From:TheBahamasWeekly.com

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Historic First Master’s Degree Graduates From College of The Bahamas
Dec 2, 2012 - 5:44:15 PM

Nassau, BAHAMAS – The Fall 2012 Commencement Class of The College of The Bahamas will be marked by a singular distinction later this month. In an historic milestone for higher education in The Bahamas, the 17 graduands will walk across the stage and accept the first graduate degrees from The College - the Master of Business Administration (MBA).

This cohort of graduands is a celebrated first for The College, a respected facilitator of national development. The five men and 12 women representing the public and private sector will receive the first independent graduate degrees from an institution on a steady and deliberate path to becoming a university.

“It is right and fitting that these Bahamians were able to stay in The Bahamas to earn this degree from a Bahamian tertiary institution. Previous programmes have been offered in partnership with US and Canadian universities. But this degree is uniquely ours and history is being made as these students achieve their educational aspirations,” said College President Dr. Betsy Boze.

The 19-month programme for working professionals is specially designed for the Bahamian context and all 17 graduands are trained researchers capable of driving innovation in their respective industries. This will give The Bahamas a further competitive advantage, according to College administrators.

"What we really want to do is use these cohorts as a laboratory for creating leaders who can drive national development, certainly from the business economic standpoint of the country," said interim Director of Graduate Programmes at The College, Dr. Keithley Woolward.

The College’s MBA programme offers concentrations in the areas of: Financial Decision Making, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Leadership.

"There is one example of a student whose final project had to do with revamping the financial systems of an institution and she was actually able to institute that in her job and those recommendations were then picked up for The Bahamas and are now moving forward in terms of a regional platform for synthesizing financial management processes within that industry,” Dr. Woolward said.

All of the MBA graduates have earned their degrees with an average GPA of 3.4 and according to College administrators this is a testimony of the quality of the programme and the undaunted determination of the first cohort to complete the programme with excellence.

 

Acting Dean, Faculty of Business Mrs. Remelda Moxey said the MBA programme is distinctive and will hold a significant place in The College’s history.

 

“It is important for the national institution of any country, to ensure that the country has a cadre of leaders and innovators, financial decision makers who will be able to take the country to the next level,” said Mrs. Moxey. “There is no question in my mind that this programme can stand up against any programme that is being offered by any AACSB accredited university in the US or Canada.  We did not want a cookie-cutter Master’s degree; we wanted something that informed our country.”

The College of The Bahamas launched the MBA programme, its first graduate degree programme offered independently of any collaborating university, in 2010. Since then, the institution has also a second master’s degree programme – the Master of Science in Reading with a concentration in Inclusive Education. These are among the developments that have strengthened the momentum for the highly anticipated transition to the University of The Bahamas, which is expected by 2015.

The 17 MBA graduands will have their degrees conferred at the Fall 2012 Commencement scheduled to be held on Sunday, December 9th at 6:00p.m. at the Performing Arts Centre, Oakes Field. Former College Council Chairman; Chairman of Sunshine Holdings Ltd. and longtime donor to The College, Mr. Franklyn Wilson, will give the keynote address.



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