Stiff competition to enter UWI

This year’s high school graduates who wish to enter the University of the West Indies (St Augustine campus) are expected to face stiffer entry competition as the academic requirements at UWI have been increasing yearly. This was revealed at a press conference hosted by UWI at its St Augustine campus yesterday. The briefing was held to highlight the university’s accredited programmes, entry procedures and development projects. Although UWI’s entry requirements at the normal matriculation level is five CXC passes (grades I, II and III) and two A Level or CAPE passes, Patricia Brown of Student Affairs Admissions admitted that applicants with those “basic” passes were not guaranteed entry.

She said applicants wishing to enter into some of the Faculty departments (Medical Sciences, Engineering) must have as many as three sciences, Mathematics and English at the CXC Level and two A level subjects with at least one science subject. At the lower matriculation level, she said, entrants must possess at least five CXC passes, inclusive of English and a foreign language. Dean of the Faculty of Medical Science, Phyllis Pitt-Miller, explained that since entry in her department was extremely competitive, a scoring system is used in the selection of qualified entrants. Therefore, persons with the highest grades in Chemistry (which is compulsory), Biology and Physics are offered places, she stated. “All this assessment is done given the fact that competition and space are limited in UWI,” she said. “We are seeking to widen our access, and in order to maintain our high standards, your academic qualifications coming to us must also be very high,” said Brown.

She added that space becomes more limited since scholarship winners are guaranteed entry. In September, a total of 3,200 new students are expected to be admitted to UWI and 9,266 are expected to return. This increased intake has grown from a total enrollment of 6,924 students in the academic year 2000/2001 to 10,168 students in 2003/2004, said David Moses, acting campus registrar.  He added that for the past three years, the St Augustine campus has had student increases of 46.8 percent. This caused the campus to “fast track” several development projects, including the construction of classrooms, dormitories, libraries and the expansion of the UWI Sport and Physical Education Centre.

In addition to the new developments, several new accredited programmes are expected to be offered in 2005. These programmes are designed to “meet the growing demand for experienced professsionals and to ensure the continued development of the Caribbean region,” said a release from UWI yesterday. Among these programmes is the introduction of the Petroleum GeoScience Degree introduced by the Faculty of Engineering, which is accredited by the Geological Society of London. The MSc in Civil Engineering, MSc in Civil with Environmental Engineering, and a Masters in Manufacturing are also expected to be introduced. A Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing will also be offered by the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FMS) School of Advanced Nursing. Heads of the various faculties at UWI, including Science and Agriculture, Engineering, Education and Humanities, were also present at yesterday’s briefing.