Open Letter Volume 4 October 2011 - The University of the West ...

Current NewsVol. 4 Issue 3October 2011Page 1The Arts – Not OnlyLovely But Essentialwww.open.uwi.eduOpen LetterThe e-newsletter of the Open Campus, UWIThe Arts – Not Only Lovely But EssentialPage 2BVI Initiative – Utilizingthe Open Campus In-House Talent ForRevenue GenerationPage 3Saint Lucia RevealsPlans for aComprehensiveCertificate LevelProgramme in VisualArts EducationPage 3Trinidad Chapter of theOpen Campus StudentGuild Held First StudentAppreciation CeremonyParticipants display their work having completed twovisual arts workshops entitled “Finding The Artist Withinand Painting and Mixed Media” – full story on page 3Page 4Meet First Class HonoursGraduates From SaintLucia – Antonia Charles,Marlyn Prince, TamaraSt. Marthe and ShermaJoseph

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDSINITIATIVE – UTILIZING THEOPEN CAMPUS IN-HOUSE TALENTFOR REVENUE GENERATIONThe BVI Centre embarked on an initiative to boost UWI’s visibilityand increase enrollment and revenue. The thrust for theProfessional Development Series Project was to reach the businesscommunity with important and timely training in addition to offeringUWI’s traditional programmes.This initiative was successfully launched in October 2011 when theCentre held its largest Professional Development Seminars for 2011with two of the Open Campus Officers visiting the BVI site tofacilitate various site related functions.A total of forty-six (46) managers, supervisors and front lineemployees successfully completed two training sessions in anongoing series of Professional Development Seminars at theUniversity of the West Indies Open Campus. The intensive sessionsheld during this round of training specialized in ExecutivePerformance Management for Managers and Supervisors as well asCustomer Service: Creating Winning Strategies for Customer Loyalty.The first of this two part event featuring executive skills inPerformance Management attracted participants from middle andupper management both in the private and public sectors.Managers represented companies such as, NAGICO Insurance Ltd.,BVI Electricity Corporation, Water and Sewerage Department,Ministry of Education and Culture, Lazarus Services Ltd., H.M.Prisons, BVI Complaints Commission, Golden Hind Chandleries Ltd.,the Ministry of Communication and Works and UWI Open Campus.The seminar provided participants with soft skills relating to: fundamentals of performance management; aligning performance with organizational goals to ensuresuccess; performance appraisal procedures and issues; the supervisor’s role in the performance management process; coaching skills; delegation and motivation; dealing with poor performance and performance gaps.The second session was co-facilitated by UWI Open Campus’ visitingmarketing representative, Sandra Griffith Carrington and CarlaBrown, Programme Officer of the local UWI Open Campus Centre.During the opening remarks, the Programme Officer, informed theenthusiastic gathering that “through this initiative, it is theUniversity’s intention to make its contribution to the improvementof the business landscape of the BVI and beyond”The participants were mainly floor and supervisory employees. Animpressive 50% of the cohort was represented by the BVI Port’sAuthority. Participants were drawn from H.M. Prison, LabourDepartment, Carilink Ltd., Harney Westwood and Riegels, Dept. ofEducation and Culture, Coverdale Trust Services Ltd., Water andSewerage Dept., McW Todman & Co., and J.S. Archibald and Co.Facilitator Mrs. Jasmine BabbGuest facilitator, Jasmine Babb, Director of Human Resources, UWIOpen Campus, in her presentation told the seventeen (17)participants that effective performance management is a valuabletool to ensure the success of the organization through fair employeedevelopment and evaluation practices. At the seminar, managersand senior supervisors benefitted from her knowledge about HumanResources.UWI CustomerService WorkshopFacilitators Sandra Griffith-Carrington (far left) and Carla Brown-Johnson(far right) standing in the foregroundThis workshop was the largest cohort for Customer Service Trainingsince the beginning of the Professional Development Series. Thusfar, approximately 130 persons have successfully completed the firstround of workshops and seminars. The reports from employers havebeen positive on their employees’ new and improved customerrelations skills as well as increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.Soft Skill topics taught included: fundamentals of customer service; meeting and exceeding customer expectations; telephone management techniques for dealing with difficultcallers; successful techniques for interacting with challengingcustomers; the recovery process to solve service problems; sustaining customer loyalty; and enhancing the customer service experience with PRIDE.

