Developing clear policies and procedures for strong institutional management and development.
3. Operational Review and
Management of College Resources, including:
a) The establishment of periodic programme reviews
b) Financial audits.
c) Maintaining academic standards
These are important to facilitate, regulate or adjudicate, as the case may be required, for the following:
a) Student admissions
b) Insurance coverage: liability and property
c) Assessment of experiential learning and awarding of academic credits
d) Harassment in the workplace
e) Code of student conduct
f) Purchasing and tendering procedures
g) Health and safety
h) Emergency operation
i) Evacuation procedures
j) Others
5. Communications, Public
Relations and Marketing, including:
a) Communication with President and the wider College Community.
b) Relationships between Board, Business and the Wider Community.
3.6. SYSTEMS AND OPERATIONS
To facilitate the College’s smooth transition towards re-development, the following operational strategies are recommended:
3.7. PROGRAMME AND COURSE DEVELOPMENT
The following recommendations pertain to the re-development of the existing college programmes and courses:
Recognizing that they will be phased in appropriately, the following new academic programmes are recommended for immediate development, to become fully operational by September 2004:
a)
Dominica’s Clifton Dupigny College has been identified
by the OECS as being ready to become a Centre of Specialization in Agriculture
within the OECS. The rationale is to
promote sub-regional cooperation in tertiary education by developing centers of
specialization in some key sectors of the OECS economy.
b) As a centre of specialization, students from other OECS countries would be invited to enroll in the programmes offered by this Faculty.
The Technical Division of the Clifton Dupigny College already has an Agricultural programme which could be transferred, expanded and upgraded.
a) Credit and non-credit courses to fit the individual needs and lifestyles of the adult Dominican.
b) Professional and special interest courses which will allow the Dominican adult to explore new topics and brush up on skills.
c) Opportunities for adults to enjoy personal learning experiences.
d) Opportunities to pursue a degree or certificate programme at ones own pace and at times and places convenient to the adult learner.
e) Opportunities for adults to earn college credits for life and work experiences. This can be achieved by using the Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) method. (See # “5” below).
Government is preparing plans to construct a Hospitality complex under the STABEX
funding scheme. Those plans should be re-examined within the general context of the re-development of the college system and proposed programmes of the Faculty of Hotel and Business Administration.
It is important to note that recent OECS proposals have recommended that a harmonized programme on Hospitality & Tourism and Information Technology be developed along the lines of the Centre of Specialization in Agriculture discussed above. The objective is to allow each OECS college to offer the Associate Degree with specializations where the country has a distinct advantage. The Dominica College will be involved in future discussions on those initiatives and will adjust and respond accordingly.
3.9. NON-ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT AND EXPANSION
The following non-academic departments are recommended for development:
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3.10. ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE: DEVELOPMENT AND
EXPANSION
Existing Positions:
Convert the existing positions of Principals, Principal Tutor and Directors of existing institutions to “Deans” under the campus re-organization. Each Dean will become the head of a Faculty.
New Positions:
Create the positions of:
3.12. TECHNICAL, ADMINISTRATIVE, CLERICAL AND
SUPPORT STAFF DEVELOPMENT
3.13. CUSTODIAL
STAFF DEVELOPMENT
(e.g. physical facilities, campus security).
3.14. PHYSICAL
FACILITIES EXPANSION
Existing tertiary institutions include the Nursing School, Clifton Dupigny College and Dominica Teachers Training College.
