The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

THERE are no immediate plans to increase tuition fees as the College of The Bahamas transitions into a university, College Council Chairman Alfred Sears said yesterday.

However, Mr Sears told reporters that this option was not completely off the table, as officials must ensure salaries of faculty and staff remain competitive.

Mr Sears, with COB’s President Dr Rodney Smith, gave an update on several changes that have come on stream to turn the tertiary institution into a university.

It was initially forecast that this would happen in July, but when asked about this deadline Dr Smith said he could only echo the sentiments of Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald, who had said that the college would transition by the end of this year.

The process has been pegged at around $16m.

Mr Sears said: “We pay more to go to St Andrews and Lyford Cay (International School) and some other private schools in The Bahamas than students pay to attend the national territory institution.

“So clearly that is only possible because the institution is subsidised by the taxpayers. The strategic focus is to build the endowment. We want to use this opportunity to ask Bahamians to claim ownership of this institution by doing what (businessman) Frankie Wilson and his family did by becoming legacy donors because it is through the building of the endowment that we can provide more scholarships.

“There is no proposal currently before the Council to increase tuition but it is not off the table because you have to keep the salaries of the lecturers and professors competitive, otherwise they will end up going into banking or tourism or leave the country. So it is imperative that we find ways to supplement the public’s subvention to the institution.”

During a press conference in the conference room of COB’s Harry C Moore Library, Dr Smith also unveiled the institution’s new logo and spoke on the University of the Bahamas Bill. The logo will be royal blue and white, which are the proposed university’s official colours.

Dr Smith said: “We have been working diligently on creating a draft University of The Bahamas Bill.

“Once this bill becomes law, the new institution will be restructured, as institution-wide academic and non-academic unit assessments are conducted.

“One of the most significant changes as a result of this bill will be the expansion of shared governance across the campus. The university will establish a Faculty Senate, to which all members of faculty will belong and which will replace the Academic Board.”

Other changes to the campus include the construction of the Franklyn R Wilson Graduate Centre, the closing of Tucker Road and plans to have residence halls on both campuses in New Providence and Grand Bahama constructed by the 2016 academic year.