Sir John Daniel

Just under five years since opening its doors, the University College of the Caribbean (UCC) graduated its first batch of Commonwealth Executive Master of Business Administration and Public Administration students during a grand ceremony at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston on Sunday.

The 34 students who graduated from that programme were among a batch of 640 who participated in the exercise. A number of them were undergraduate students, who enrolled in 20 different programmes, from certificate to bachelor's.

In 2007, the institution was granted an exclusive licence by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) to offer Commonwealth Executive MBA and MPA (CEMBA/CEMPA) degree programmes in the Caribbean.

COL is an intergovernmental organisation created by Common-wealth heads of government to help developing member countries expand learning for development purposes using open or distance-education and technology-assisted approaches.

Currently, there are four other cohorts completing the programme at UCC campuses in Kingston and Montego Bay.

High-quality learning

Speaking at the graduation exercise on Sunday, president and CEO of COL, Sir John Daniel, said the ceremony was testament to the high-quality learning which could be garnered from distant-education programmes.

Sir John said the CEMBA and CEMPA programmes were designed for professionals who are always "on the go".

He said: "The programmes are designed for part-time study by busy working professionals in response to the growing demand for post-graduate-level education in business and public administration."

Chairman and president of UCC, Winston Adams, said COL's granting of the licence signified a desire on the part of the organisation to partner with Caribbean institutions.

Adams added that UCC was deeply committed to the need to produce Jamaican graduates who are "fit for export".