UWI, BERNE AND THE CARIBBEAN

I am a St. Kitts National, and have been concerned about some of the information posted on this discussion board.

Please be advised that the University of the West Indies is just another tertiary institution in the Caribbean and has no authority to accredit other schools. In fact the UWI is often feverishly trying to keep its own medical program accreditation with the British Medical Council. The "politics" of higher education in the Caribbean is not unlike that of the USA. In fact, some of UWI's PhD external Examiners are on the Faculty of Berne University.

THE CARICOM SECRETARIAT (The Governing Body of the Caribbean Community) has set up an accrediting committee/body of which St. Kitts is a member.

For a list of schools recognized and accredited by the Government of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, I would advise that we all check the official information given on the UNESCO-IAU site. Note also that this site clearly states that only Ross University and Berne University are "FULLY ACCREDITED". It is my understanding that the other schools are provisionally accredited.
http://www.unesco.org/iau/whed-2000.html

Higher education (from the World Higher Education Database - UNESCO)
The Federation of St Kitts and Nevis is affiliated with the University of the West Indies (UWI), a regional institution with main campuses in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad. Selected UWI programmes are conducted at the local centre and via the distance education network system. The Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College of Further Education is the country's only national institution of higher education. There are currently six private institutions which offer certain degree programmes, recognized and accredited by the Accreditation Board, Ministry of Education. They are: Berne University International Graduate School, which offers graduate programmes at the Master's and Doctoral levels, and Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, both of which possess full accreditation status. There are two medical colleges in St Kitts: International University of the Health Sciences and Windsor University, and one in Nevis: Medical University of the Americas. The Accreditation Board serves as the national accreditation body for the higher education system in the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis. The Board also conducts and monitors the evaluation of foreign credentials.
Main laws/decrees governing higher education:
Decree: Accreditation of Institutions Act

E-MAIL SENT TO UNESCO-IAU
> Dear Madam:
>
> As you may be aware, the International Handbook of Universities is widely
> used in the USA, as an authoritative source of information on legitimate
> and
> recognized foreign educational institutions.
>
> In order to better appreciate the importance being given to listing in
> this
> volume, I will appreciate if you provide me with IAU's criteria for such
> listing.

RESPONSE:
All institutions of higher education in our database have to be recognized
by an accrediting agency, a ministry or other national agency.The
International Handbook of Universities only has university-level
institutions (those awarding at least a master's degree). Other institutions
of higher education are only listed in the World list of Universities and
Other institutions of Higher Education (see info on our website under
"publications"

Claudine Langlois
Director, IAU/UNESCO Information Centre on Higher Education
Unesco House, 1 rue Miollis, 75732 PARIS Cedex 15, France
Tel: 33 (1) 4568 2627 Fax: 33 (1) 4734 7605
EMail: [email protected] Web: http://www.unesco.org/iau

 

The problem here is not whether or not Berne is legitmately accredited on St. Kitts but the uselfulness of the degree outside of St. Kitts. When someone with a Berne degree wants to use it for employment they may be faced with the issue of a foreign credential evaluation. When this occurs the information I gathered suggests that for at least one foreign credential evaluator the question becomes in the case of St. Kitts (no public university) whether the public insitution in the area (UWI) accepts them. UWI told me no. Berne also said no. That means this evaluator will not give them equivalency. This does not mean the degree is not useful for saying "I have a degree from the sovereign state of St. Kitts and it is listed in the UNESCO Handbook". It does mean that the organization I work for and others will not recognize the degree.

But you can use your GI Bill there because of the US Dept of Ed recognition and get a nice vacation out of it as well.

North