Guest Facilitator, Sandra Griffith-Carrington in using this as amarketing drive, labeled the participants’ desks with the Core Valuesof the Open Campus, tweaking Student-Centred to CustomerCentred but keeping the other three values, agile, accessible andenabling.Upon completion of an exciting and enlightening course, theparticipants proudly received their Certificates of Participation at theclosing ceremony. UWI will resume its series of workshops andseminars in various disciplines commencing in early 2012.During her visit to BVI, Mrs. Griffith-Carrington assisted withmarketing the Open Campus at secondary schools, engaged intraining the BVI staff in the areas of team building and effectivemarketing skills as well as successfully gained the assistance of theGovernment Information Service in promoting its 2012 theme,“Preserving the BVI’s Families by Distance Education through theUWI Open Campus”.SAINT LUCIA REVEALSPLANS FOR 2012Cognisant of the dearth of Visual Arts training currently availablewithin our school system, the UWI Open Campus Saint Lucia recentlyconducted two visual arts workshops - Finding The Artist Within andPainting and Mixed Media – as part of its annual summerprogramming. The participants included an interesting blend ofpersons including teachers, secondary school students and a loneschool Principal.Principal Angela Boulogne receiving her certificatefrom course facilitator, Ms. Delthia NaitraimIndeed, the course was an excellent opportunity for experimentationby some while it allowed those who had already been teaching in thefield the opportunity to stretch the limits of their creativity.Teachers were able to discuss how the art activities and the skillsinvolved in art making could extend into learning across thecurriculum, while students made good use of the opportunity tobetter equip themselves to handle the CSEC Visual Arts Syllabusupon returning to their respective schools. Discussions on howcritical habits of mind could be developed through the arts were acrucial component of the workshops.Workshop facilitator Ms Delthia Naitram noted that “indeed, years ofresearch show that the arts are closely linked to almost everythingthat we as a nation say we want for our children and demand fromour schools: academic achievement, social and emotionaldevelopment, civic engagement, and equitable opportunity”.As noted in a 2005 report by the Rand Corporation about the visualarts “involvement in the arts is associated with gains in math,reading, cognitive ability, critical thinking, and verbal skill. Artslearning can also improve motivation, concentration, confidence, andteamwork.” According to the report, the intrinsic pleasures andstimulation of the art experience do more than sweeten anindividual's life -- they "can connect people more deeply to the worldand open them to new ways of seeing, creating the foundation toforge social bonds and community cohesion. Strong artsprogramming in schools has also been found to help close a gap thathas left many a child behind. While the children of affluent, aspiringparents generally get exposed to the arts whether or not publicschools provide them, lower-income children, often, do not. Artseducation in schools therefore, enables children from less affluentbackgrounds to have a more level playing field with children whohave had those enrichment experiences.It is with this in mind therefore that the Open Campus has begunwork on a comprehensive Certificate Level Programme in Visual ArtsEducation. The year long programme is slated to commence duringthe 2012 Summer period and then to extend on a part-time basisover the course of three semesters.TRINIDAD CHAPTER OF THE OPENCAMPUS STUDENT GUILD HELDFIRST STUDENT APPRECIATIONCEREMONYThe First Student Appreciation Ceremony was hosted by the TrinidadChapter of the Student Guild of the Open Campus on Saturday,October 29, 2011.Mr. Ricardo Henry in giving his addressreminded the students that the OpenCampus had engendered many corevalues from belief in dedication andhardwork to honesty, integrity and carefor one another. He noted that beingstudents of the online environment, theywere forced to develop structure,discipline and focus which are keys tosucceed in all of life’s challenges as theylooked towards the future.He advised that the education they received should allow them toreview and evaluate the past and build on the foundations todevelop strategies for success in the future.He cautioned that having gained much from being students of theOpen Campus and the online learning environment, that they shouldshould give back to their alma mater and to the society. He fondlyremembered the words of his beloved teacher, Mrs. Alison Wong,“never be like sponges that just soak up everything but have to besqueezed to give back anything”. He added “we have an opportunityto be agents of change, to give back to our school, and to our friendswho are still students of the Open Campus”.He asked each student to ponder the question, how can I assist theUniversity and the Guild? He suggested that one way may bereturning as online tutors since they were now more aware of thetrials, challenges and experiences faced by students in an onlineenvironment. Another way would be giving feedback and bringingfresh ideas for the improvement of the system by greater utlilisationof technology.

