Academic Support for UWI Certificate in Journalism

So you've joined us! We want you to feel very welocme in our programme, and we want you to succeed brilliantly. Critical to your success in this programme will be the level of academic support you will receive. We recognize that for many of you enrolled in the Certificate in Journalism programme, this will be your first experience of post-secondary education. As you've been told, this  programme is quite intensive. So, to help you do your best, we have a faculty consisting of members of the academic community, and also of persons with extensive and varied experience in the media. Many of our lecturers have worked in the field as journalists; some have run newsrooms and been responsible for training staff here in Trinidad and Tobago and in other countries outside the Caribbean. Other lecturers have worked in the communication departments of businesses and for the state. These are people who understand the demands made on professional journalists, and the expectations they must satisfy. They also understand the challenges of bringing novices up to scratch. And you will be able to access their expertise and experience to help you navigate the challenges of the programme, and to advise you, when advice becomes necessary.

Off-campus, from wherever you may happen to be based, you will continue to have access to lecturers, and to each other, on the internet, through our campus learning management system, myeLearning. We have adopted a blended learning approach to course delivery. That is to say, some components of many of our courses are up online, so that you can continue to access resource materials at your own convenience to enhance your classroom experiences. MyeLearning also allows you to contact staff via email. What is more, the programme’s online discussion forums  will make it possible for you and your colleagues to continue exploring issues even after your scheduled classes have ended.

Finally, as enrolled students, you will have access to our University library with its journalism and communications collection. Each of you will be able to borrow books from the library, to read the journals, and to access ejournals off-campus as you need them.

As the programme’s academic coordinator, my own role is to be a liaison between our staff and you,  and between you and our administrative units in the university, to ensure that you receive the orientation to the programme, as well as the academic advice, you need, so as to ensure that you progress smoothly.

In short, there is no reason why you will not be able to do well in this programme. The opportunities are there. Seize them.