3.15.1. Nursing School
3.15.2. Dominica Teachers Training College
3.15.3. Clifton Dupigny College: Technical Studies
Division
3.15.4. Clifton Dupigny College: Academic Division
3.16. FINANCING, BUDGETING AND FINANCIAL
MANAGEMENT
It is recommended that the Financing, Budgeting and Financial Management system of the Dominica College should be rooted in an accrual system that must be characterized by the following:
1. Performance based budgeting
2. Formula for resource allocation
3. Autonomy
4. Decentralization of budgeting control
5. Good revenue generating policy
6. Accountability
The following recommendations are to ensure adequate financing and efficient management of the College’s finances:
3.16.1. Budget Development and Consolidation of
Expenditure
3.16.2. Income Generation and Other Revenues
The Dominica College must also look outside of the Dominica Government for other revenues to cover budget shortfalls and provide for programme expansions:
3.16.3. Financial Aid
and Scholarships
Additional revenues for the support of the College,
outside of the Government’s “Transfer “Block” Grant Payments” mentioned above,
should come from various user fees, tuition fees, research grants and fee for
service from non-student clientele. The
size of the transfer payment to the College, not withstanding Government’s
current fiscal restraints, should reflect Dominica’s commitment to the
development of a modern college and the realization of its educational
goals. Government already has signaled
its inability to increase its current allocation to the colleges.
Tuition fee is that portion of money that is
normally charged to a student for the specific purpose of enrolling in a course
or programme. Students may also be
charged other fees, not directly related to enrolling in a particular course or
programme. Those may include fees for
the use of labs, health services, gymnasium, parking facilities or for such
other services or events as admissions application, student activity, late
payment of other fees, (including tuition), or graduation.
The exact amount of tuition fees to be charged for
enrolling in a Dominica College course or programme will be determined after the
Business Plan, discussed above, is complete.
Based on the Plan, the approximate budget shortfall will be projected
and fees applied appropriately.
However, there are two most important considerations in establishing the
formula for assessing tuition fees.
They are a) fair and not perceived by the general public as excluding
particular groups, b) programme affordability and students’ ability to pay, and
c) the accessibility of a college education to all Dominicans.
While a student must contribute to the cost of his
or her education, the amount of tuition fees charged should not provide
barriers or cause undue hardships to accessing a college education. In addition, tuition and other student fees
should not be structured to make up for any projected budgetary shortfall
directly resulting from the Governments transfer payments. Tuition fees should always be percentage of
the total cost of educating the student.
Other avenues of supplementing budget shortfalls must be explored.
3.18. ROLE OF PRIVATE SECTOR
There is a direct link between education and economic development, hence the need for a positive relationship between the College and the private sector. It has a role in the College’s governance, improving the quality and relevance of college programmes, increasing the revenue potential of the college and general college development. As such it should be invited to participate in the development of the Dominica College. The Dominica College administration must, therefore, establish both formal and informal links with that sector. In other jurisdictions, the private sector is active in recruiting college graduates as employees, financing programs and research, shaping ongoing college programmes and initiating new ones in response to the changing needs of the economy.
For those reasons, therefore, the College must seek to establish “planned giving” foundations, co-op programmes and advisory boards in collaboration with that sector. This will ensure that the College is not only meeting the needs of the Dominican society, but more importantly, reaching those objectives in collaboration with the partners who are also very directly affected by the impact and output of the College.
It is recommended, therefore, that the College:
To achieve the goals envisaged by the expansion of the tertiary education system, the Government and the Dominica College will need to strengthen its capacity to plan and manage the reforms that they are now initiating. The entire education system, but particularly the tertiary sector, must become sensitive to change and innovation. Strategic planning and effective management will ensure that those systems’ needs are met, while at the same time provide the flexibility to respond adequately to planned changes and special circumstances.
Currently, the Ministry of Education and other governmental departments have most of the required personnel with the planning and managerial skills to undertake the initial transition steps towards realizing the new Dominica College. To sustain the College’s long -term development needs, however, the total personnel needs must be identified and training opportunities made available without delay.
The objective here is to develop the mechanism required to strengthen the management capacity of the Dominica College. This suggests that the Ministry of Education and the College must:
The Dominica College will be required to maintain high academic standards and provide high quality programmes that are consistent with other similar institutions in the rest of the world. This is critical if Dominica is to compete in the global economy. It is important, therefore, for the Dominica College to impose strict control on its programmes and operations through a process of validation, moderation and monitoring.
