PHILIPSBURG:--- The University of St. Martin (USM) received a positive evaluation of its accredited programme in Business last Friday when Dr. Reginald Clarke of the Business and Technology Education Council (United Kingdom) made his semester visit to Sint Maarten.
“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 Dr. Rolinda Carter. “This is certainly a motive for celebration.”
Positive review every six months is necessary in order 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.
In March, Head of Division for Business and Hospitality Mr. Jan van Beek and USM President Dr. Antonio Carmona will be meeting with administrators of The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS) to negotiate a joint BA programme in Business Administration, whereby USM students can spend a year in the Netherlands but finish their degree on Sint Maarten. Within a year, USM hopes to receive exchange students from the Netherlands 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 Associates 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 fully accredited BA programme in Business, in partnership with THUAS – we are moving forward”, said van Beek.
Ms. Karen Hana, who serves as Assistant Division Head of Business and Hospitality related all the hard work into securing a positive evaluation. “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,” Hana concluded.
