University of The Bahamas Faculty Begin Year with Focus on Quality and Excellence

1^st September 2023

Nassau, THE BAHAMAS – In a resolute declaration of commitment to enhancing academia and quality imperatives, University of The Bahamas (UB) faculty participated in two days of knowledge-sharing during the Academic Affairs Faculty Seminar held at the Oakes Field Campus.

The 2023-2024 academic year is a significant one for the institution as milestones to the pursuit of national and international accreditation are expected to be achieved. UB will also celebrate 50 continuous years of operation next calendar year.

This year, the focus is on “Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement: The Road to Accreditation” with an emphasis on creating world-class educational experiences and continually implementing the highest standards of quality throughout UB’s operations.

“This is our process to make UB what we need it to be as the next step in its 50-year history of service to our students and to the people of The Bahamas,” said Acting President Janyne Hodder. “We are in the driver’s seat; we know what we want and what is best for us. We’re being provided with a detailed roadmap about how we can fine tune who we are so that we can operate smoothly in a way we can feel safe, effective, and proud.

“At its core, seeking national and international accreditation is our commitment to being our best self so that we can provide the best service to our students, to ourselves, and to the country.”

In this new era of focused growth, UB is simultaneously pursuing an international validation of quality and national validation with the National Accreditation and Equivalency Council of The Bahamas (NAECOB). President Hodder pointed out that UB is in the driver’s seat of continuous improvement, benchmarking and assessing its effectiveness.

“There is also no doubt that in the world in which we live today – a world of technology, AI, ChatGPT, unprecedented interdependence, and a global climate crisis –universities operate within in an internationalized domain.  The question is not a matter of whether accreditation mechanisms will be required, but when.

“We are in the driver’s seat. We know what we want and what is best for us. We’re being provided with a detailed roadmap about how we can fine-tune who we are so that we can operate smoothly in a way we can feel safe, effective, and proud,” she said.

UB’s Board of Trustees Chair Mrs. Allyson Maynard-Gibson KC addressed the matter with the same vigour. She envisioned UB standing shoulder-to-shoulder with top-tier universities around the world and linked the institution’s trajectory with what its founders fervently wished for its future. She urged faculty to buy into the vision for accreditation, to continue to embrace excellence in collective growth, remain disciplined and focused, and stand together.

“I believe that you, like I, stand on the shoulders of our forebears, many, if not most, of whom did not have a tertiary education. However, all of them made tremendous sacrifices and followed the 5 points above so that we could stand here today,” said Mrs. Maynard-Gibson.

“Today I challenge you to act so that people who will be at the Faculty Seminar in 2073 say that dynamic visionary people came together, tearing down silos and status quo, to put UB unequivocally on the road to international accreditation and to become a Tier 1 research institution.”

Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Maria Oriakhi, recognized the faculty’s indispensable role in academia and achieving the institution’s mission.

“We face the upcoming year as a united team, knowing that our collective effort will illuminate the path forward for our students and our Mingoes community,” said Dr. Oriakhi. “With boundless gratitude for your work and dedication, I wish you all a year teeming with triumph, discoveries and enduring success. Together, we shall etch our mark on the annals of academia.”

The path of continually being better and stronger will positively impact every campus including UB-North in Grand Bahama where the Kipling Complex has been acquired as the future site of a modern campus in an extension of access to higher learning.

During the faculty seminar, the educators were engaged in sessions which focused on diverse and relevant topics including artificial intelligence in academia, mental health in the workplace, institutional modalities and quality assurance. Union of Tertiary Educators Bahamas (UTEB) President Daniel Thompson and Academic Senate Chair Dr. Walteria Tucker-Rolle also addressed the faculty.

Office of University Relations
University of The Bahamas
2^nd Floor, Michael H. Eldon Complex
Oakes Field Campus
P.O. Box N-4912
Nassau, The Bahamas
Tel: (242) 302-4355/4354/4365

Chartered on 10th November 2016, University of The Bahamas (UB) is a beacon for national transformation. Students are enrolled in the University of The Bahamas system which includes campuses and centres on New Providence, Grand Bahama, and San Salvador, as well as UB online education. UB’s diverse academic programmes, research engagements, athletics and leadership development experiences equip our students to become global citizens in a dynamic world.