In order to achieve those three objectives described above, and to ensure high efficiency and high standards of programmes and services, the College will need to establish and utilize formal processes and procedures for:
1. Self Assessment
2. Strategic Planning
3. Total Quality Management
4. National and International Students Exchanges
5. Institutional and Programme Accreditation (regional and international)
3.21. HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT: POLICIES AND
PROCEDURES
A personnel development strategy and policy, for faculty and staff, should be developed. Such a strategy and policies should be sensitive to already existing personnel training programmes and policies that may be part of current collective bargaining agreements and Government’s General Orders. The personnel policies, once created, must be monitored and updated regularly, and contained in employee handbooks and supervisory policy manuals that are updated annually.
3.21.1. Human Resource Development
There are two categories of personnel involved with the post-secondary education sector. They are the academic staff (professors, instructors, tutors, etc.) and non-teaching and support staff (professional, administrative, managerial, technical and custodial). The Dominica College must become committed to supporting and facilitating continuing academic and professional development of all categories of staff. The College must of necessity develop its “Human Resource Development Plan” as part of its institutional development policy. To support this plan, the college must provide a programme of staff development awards for upgrading and retraining staff in all areas of work and fields of study.
In the short term, the Government of Dominica will need to establish a “Staff Development Awards Programme” and should design an effective system to manage it. That should include developing:
1. Eligibility requirements, and
2. Selection criteria for the scholarship awards.
In the longer term, starting as early as September 2002, the Ministry of Education should transfer the management of the staff development awards programme to the College administration.
The personnel (teaching and non-teaching) of the Dominica College must be responsive to changes in their fields of work or professions, and to the numerous changes in the work environment, particularly in the technological areas, both nationally and internationally. The College must be able to easily respond to those needs and provide the necessary training and skills needed to maintain and compete in the post-secondary sector.
More specifically it is recommended that:
1. Government of Dominica should facilitate the training of all categories of staff through its own staff development awards programme and in collaboration with outside agencies, governments and educational institutions.
2. A system for classifying and ranking teaching faculty should be designed and should form part of the College’s personnel policy.
3.21.2. Personnel Policy Development
1. In a general way, the personnel policy must:
a) Be sensitive to audits of human resource functions and amenable to adjustments and improvements.
b) Support and promote the development of supervisory skills and effectiveness across work environments.
c) Use tools that are effective for hiring, evaluating and developing employee performance, competence and welfare.
d) Address a comprehensive faculty and staff evaluation system that incorporates inputs from students, peers, Chairs and Heads of Departments.
2. More specifically, the personnel policy for the Dominica College must also address all of the following:
a) Appointments of staff including probationary, permanent, temporary acting and part-time
b) Appointment rates and salaries
c) Non-discrimination in employment
d) Job vacancies, recruitment and selection
e) Performance evaluation and employee development
f) Resignations, dismissals, unsatisfactory performance and grievance procedures
g) Classification of procedures, classification titles and classification actions
h) Promotion, demotion, re-classification and transfer
i) Public holidays
j) Vacations
k) Sick leave
l) Maternity leave
m) Special Leave
n) Hours of work
o) Overtime
p) Salaries, range, incremental dates and deductions
q) Seniority
r) On-call and call-out pay
s) Pensions, health insurance and other benefits
t) Redundancy pay
u) Safety and health
v) Contracting out, privatization, out-sourcing and consultation
w) Alcohol and drug abuse
x) Retirement
y) Other matters not specifically addressed in the collective agreement or General Orders
3.22. COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS PLAN- GOALS AND POLICIES
Considering the major advances in Information Technology development during the last ten years where the store front is being rapidly replaced with the internet and web sites, striving to keep products and services in the public eye, while commanding a fair market share is becoming a major challenge for most businesses. For the Dominica College, this challenge will be no more daunting, especially when almost 10 (EC) million dollars of loans or scholarships were awarded this year for studies overseas. Sending a message that the Dominica College is ready for business and is equal in value to other overseas post-secondary institutions will not be an easy task.
