February 2016


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UWI Managing Costs while Maintaining Quality, Access and Impact in Education

Almost every time that you open the newspaper or turn on the radio or television, you can’t help but hear the resonance of cautions being conveyed to citizens about being more mindful about their personal spending, our national austerity measures, as our country and our region prepares to face the economic challenges that exist today.

These messages to The University of the West Indies, are very salient, as they hit a chord of serious concern. As the needs of our society changes, the UWI must make the necessary adjustments to ensure that we remain in sync with delivering what is required to drive social and economic development. Regardless of the economic climate, it is Paramount that as a University we must maintain our high standards, and deliver what is required of us in no less efficient a manner, in spite of adjusting our costs.

This editorial comes at an important time in the calendar of The UWI- a time when we prepare and have to defend our 2016/2017 budget, in front of our national and regional Governments. As some of you may be aware, the Trinidad and Tobago government funds almost all of the Government subvention to the St. Augustine Campus. In this regard, the financial challenges in the country due to the steeply falling oil prices to around US$ 30 per barrel from a high of over $US 100 just over a year ago, demand a response by our Campus, which supports our national efforts in mitigating this crisis.

In the media there has been many predictions, where some experts believe this situation is not temporary but will be with us for a few years. During periods of economic constraints, while challenging and tough for all of us, we all need to make sacrifices. Ironically as it may sound, situations like this, sometimes present an opportunity to re-evaluate how we conduct our business, encouraging us to re-engineer ourselves; in the longer term we will be better off for this - more efficient, productive , impactful and focused and a financially sustainable institution.

Pivotal to this discussion on the way forward for our Campus, I refer to the speech by our Honourable Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley, on Dec 29th, 2015, where he asked effectively for all institutions which depend on the State, to reduce their expenditures by 7 per cent. Our Campus will respond positively to this call, as the financial challenge here and in similar oil and gas producing and dependent economies, are very real and may get worse before getting better. Some of our strategies in going forward will include: engaging in clear and ongoing communication and being up front with staff on the challenges ahead - now having to manage a government subvention cut of nearly $50 million per year for 2016 / 2017; bringing us closer to what was allocated in the 2012 / 2013 budget.

An ongoing mantra at this time would be to keep reminding ourselves that our core business is ‘Teaching and Learning and Research and Innovation’, along with a specific focus on enhancing the experiences of our students and future graduates. We must protect these as our core/essential tenets of our fundamental existence. This must be our prime directive and if necessary, we will curtail or remove completely, things that are useful but not vital. Underpinning all our efforts, will be our deliberate approach to strive for cost recovery, while at the same time ensuring a high standard of service, not only to our internal publics but also to our external stakeholders.

We must now make the clarion call to have all hands on deck, to ensure the efficient administration of our duties, where each employee must diligently embrace and share the responsibility, fairly and even-handedly. If we are to adequately function within the constraints of these circumstances, and where human resources consumes 75% of our budget, it will be necessary to critically address staffing. This exercise must be approached with care, in an effort to protect our staffing configuration and establishment, while delivering on our teaching and other services. We must derive value for our money, as our spending on staffing, on materials and on services must directly reflect tangible gains to our institution. We must demonstrate astute human resource management, as this aspect is extremely important, as it forms an indelible part of the process to effectively deliver our services. It is necessary to link compensation/rewards to performance, as we adopt best practices and market driven realities, while at the same time preserve some of our unique qualities like tenure for academics.

The UWI has a history of attracting the best students from Trinidad and Tobago and from the English speaking region, but we must widen this to the larger Association of Caribbean States. We must aggressively promote and expand the pool of full fee paying students in programmes with global appeal; especially in the Faculties of Medicine, Agriculture, Engineering and Law. Quality and global programmatic and institutional accreditation will support this, as will our ranking and standing as a leading Institution. Foreign / Regional students bring value not only to the University, but our communities and Country, but all our students bring real income and diversity to our University.

