About Us
Our History
The University of the West Indies while rooted in the Caribbean has a rich legacy of prioritising regional and international outreach. The Office of Global Affairs (OGA) has evolved from several offices and departments which historically held responsibility for outreach. Today it’s a full-service, cross-campus Office strategically charting a regional and global engagement agenda under the leadership of a Pro Vice-Chancellor.
1948
The Extramural Department at the Mona Campus is established. It later becomes known as the School of Continuing Studies (SCS).
1982
The UWI strengthens its outreach through distance education under the UWI Distance Teaching Experiment (UWIDITE). In 1986 UWIDITE formally transitions to the UWI Distance Teaching Enterprise and then the UWI Distance Education Centre (UWIDEC).
1984
The Office of University Services (OUS) is established at the Cave Hill Campus to pursue institutional strengthening, develop and manage strategies for The UWI’s outreach to countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
1996
Governance structure recommendations by the Chancellor’s Commission (1994) establish the Tertiary Level Institutions Unit (TLIU), successor of the OUS. Operating under the Board for Non-Campus Countries and Distance Education (BNCC&DE), with offices at the Cave Hill and Mona Campuses, the TLIU’s remit now includes franchising, articulation, divestment and joint delivery of UWI programmes.
2008
The TLIU evolves into the Office of External Relations, Inter- and Intra-Institutional Collaboration (ERIIC) when the Open Campus is established by the amalgamation of UWIDEC, SCS and TLIU, and the dissolution of the Board for Non-Campus Countries and Distance Education (BNCC&DE).
2012
The Central Office for Regional and International Affairs (CORIA) is established and charged with coordinating and strengthening The UWI’s regional and international engagement.
2016
The Office of Global Affairs is established and subsumes the work of CORIA.
2021
To increase coordination, harmonize initiatives and foster greater institutional effectiveness and impact, the Office of Global Affairs expands to include the Office of Global Partnerships and Sustainable Futures (OGPSF), the Latin American-Caribbean Centre (LACC) and the Office of Online Learning (OOL).
