Seated: Dr. Reginald Clarke of the United Kingdom Business and Technology Education Council. Standing: USM Dean of Academics Rolinda Carter with USM’s Business and Hospitality Division team.
PHILIPSBURG–University of St. Martin (USM) received a positive evaluation of its accredited programme in Business last week Friday when Dr. Reginald Clarke of the United (UK) Kingdom Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) made his semester visit to the island.
“We are still recovering from last year’s disruption caused by Hurricane Irma in 2017. Nevertheless, students, faculty and management have made, and will continue to make, a successful concerted effort to comply with the standards set forth by the accreditation agency,” said Dean of Academics Rolinda Carter. “This is certainly a motive for celebration.”
Positive review every six months is necessary for BTEC programmes at USM to maintain their accreditation. The evaluation entails interviews with students, faculty, administration, sampling of student work including exams, instructor syllabi and overall assessment of university operations.
“The policies and procedures required to underpin the Business course have all been provided and will be reviewed regularly to ensure they are up to date and still relevant to the course,” said Dr. Clarke, who noted great strides and advancement in the quality of courses offered at USM.
Business and Hospitality Division head Jan van Beek and USM President Antonio Carmona Báez will be meeting in March with administrators of The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS) to negotiate a joint Bachelor of Arts (BA) programme in Business Administration whereby USM students can spend a year in the Netherlands but finish their degree on St. Maarten.
USM hopes to receive exchange students from the Netherlands within a year to read a course on Contemporary and Comparative Business in the Caribbean.
“This is all possible due to our accredited programmes. Today our students receive their certification or Associate’s degree and can transfer to many colleges and universities in the US, UK and the Netherlands to finish their Bachelor of Arts. This is something to be proud of. Next step is to get USM to have a fully accredited BA programme in Business in partnership with THUAS. We are moving forward,” said Van Beek.
Business and Hospitality assistant division head Karen Hana said, “We must constantly train and re-train our faculty, look carefully at every course outline, talk to each student individually and ensure they get all the support they need to pass the courses. Our dedicated faculty members, none of which are yet working for USM fulltime, continue to make great sacrifices for USM on a daily basis. Without them, accreditation would be impossible.”
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/85543-usm-receives-positive-evaluation-in-business
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