The University of the West Indies

Key Initiatives

The UWI Global Online Initiative

The UWI Global Online initiative is the vision of Vice Chancellor Prof. Sir Hilary Beckles. It is a strategic objective to extend UWI’s online programmes and courses to global markets in order to enhance institutional growth and generate revenue. The initiative is conceptualized as a collaborative approach whereby The UWI markets and delivers its programmes and courses globally as a single institution, rather than as separate campuses. The benefits of this approach are reduced costs and increasing the University’s competitiveness in the global space.

The Office of Online Learning has been charged with the responsibility of leading the implementation of the UWI Global Online initiative and coordinating the collaborative arrangements between campuses. The implementation is a multi-faceted, cross-functional and cross-campus undertaking, involving many stakeholders.  The UWI Global Online initiative is a long-term project that is expected to evolve over time to yield significant benefits for the University and the region as a whole.

The MOOC Project

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have increased in popularity over the past ten years. Most of the world’s leading higher education institutions have established partnerships with the major MOOC providers to deliver courses, micro-credentials and degree programmes via their online platforms. Institutions have long recognized the value of such partnerships in generating revenue, recruiting international students, as well as enhancing global visibility. As a high-ranking global institution, The UWI is seeking to establish partnerships with the leading MOOC providers to advance its Global Online initiative.

The UWI MOOC project is an evolving initiative, led by the OOL, aimed at exploring opportunities for MOOC partnerships and working with faculty and other stakeholders across The UWI to harness the potential of MOOCs to support The UWI’s global agenda.  For further information, please contact the OOL at ool.rhq@uwi.edu

 

Online Faculty Development Committee

The Online Faculty Development Committee (OFDC) was conceptualized by the Office of Online Learning as a mechanism to build capacity in online expertise across the University to support the UWI’s strategic goals.

The OFDC was established on June 30, 2020. Its main goal is to design and implement a sustainable framework for faculty training in online pedagogy across the UWI.  The OFDC comprises representatives from the Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Cave Hill, Mona and St Augustine; the Open Campus, the Five Islands Campus, the Mona Campus Office of Online Learning (Mona COOL), the eLearning Committee, the Committee of Deans, and the Office of Online Learning.  Currently, the OFDC is developing a number of faculty courses in online pedagogy, including facilitation, assessment and course design.

OOL Past Projects

The UWI Teaching and Learning Remotely Website

The UWI Teaching and Learning Remotely website project was undertaken by the OOL at the onset of the COVD-19 pandemic in the Caribbean region in March 2020. The purpose was to create a repository of information and resources on online teaching and learning to assist faculty and students in the transition to emergency online classes.

The SALISES Online Masters Project

Prior to the launch of the Global Online initiative in October 2019, the main goal of the OOL was to support faculties in developing their courses and programmes to be delivered online. To that end, the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) engaged with the OOL in order to move their MSc in Development from face-to-face to online delivery.  

The OOL provided project management, faculty development, consultative and instructional design support over a period of almost two years to ensure that the MSc in Development was launched online in August 2020.  The initial online programme intake increased by almost 200% over the previous year.  

The Hemispheric University Consortium COIL Initiative

The Hemispheric University Consortium (HUC) was established in April 2018 and comprises fourteen institutions from across Latin America, the Caribbean and North America. The UWI is a founding member of the Consortium which offers opportunities for partnerships with member institutions on a wide range of projects. One such project is the HUC Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) initiative.

The HUC COIL initiative provide opportunities for students, faculty and researchers within the consortium to connect and collaborate in a virtual environment. The OOL works jointly with the UWI Latin-American-Carribean Centre to promote HUC COIL projects and encourage participation among UWI faculty.

Many interesting opportunities for both student and faculty collaborations have emerged. One such recent opportunity is the Hemispheric Student Dialogues on SDGs - a series of faculty-led virtual workshops which focus on subjects areas that centre around Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Students from across the member institutions participate in the workshops in a virtual collaborative environment. For details on UWI's recent contribution to this event, visit:  https://www.thehuc.org/studsdgs/bilingualism/

The West Indian Diaspora Project

The OOL in collaboration with the Office of Global Affairs has embarked on a project aimed at making UWI courses and programmes more accessible to the West Indian diaspora, including UK and USA markets.  A survey is being conducted to assess the level of interest in various areas.  For further information, please contact the OOL at ool.rhq@uwi.edu

The Africa Focus

The focus on Africa is a strategic objective to leverage UWI’s existing relationships in Africa and explore new relationships aimed at extending UWI’s programmes and courses to targeted locations in Africa.

To this end, the OOL is working with relevant stakeholders across The UWI to explore opportunities in the African market. The OOL has teamed up with the PJ Patterson Centre for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy and some academic departments to develop strategies and explore collaborative initiatives for the expansion of programmes/courses to various locations in Africa.  The OOL has also conducted preliminary market research in sub-Saharan Africa.