For two decades, from BELCAST right through to UB, the University of North Florida has enjoyed various partnerships with Belizean educational institutions. Foremost among these has been the Master’s program, which has graduated 350 Belizeans since 1996 – all of them on partial tuition scholarships. And while many go to the UNF Campus in Jacksonville to pursue studies, there’s been a parallel programme for educators to get that same university education, right here in Belize. What’s called a hooding ceremony was held for 33 graduates a week ago at the Chateau Caribbean and our camera captured it.
Jules Vasquez Reporting,
The graduates were all smiles as 33 of them received Master’s degrees in educational leadership and administration from an American university and they never had to leave home to do it. They completed three summers in what’s called a cohort programme where instructors from the University of North Florida came to the Teacher’s College here in Belize and taught Master’s level classes. It’s a subsidized programme with free books, and tuition of about $6,000 – which for a Master’s level class is nominal.
All the comforts and costs of home, but it wasn’t easy, because the programme was intensive: students had to complete 15 week Masters’ level university programmes in just three weeks. That intensiveness caused many sleeplessness nights and vacation less summers - a sacrifice that their families were keenly aware of.
“Our families were neglected and we had to make other sacrifices. But in spite of our challenges, we made it.”
And as these Master’s graduates posed off with their diplomas, it’s also the end of this chapter of the UNF Cohort Programme, as our information says that the Ministry of Education and UNF may now want to pursue Master’s programmes in other areas – because now so many have degrees in education leadership.
97% of students who have studies at UNF in Jacksonville have returned home to work.
