Costaatt courses not accredited

ASSOCIATE degree, diploma and certificate courses being offered by the College of Science Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT), are  recognised only in Trinidad and Tobago. The courses are not accredited by the University of the West Indies (UWI) or any international university. However, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education, has assured that efforts are underway to have the College’s courses accredited. The College is a combination of the former Niherst Colleges, John Donaldson Technical Institute, San Fernando Technical Institute, Government Vocational Centre, Eastern Caribbean Institute of Agriculture and Forestry (ECIAF) and the Joint Services Staff College. Newsday has received several calls from students who have enrolled for the College’s 2003/2004 academic year, expressing concern about spending their money for courses which are not accredited. When Newsday contacted the College’s head office at Sackville Street, Port-of-Spain, we were advised to contact the Committee on the Recognition of Degrees (CORD) for clarification on the College’s accreditation.

A spokesperson at CORD, the only accreditation body in Trinidad and Tobago, said they were unable to make a “formal comment” but “Costaatt has never come to us for evaluation.” She explained that evaluation of courses by CORD was not mandatory and it is left to the institution to have their courses evaluated for the necessary accreditation. A spokesperson at the Ministry of Tertiary Education confirmed to Newsday that while the College’s courses were not accredited by UWI and international Universities, they are recognised by most, if not all government agencies. She pointed out that all courses offered by the College had existed under the respective institutions prior to the formation of the College and would therefore now have the same accreditation as before. CORD confirmed that they never evaluated the courses of those institutions but because it was government affiliated, they were recognised by government agencies. The CORD spokesperson said she also knew of at least one person with a John D certificate furthering their education at a foreign University. The Ministry spokesperson further explained that the Ministry was working assiduously toward establishing the Accreditation Commission in January 2004. She explained that the Commission would work closely with the UWI and other foreign universities so there would be a “seamless system” in place as it pertains to accreditation for both private and government institutions.