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Nations University records 84% pass rate at first MBA graduation
From left: Brian O’Toole, Kevin O’Brien and Rod Oxenburry
With an 84 per cent pass rate, the Nations University last evening was able to graduate its first batch of 16 Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree students.
The programme, according to Director of the local University, Brian O’Toole, is done in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Business (AIB).
The AIB, according to its Chairman of the Academic Board, Professor Rod Oxenburry, is an approved higher education provider in Australia which is accredited by the Government there. He also noted that it is registered to provide a number of business degrees.
In this regard, he said that the AIB had built a great deal of expertise which has aided the delivery of the MBA in a number of countries. These include countries in Asia and Africa as well as in the United Kingdom and now the Caribbean, which utilise a model of the programme which could last between 12 and 15 months.
Oxenburry is in fact charged with ensuring that the quality of the programme offered is outstanding as according to him, “this is something that the Australian Government takes very seriously – the accreditation of degrees and the qualifications – and they insist that there be a chairperson of the Academic Board.”
As such, Oxenburry noted that it was important for him to visit Guyana in order to get a firsthand impression of the programme offered here. And according to him, “I was very impressed by the Nations University and the people that are running it and making the provision for courses…”
The facilitators of the local programme must be at least holders of recognised MBAs themselves, with extensive teaching experience and be immersed in the business world, according to O’Toole.
Among those who have facilitated the programme are Michelle Johnson, Selene Davis, Yog Mahadeo, Ruth Lee and Indar Deodat.
O’Toole has also facilitated some sessions, and according to him, there are currently moves to expand the facilitating net to include more individuals even from Trinidad and as far as the United States of America.
“We are doing this because we are committed to getting the best possible people, because AIB is very, very clear about the standard that we have to submit,” said O’Toole. He disclosed that a number of persons have already stated their interest to undertake the programme following a public meeting at the Pegasus Hotel recently.
Currently, there are three levels of persons eligible for the programme, that is, individuals with a recognised first degree; individuals with an advanced diploma and three years of work experience or individuals that have been in a managerial position for at least three years.
The evident desire of many to be a part of the programme is understandable, as according to AIB Chairman of the Research Committee, Professor Emeritus Kevin O’Brien, efforts will continue to be made to maintain a high quality programme in a very flexible way. He disclosed that the visit here has also afforded them a chance to meet staff and facilitators and other key players at the local university.
“We have been able to assess the programme in a preliminary way, but we do have a fair idea of how it operates anyway.”
O’Brien, along with Oxenburry, was tasked with handing over certificates to the graduating batch and according to the Research Committee Chairman, “there will always be senior people from AIB attending future graduations.”
At a ceremony at the Pegasus Hotel last evening, 12 persons graduated with the MBA degree, three others received the Graduate Diploma in Management and another received the Graduate Certificate in Management. Among them were bank managers, entrepreneurs and persons working at Caricom, Ministry of Health, GuySuCo, Digicel, Guyana Power and Light, Laparkan, and the Guyana Tourism Authority.
The graduated batch started studies in October 2011, but Nations University is now onto its fifth MBA intake. More than 110 persons have joined the programme to date.
One aspect of the MBA is the production of a research paper on a local issue and five of these studies were of such quality that they are in the process of being considered for publication by a variety of international research journals.
According to Professor Oxenburry, the AIB was in fact fortunate to find a like-minded partner to really increase opportunities for people in Guyana to help them develop and perhaps get the skills to find ways of trying to contribute to the economy.
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