Equal Standards Require Equal Support: UWI Global Campus Students Call for Fairness in the Return of Face-to-Face Examinations

Students of The University of the West Indies (UWI) Global Campus are calling on the University to make sure that the planned return to face-to-face examinations comes with the teaching support, site readiness, real consultation, and financial fairness that online learners need and deserve.

Who We Are

The UWI Global Campus, formerly the UWI Open Campus, is the online campus of The University of the West Indies. It was rebranded to reflect its mission of serving learners across the Caribbean and around the world. Most Global Campus students are working professionals, parents, caregivers, and community leaders. They chose the Global Campus for its flexibility, because their jobs and responsibilities make it impossible to attend face-to-face classes.

When many of us enrolled, we were told our programmes would be assessed entirely through coursework. Before COVID-19 and before the rebranding, the Global Campus did hold face-to-face examinations. The University has now announced that face-to-face examinations are returning.

Our Position

To be clear:

Global Campus students are not against face-to-face examinations.

We value academic rigour and want our degrees to carry the same weight and respect as any UWI qualification.

Our concern is fairness.

Global Campus students are being held to the same examination standards as students at the landed campuses, but without the same teaching, the same support, or a real voice in the decision.

The Reality of the Global Campus Experience

Landed campus students have full-time lecturers who teach each unit in depth. They also have regular tutorials, peer tutoring, follow-up exercises, and quick access to their lecturers.

Global Campus students do not have these advantages:

Few live sessions:

many courses have four or fewer live sessions in a whole semester.

Units covered in a hurry:

in some sessions, four to six units are covered at once, and students are left to work out the rest on their own.

Some sessions only cover assignments:

some lecturers meet only to discuss assignments, not to teach the course content.

Assignments without explanation:

assignments are posted online, often with little explanation or guidance.

Slow feedback:

questions are sent by email, and students often wait 48 hours or more for a reply.

No tutorials or peer tutoring:

there are usually no structured tutorials, peer tutoring or exam-preparation sessions.

In effect, Global Campus students teach themselves. They have to work out the course material, the assignments and even how to study, with little support from lecturers. Many students are not sure they are even studying the right material in the right way. This is especially true in technical courses such as

Accounting and Statistics

, which need step-by-step guidance and practice. To fill the gap, students are turning to YouTube tutorials and paying for, or asking for, help from people outside the University. They do this while already paying

over EC$1,000 per course

.

Our First Class Honours Are Earned

Some people have suggested that Global Campus students do not truly earn their First Class Honours. We firmly reject this. When a Global Campus student earns First Class Honours, they earn it through discipline, sacrifice and self-teaching, often while working full-time and caring for their families. These achievements deserve the same respect as any other UWI honour. If anything, they show remarkable resilience and independence.

So we ask:

how is it fair to compare Global Campus students with landed campus students, when we do not have the same advantages?

Students’ Concerns Have Not Been Properly Addressed

The Guild of Students worked to give students a voice and arranged a town hall meeting with the Examinations and Administration departments. At that meeting, students raised real, well-founded concerns about the return of face-to-face examinations. Those concerns were not properly answered. Many questions were dismissed or cut short, and students felt they were met with an unwelcoming and dismissive attitude, not a willingness to listen.

Students came to that meeting in good faith, hoping for open dialogue and real answers. Instead, many left feeling unheard and disregarded. It is deeply troubling that a decision with such a large impact on students’ academic futures is going ahead without their concerns being properly addressed. Those in authority need to understand the real situation of Global Campus students before making decisions that affect them so directly.

Are the Sites Ready?

The Global Campus serves students through

17 sites

across the region. We understand that only

two or three

of these sites are currently ready to host face-to-face examinations. Reintroducing these exams before the sites have the space, staff, equipment and security they need puts students at risk of disruption, unequal conditions and added stress. We ask: how can face-to-face examinations be reintroduced when most sites are not ready?

Concerns for Students Overseas

Not every Global Campus student lives in the Caribbean. We understand that students living overseas will be charged an extra

US$150

to sit examinations. They will also have to find an approved proctored centre themselves.

Global Campus students already pay

per course

, not per semester or per year, at a cost of

over EC$1,000 per course

. Adding further fees, with no matching improvement in teaching and support, leaves many students asking whether their wellbeing and success are truly being put first.

Our Recommendations

In a spirit of partnership, we respectfully ask the UWI Global Campus to:

Engage students properly:

hold a follow-up meeting with the Guild of Students and the wider student body, give written answers to the concerns raised at the town hall, and commit to respectful, ongoing consultation before going further with the examination policy.

Strengthen teaching before examinations:

provide regular live lectures that cover every unit in each course, so students are properly taught before they are examined.

Add tutorials and exam preparation:

introduce scheduled online tutorials, peer tutoring, practice questions and revision sessions, starting with technical courses such as Accounting and Statistics.

Improve response times:

set clear standards for lecturer feedback and offer live office hours, so students aren’t left waiting days for answers.

Make sure sites are ready first:

do not reintroduce face-to-face exams at any site until it has the space, staff, technology and security it needs, and publish a readiness plan for all 17 sites.

Phase in the change:

give students already enrolled under a coursework-only model enough notice, and a transition period with support.

Review the overseas exam fee:

remove or reduce the additional US$150 charge, help students find proctored centres, and consider secure online proctoring as an option.

Give clear information:

publish a full, accessible guide covering the examination policy, schedules, venues, costs and support available.

Moving Forward Together

UWI Global Campus students are proud of their institution and committed to excellence. We are not asking for lower standards. We are asking for a fair chance to meet them, and for our voices to be heard and respected. We look forward to constructive talks with University leadership to find solutions that protect both the quality of a UWI degree and the success of every Global Campus student, wherever they are in the world.

Equal standards require equal support.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: LETTER: UWI Global Campus Students Call for Fairness in the Return of Face-to-Face Examinations.