Added to this challenge of competing with overseas colleges and universities is that of convincing Dominicans, young and old, of the virtue of participating in college life and sharing the vision of a life-long learning culture. Traditionally, in Dominica, a “college education” has not been seen as easily accessible to the adult population. Getting that population to think “college” and then to enroll may be quite challenging. Key to confronting this challenge of being able to compete efficiently, is to communicate effectively with existing and potential clientele and partners.
3.22.1. Goals
The goals are to make the Dominica College visible and desirable in the public eye, gain the attention and positive self-image that it deserves, and hold and increase its market share within the international academic community.
3.22.2. Policy
To support these goals, the accompanying communications and public relations policy should:
1. Establish a position of a ‘Communications and Public Relations Officer” of the Dominica College. That position should report to the President of the College and be responsible for implementing the strategy being described here.
2. Develop a clear College position on print and other media.
3. Develop a communication and public relations system.
3.23. ARTICULATION AND ASSOCIATION
The Dominica College should seek to establish associations and articulation agreements with institutions at home, in the region and internationally.
Dominican, regional and international persons, organizations or institutions, foreign governments, United States, Canadian and United Kingdom colleges and universities seeking to establish associations or articulation agreements with Dominica College should meet all of the relevant requirements listed below.
3.23.1. Persons
Such persons:
3.23.2. Non-Academic Institutions
If they are governments or non-academic institutions, they must:
3.23.3. Educational Institutions:
If they are educational institutions, such institutions:
3.24.1. Association and Partnerships
The Dominica College will need to immediately seek partnerships through articulation agreements with United Kingdom and North American accrediting agencies for the following reasons:
3.24.2. Accreditation - A Future Goal
Although accreditation is a voluntary activity-- that means, institutions may choose to undergo accreditation processes but are not required to do so, every State college or university and all reputable private post-secondary institutions in the United States dutifully seek and jealously guard their accreditation status. Accreditation is a very demanding and rigorous quality assurance process, verifying that the institution meets pre-determined standards. All informed Canadian, United States, United Kingdom and international students choose only among accredited institutions. North American Federal, State or Provincial, as well as United Kingdom governments’ funding, and the majority of private foundation dollars are available only to accredited institutions. Furthermore, students are only permitted to transfer from one accredited institution to another.
In the United States, the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools is one of six such agencies that is approved by the United States Department of Education and the Council on Post-secondary Accreditation to accredit colleges and universities in the US. There are other government-approved, programme-specific accrediting agencies in United States. However, to be considered "recognized", all United States educational institutions must be accredited by one of those six regional accreditation agencies.
The Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges is responsible for accrediting all the colleges and universities in the States of Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Dominica falls within its geographic jurisdiction.
In Canada, each Province, through its Ministry of Education, has the responsibility to ensure that its public colleges and universities maintain high academic standards in education and learning. The Canadian Provincial or Federal Governments do not rigorously monitor private, “for profit” colleges for quality assurance.
In the United Kingdom, the main government-approved accrediting bodies are: a) the Council for National Academic Awards (CNNA), b) the Business and Technical Education Council (BTEC), and c) the National Council for Vocational Education (NCVQ). Together these bodies ensure that the programmes of study meet the competence requirements set by appropriate industry lead bodies, as well as providing the quality of education and training to allow students to cope adequately with future changes and opportunities.
By seeking accreditation in the future, the transfer of Dominica College students into any accredited United Kingdom and United States post-secondary institution will become easier. Furthermore, it will ensure that high academic standards are met and are consistent with those of similar institutions overseas, validate and give confidence in and integrity to the Dominica College.