His advice to students seeking to pursue ideas was that it wasimportant that “you first know what you want – what you want toachieve, how and when. It was important, he stressed, that you seta goal and believe in it, challenge yourself and work toward the goaleven in moments of pressure.”He challenged the Guild to be more visible and accessible noting thata student Guild represents the interest of students and provideseducational, welfare and social services to the student body. It is thevoice of students in the decision making process of the university.He further challenged the Guild “to become a strong voice for thestudent to engender change in the level and quality of serviceoffered to the student. Bring growth and development to our AlmaMater, the Open Campus of the University of the West Indies,through dialogue and suggestion of ideas to make it the best campusof the University,” he advised.In response to the question, “What would you like to seeaccomplished by the Trinidad Chapter and the Regional Guild as awhole?” he replied, “ to host forums where students andadministration can come together to have discussions aboutprogress and development of the campus and issues facing students.Get a link on the “myoc” webpage where students can click on andcommunicate directly with the Guild to relay their issues or give theirsuggestions. Become more interactive and accessible and hencemore relevant. Ask students to give solutions and not just identifyproblems.His closing remarks were “seek advice from those who were oncethere, you are not alone”, and he ended his address with a quotefrom Oliver Wendell Holmes, “The main part of intellectualeducation is not the acquisition of facts but learning how to makefacts live."MEET SOME FIRST CLASSHONOURS GRADUATES FROMSAINT LUCIAA St Lucian by birth, Ms. Antonia Charles isthe progeny of a local pastor and formerschool teacher. Convinced she wasdestined to remain in the teachingprofession, Antonia decided to pursue anundergraduate degree in Literacy Studiesat the UWI Open Campus (UWIOC).Antonia admits to some initial trepidation with her decision topursue a degree via the convenient online modality offered by theOpen Campus. Confident in the wisdom of her decision, Antoniatook the plunge and officially joined the Open Campus family in2008. When questioned about her recipe for success, Antonia’smodest response was that she considered her success at the UWIOCa community effort. She credits her success to the unwaveringsupport of her family, close friends and UWIOC staff, tutors andcolleagues.Her advice to potential students who may be hesitant about onlinestudy is simple “It requires discipline and commitment, but it’smanageable, so give it a try.Born and raised in the community ofDennery, Marlyn Prince hails from a familywhere parents laboured hard to ensurethat their children attained the highestlevel of education possible. Marlyn tookthe decision to enroll in the UWI, OpenCampus opting to begin reading for theBSc in Management Studies in 2008.A model student, Marlyn acknowledged that studying within avirtual campus took serious discipline. “From the onset of theprogramme I took a purposeful approach to my studies. Keeping infrequent contact with the strong online support system provided bythe OC was very important as well for there tutors gave me theguidance and encouragement necessary to stay the course. With ayoung son to raise and a full time teaching job, the Open Campusafforded me the flexibility of studying at my own pace. It was alsovery cost effective. The Open Campus accommodated my life.”Her sage words of advice for continuing and potential students?‘With the Open Campus you have an opportunity that St Lucians havelong been crying out for’.As a trained teacher with a total of nineyears teaching experience under her belt,Tamara St. Marthe knew that the timehad come to take the next logical step -pursuing an Undergraduate Degree butbeing a loving wife and mother of a youngchild, accessing higher level education fora long time seemed out of reach.Torn between a desire to undertake further studies and being therefor her family the answer to her dilemma was – the Open Campus -which provided her with the choice and opportunity to remain athome to pursue her course of study. Tamara sums up her time spentat the Open Campus as “sometimes stressful yet rewarding andmemorable.”Ms. Sherma Janelle Joseph is a young ladyimbued with a passion to succeed. Anemployee of the Government of SaintLucia, Ms. Joseph specifically chose topursue a BSc. in Management Studies inorder to enhance her chances of serving ina managerial position with the PublicService in the near future.When quizzed as to her choice of tertiary level provider, her answerwas forthright. “I preferred the Open Campus for my study becauseof its recognition within the Caribbean, its cost effectiveness and itsability to provide a level of convenience any full-time worker woulddesire in their quest for self-development. In the Open Campus Ifound an extended family that provided the support to go throughthe years.”Her words of advice to those who would follow in her footsteps andto those seeking self-development ”conceive your dream, wholeheartedly believe that it will come true and put in the necessarydedication and commitment towards achieving it”.