PHILIPSBURG:--- A historic MOU was signed by the University of St. Martin (USM) and the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI). The MOU will be concretized in the full scale cooperation between the two institutions named "UVI at the USM". This twinning of both institutions will allow students on Sint Maarten & Saint Martin but also those in the wider Caribbean region to earn an American accredited degree whilst residing on our island. The exact wording in the document reads:
UVI and USM shall establish an extension campus of UVI to be located on the campus of USM and to be called "UVI at USM" with all the rights and privileges normally accorded to such arrangements in academia. The offering of UVI programs on the "UVI at USM" campus shall be in tandem with the demand for such programs and be of the same standard and quality of those programs offered on any of UVI's existing campuses or through online options.
USM shall commit to providing classroom and office space for UVI to establish a physical presence in St. Maarten for purposes of establishing "UVI at USM" and for offering regular and cohort driven undergraduate and graduate degree programs for those persons who for various reasons are unable to attend classes on the UVI USVI campuses.
The cooperation will also benefit the wider community, as the island will host students from the Caribbean Basin, with this academic tourism leading to economic spinoffs. No dorms will be built allowing locals to rent out homes and provide other services to these students.
Within 90 days the nuts and bolts of the MOU will be further specified in standard operating procedures. The cooperation commences in the autumn of 2015 with an MA cohort in the education field and the possibilities of BA cohort in Business & Hospitality.
Persons in the accompanying photo (photographer Mr. Andrew Bishop)
- Dr. Haldane Davis: Vice-President of the Vice President, Business Development and Innovation, University of the Virgin Islands (UVI); Executive Director, Foundation for the University of the Virgin Islands, Inc.
- Mrs. Valerie Giterson-Pantophlet: President of the Board of the University of St. Maarten Foundation (BUSMF)
- Mr. Wycliffe Smith: Vice-President of the BUSMF
- Mr. Dani Ramchandani: Treasurer of the BUSMF
- Ms. Marcellia Henry: Secretary of the BUSMF
- Ms. Olga Mussington-Service: Representative of the government of St. Maarten in the BUSMF
- Mr. Robert Budike: Manager of Finances & Facilities, USM.