Furthermore, accreditation by these agencies will also allow United Kingdom, United States and Canadian students seeking admissions to Dominica College to qualify for financial aid from their own countries. That could create a significant cash flow infusion into the Dominica College’s budget.
3.25. DEVELOPMENTAL FUNDING AND TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE
Currently, Dominica spends about 17% of its GNP on education, consistent with that of other countries sharing similar economies. Current economic trends suggest that Dominica will have great difficulties in significantly increasing its budget allocation to education in the near future. In fact, one of the considerations for Government in undertaking this tertiary education initiative is that it would be unable to provide new funding to that sector in the short term.
Notwithstanding these financial constraints, the need to develop its human resources is overwhelming and urgent and must be attended to expeditiously. Therefore, the Government of Dominica will need to frugally manage all of its existing resources (including financial, physical, time and human) in order to undertake the transition to the new Dominica College.
In addition, the College will need to:
1. Develop a comprehensive plan for future funding to complete the transition and sustain the future growth of the College. This plan could be a component of the proposed Business Plan discussed earlier.
2. To facilitate the development and implementation of this plan, the College should hire a full-time Grant or Developmental Funding Officer, reporting to the Vice-President, Administration. The responsibility of this officer will be to research and identify grant sources, prepare the grant proposals, and prepare for grant submission and follow-up.
3. The College must establish meaningful working relationship with international post secondary institutions and international NGO’s. Many international post-secondary institutions have international cooperative programmes that provide technical, professional and academic assistance to overseas institutions and their governments. NGO’s have the resources to provide technical assistance in selected areas of training and education. Some of that may be relevant to the evolving needs of the Dominica College. A selected list of references that contains the names of post-secondary and other donor institutions that provide technical training and assistance is provided in the Appendix.
IV. CONCLUSION
Tertiary education and training in Dominica have been severely affected over the last two decades, mostly because of severe systems’ deficiencies and a general lack of vision at various levels of Government. The tertiary education system experiences a series of severely dilapidated buildings, archaic equipment, shortage of educational supplies, including minimum library facilities, and staff with severe training and professional deficiencies.
For the past two decades, there have been many unsuccessful attempts to amalgamate the existing three post-secondary institutions and make them more effective and responsive. One reason for those failed attempts has been the general lack of commitment by Government to follow-up and to implement those recommendations. This lack of action by Government has been attributed, according to some senior Ministry of Education officials, to its lack of vision and its ability then, to successfully resist the pressure to change.
Today, re-developing its post-secondary education system is not an option for Government. It is an absolute necessity. Sources of developmental funding and technical assistance from traditional donor countries have literally evaporated. Dominica, like its other Caribbean neighbors, must develop its own base of human resources to replace the shortage of developmental capital and technical assistance that were once in abundance.
The pressures to change and restructure its college system to meet its human resource needs are overwhelming. Such pressures come not only from within the Dominica’s socio-economic system, propelled by its lack of economic productivity and competitiveness, but also from the traditional donors who now have their own domestic challenges, including their needs to position themselves to be able to compete globally in an economy is just emerging.
Re-developing its College will perhaps be the country’s most significant initiative since it achieved independence from England in 1978. This re-development of the college system, however, has numerous challenges, including financial and systemic. Fortunately, this initiative also has tremendous support from all sectors of the wider Dominican community, including the private sector, labour and academia.
The timing is right to include them in the entire process of re-developing this new Dominica College. The urgency for inviting full participation in this initiative cannot be over-emphasized. It is hoped that Dominicans and nationals from other OECS countries will be called upon to participate in significant ways in establishing this new Dominica College.
The future for Dominica has never been more uncertain, considering its current severe shortage of financial and other resources. Some of the “what” and “how” to help construct a future that will guarantee a higher quality of life for Dominicans cannot ignore the urgent need to re-develop the Dominica College. This Report suggests ways that Government and its citizens can facilitate the entire process of re-developing its College for greater efficiencies and to meet Dominica’s human resource and labour market needs. Developing the ideas that formulated the recommendations was not very difficult. Making them work will be difficult and that will be the challenge for the nation.