A critical audit and review of all our courses and programmes must be undertaken, to discard those with little appeal to our students or relevance to societal needs. We may have to create new programmes or revise old ones, at both Undergraduate and Post Graduate levels. These programmes must correlate with the needs of the world in which we live, such as: health & wellness, entertainment and tourism, education, science technology & engineering, IT, food & nutrition, agriculture and the environment, sustainable energy, only to name a few. Our approach to education must be innovative in its methodology; for example, encouraging cross pollination of areas of study; exposing students to a multiple of disciplines; mixing science with humanities, business and engineering; the combinations can be endless. Underpinning all our efforts, as higher education providers, we must also be deliberate in fostering an environment for the development of an entrepreneurial disposition in our students. A functional model would be one that creates graduates through formal and internship education, who are in demand by the world of work, but all who are well rounded grads, with characteristics of the humanities infused in their curriculum.

As a University we must accept and recognize the falling output of numbers of qualified students from Secondary Schools with upper level UWI matriculation, entry qualifications (CAPE) and move to develop optional 4 year programmes for students with lower level (CXC/CAPE level 1) and other qualifications.

Additionally, we must develop part-time programmes for adults, and working students, in the fields of Engineering, Law, Pharmacy, Teaching, Hotel and Tourism etc. In a recessionary time all need to work. It will be also valuable to maximize the use of blended and distance learning technologies - being able to teach and engage our students anywhere, anytime! As a university we are committed to human capital development, and ensuring access to students who meet our requirements must always be foremost in our thinking. We need to give students with potential an opportunity for a UWI education!

It is understandable to anticipate a revisiting of our students’ fees on a programmatic basis, bearing in mind costs of delivery, earning potential of graduates, and the now competitive environment of the ‘business’ of education. In the case of the UWI, some fees at St Augustine have not being revised upwards for more than a decade! We have tried. In this current circumstance, with the Regional Governments providing the University lower subventions, it would be beneficial to see more flexibility and autonomy given to our institution, in setting and applying its fees. It is our best way to earn income.

A viable approach, (already being adopted at the UWI), resides with us building partnerships with the private sector, the GOTT, our Alumni and other Regional / International institutions. This helps to build our capacity and reputation and to facilitate delivery of our services and win gifts and generate income. We may have to rethink the model for delivering and even expanding services like student and staff housing, IT, the Bookshop and the Library, housekeeping, maintenance, security, shuttle/ mini bus services, maintaining our green estate, our field / agricultural stations etc. In advancing our cause, we must not be inhibited to introducing new ways, alternative fee structures and even seeing outsourcing as an efficient business model / best practice that may be considered.

I envision a new role even for our students; one in which they may be more self-reliant, by seeking employment on Campus and elsewhere, as a means to contribute to their own learning; by becoming more self-financing and appreciative of the world of work. We must impress upon all the stakeholders the financial realities that we now face, as we work towards protecting our establishment, while trying to retain and attract new talent where necessary. An important component that is sometimes overlooked, but leads to financial success, resides with the efficiency in which we are able to market and promote our product and brand. This too has to be ramped up.

In conclusion, in a recessionary period, we can still seize opportunities where growth may be continued and achieved at lower costs than normal. However, it requires consistent review of the environment, with adequate strategies for treating with rapid changes. Our response must be firm and embarked upon after the risks are well considered and calculated. In a University, there must always be a positive thrust towards continued development of the Campus in all of its facets; with the anticipation that better days are on the horizon and the University with its great brand will be there for the long haul. But to do this, we will be forced to take on a more business-like approach to our management and financial sustainability. I am happy to report that we have begun this task, but the imperative and urgency are now staring us in the face. This environment presents a great opportunity to have us all rally around to secure our University’s future.

EDITORIAL TEAM

Campus Principal: Professor Clement Sankat
Director of Marketing and Communications: Dr. Dawn-Marie De Four-Gill
Editor: Rebecca Robinson [rebecca.robinson@sta.uwi.edu]

Contact us:
The UWI Marketing and Communications Office
Tel: (868) 662-2002 exts. 82013, 83997
Email: uwitoday@sta.uwi.edu