HISTORY

The University of the West Indies is an autonomous regional institution supported by and serving 16 different countries in the West Indies – Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and Turks & Caicos.

 

The University was founded in 1948 at the Mona Campus in Jamaica, as a University College in special relation with the University of London. The university achieved independent status in 1962. The St. Augustine Campus, in Trinidad, which was formerly the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, was started in 1960. The Cave Hill Campus, in Barbados, was established in 1963.

 

As old as the University itself, the SCS is the official outreach arm of the 50-year old institution, dedicated to adult, continuing and public education beyond the campuses. The School represents UWI in non-campus countries. For many years we were known as the Extra-Mural Department of the University. That Department was established in academic year 1948/49 on the advice of the Irvine Committee of the Asquith Commission, whose report led to the establishment of the University College of the West Indies, as it was then known.

The Asquith Report strongly recommended that the new Commonwealth universities should take a leading part in the development of adult education in the territories in which they were located. Therefore, from the very start, the University recognised that in addition to teaching and research, the institution had a responsibility to reach out directly into the community.

 

The School operates university Centres in Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, British Virgin Islands the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent & the Grenadines. In the campus countries, it functions from locations on and off campus. In Jamaica, at Kingston and Montego Bay; in Barbados, at Pine Hill; in Trinidad & Tobago at St. Augustine, Port-of-Spain, San Fernando, Tobago, Point Fortin and Sangre Grande in Anguilla and the Turks & Caicos Islands, there are no established posts of the school, but the governments of these countries maintain relationships with the School and the UWI through named representatives.

 

We also do work with these countries through our Specialised Units in children’s development, - (the Caribbean Child Development Centre – CCDC), social work(the Social Welfare training centre – SWTC), labour relations (the Trade Union Education Institute – TUEI) and women in development (Women and Development Unit) – WAND)

 

Under our revised mandate, we are laying the groundwork for new initiatives in programme and service offers to all our centres.  We are continuing to provide facilities for University education for students in all the territories of the English-speaking Caribbean.  Our work is a manifestation of the UWI’s main mission to create opportunities for continuous adult learning to address regional needs.