Business View Caribbean - December 2015 79
merger of the two institutions. Adams is also the first
and only head of an educational facility to have been
nominated by the Jamaica Observer Business Lead-
er Award in the category of higher education to date.
“The previous institutions were offering programs pre-
dominantly at the certificate and the associate levels,”
he explains. “They were offering vocational type pro-
grams, not the traditional degree programs. We rec-
ognized the need to establish a new kind of institution
– a university college which would offer degrees in a
manner that was convenient and accessible for the
working student.”
Since the merger, UCC has experienced tremendous
growth. Having enjoyed an 85 percent year on year
growth rate, the University now employs 250 staff
members at its eight campuses across Jamaica. It has
significantly expanded its program menu, offering As-
sociate and Bachelors Degrees in: Business Adminis-
tration, Accounting and Financial Management, Infor-
mation Technology, Human Resource Management,
Marketing, and Law; and Masters Degrees in: Busi-
ness Administration and Public Administration. It also
offers executive short courses through its Corporate
Education Division.
In its initial stages, about 95 percent of its student
body comprised adult part-timers who were em-
ployed. Today the profile of the UCC student is chang-
ing thanks to its growing cohort of daytime students,
many of whom are attracted to its trademark blend
of theory and practical training. With the doors of its
largest campus about to be officially opened, UCC is
focused on growing the numbers of this cohort even
further. “We have just completed a new, state-of-the-
art facility,” Adams says; “a new four-story building; ap-
proximately 60,000 square feet; a six million dollar in-
vestment. It speaks of our commitment and desire to
AT A GLANCE
WHO:
University College of the Caribbean
WHAT:
Jamaica’s largest privately held tertiary
education consortium
WHERE:
Main campus in Kingston, Jamaica
WEBSITE
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