“We
may be five years behind in optimizing the
use of Information Technology but having
said that, it is a problem we could solve
in 10 months with the right approach and
resources.” This from the Principal of the
St. Augustine campus Dr. Bhoendradatt Tewarie
to the Engineering Faculty as he launched
the rollout of a new project to harness
the power of technology in providing improved
and increased levels of services to staff
and students.
The
current drive is to move away from many
of the current paper based processes, enable
more flexibility and place greater control
in the hands of students in managing their
education throughout their stay at UWI.
Information technology is being used to
allow students to apply to UWI, register
for courses and check their grades from
anywhere in the world. Through the power
of the Internet students can request transcripts,
check their account balances and timetables,
and do “what if analysis” to determine which
courses they need to complete in order to
graduate with different majors and minors.
No longer will this kind of advising require
appointments with and visits to faculty
since processes will be fully automated.
Lecturers can now spend more time advising
on matters such as career planning and further
studies, and looking out for personal or
financial problems in the lives of students
to facilitate early referral.
Students
can expect to see the major benefits of
UWI’s Information Technology initiative
by the coming academic year (September 2005).
No longer will they be required to spend
time waiting in various offices for matters
relating to their education. Much of this
they will be able to do from the comfort
of their own homes, or even under the Samaan
trees on campus using UWI’s wireless network
and affordable laptops available through
partnering arrangements established between
the university and various computer vendors.
Additionally, for those students who do
not have access to technology in their homes,
computer labs throughout the campus will
continue to be accessible to them and focus
is being placed on making the ratio of computers
to FTE (Full Time Education) students better
and better. At the current time the ratio
is one computer for every seven students
campus wide.
In
addition, more and more programmes appeal
to a geographically dispersed market and
teaching staff such as the Masters
in Telecommunications Regulation and Policy,
a UWI/Cable and Wireless programme which
boasts of enrollment from 12 different countries
over the last three years. Such programmes
place even greater demands on paper based
process and also drive the change to automation
in order to meet the remote needs of the
students and staff involved.
To
enable all of this, a massive conversion
and training exercise is underway. While
the technology is for the most part in place,
the current focus is to change many of the
manual processes and equip staff with the
relevant competencies to operate in the
new environment. It was in this context
that Dr. Tewarie addressed the 70 plus members
of the Engineering Faculty academic community
in early December 2004. This is the first
Faculty that is working on harnessing the
power of the systems that are being implemented,
and will pilot the programme over the next
two months. Subsequently, all faculties
will be brought onboard by September 2005.
UWI
enrollment continues to climb due to increasing
demands for higher education and full time
day student population at the St. Augustine
campus is expected to rise to 16,000 by
the year 2007. As the new generation of
student emerges with increased expectations
for convenience and speedy access to services,
technology remains one of the primary means
of addressing the associated challenges
at UWI and is fundamental to the transformation
occurring in higher education. UWI will
use technology to deliver instruction, enhance
learning and knowledge production, and increase
the efficiency of academic and administrative
processes.
Students,
prospective students, alumni and staff will
see continual improvements and benefits
as UWI maintains its drive to optimise the
use of information technology in the provision
of educational services. |