APPENDIX
|
Name |
Position or Sphere
of Representation |
|
Honorable Rosie Douglas |
Prime Minister, (deceased) |
|
Honorable Pierre Charles |
Prime Minister |
|
Honorable Herbert Sabroache |
Minister of Education |
|
Honorable John Toussaint |
Minster of Health |
|
Honorable Lloyd Pascal |
Minster of Agriculture |
|
Honorable Roosevelt Skerrit |
Minster of Youth and Sports |
|
Honorable Reginald Austrie |
Minster of Communications & Works |
|
Honorable Charles Savarin |
Minster of Tourism |
|
Mr. Bernard Wiltshire |
Minster of Legal Affairs |
|
Mr. Kelly Graneau |
Minister of Carib Affairs |
|
Mr. Julian Johnson |
Cabinet Secretary |
|
Mr. Anthony Lochhart |
Chief Education Officer |
|
Mr. Wilfred Sebastien |
Acting Chief Education Officer |
|
Mr. Steve Hyacinth |
Acting Chief Education Officer |
|
Ms. Juliette Lewis |
Chief Personnel Officer |
|
Ms. Lucilla E. Lewis |
Manager, International Business Unit, Ministry of Finance |
|
Dr. Joseph Bannis |
Chief Planning Officer, Ministry of finance |
|
Mr. Julius Corbette |
Manager, National Development Bank |
|
Mr. Stanton Carter |
Director of Tourism |
|
Mr. J. Ronald Lander |
Director, Industry, Trade & Services |
|
Ms. Frances Harris |
Principal, Teachers College |
|
Ms. Elwin |
Principal Nursing Tutor, Dominica Nursing School |
|
Mr. Merrill Mathew |
Director, Technical Division Clifton Dupigny College |
|
Mr. Henry Volney |
Director, Academic Division, Clifton Dupigny College |
|
Mr Clement Carty |
Manager, Dominica Agricultural Bank |
|
Ms. Susan Carter |
Deputy Director of Tourism |
|
Ms. Catherine Solomon |
Secretary/General Waterfront and Allied Workers Union |
|
Mr. Bobby Frederick |
President, Dominica Hotel & Tourism Association |
|
Ms. Fedaline Moulon |
General Secretary, Dominica Amalgamated Workers Union |
A. Persons and Institutions Consulted
(continued)
|
Name |
Position or Sphere
of Representation |
|
Ms. Catherine Abraham |
General Manager, St. Alphonsus Credit Union |
|
Mr. Michael Astaphan |
Dominica Association of Industry and Commerce |
|
Ms. Verlie Shaw |
General Manager, Roseau Credit Union |
|
Ms.Justina John |
Dominica Employers Federation |
|
Mr. Alder Hamlet |
President, Rotary Club |
|
Mr. Henry Shillingford |
Dominica Conservation Association |
|
Ms. Edith Bellot |
Resident Tutor, Extra Mural Department, UWI |
|
Dr. Bevis Peters |
TLI Unit - UWI |
|
Mr. Felix Gregoire |
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education |
|
Mr. John Fabien |
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health |
|
Mr. Livingston Cassel |
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture |
|
Mr. Felix Gregoire |
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth and Sports |
|
Mr. Eluid William |
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communications & Works |
|
Dr. Colymore Christian |
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tourism |
|
Clifton Dupigny: Staff |
Staff, Technical & Academic Division |
|
Clifton Dupigny: Students |
Rep: Technical & Academic Division |
|
Dominica Teachers’ College |
Teacher Trainees and Staff |
|
Education Officers |
Ministry of Education |
|
Principals |
All Secondary Schools |
|
Principals Representatives/Teachers |
Sample of Primary Schools and Teachers |