Collaboration and Networking in Distance Learning: The Experience of the University of the West Indies with the M.Sc. Counselling Programme by Distance Education

Abstract

PCF4 // The University of the West Indies (UWI), through its commitment to education and training, seeks to expand the number of university trained personnel in the Caribbean and to promote distance education in the region. In response to this mandate the UWI has pioneered the delivery of its first M.Sc. Counselling Programme by Distance Education which is currently helping to build capacity in human services. The programme which originated in the Fertility Management Unit, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Mona, in 2002, trained eighty-two professionals in nine Caribbean countries and produced sixty-five graduates in 2005. // In implementing this programme, the UWI has had to carefully forge alliances with governmental and non-governmental agencies to support professionals who can simultaneously be in practice, access training and apply new learning. These kinds of collaborative relationships and networking are critical to the programme’s agenda. // The UWI’s experience with the M.Sc. Counselling programme opens up new avenues for exploring its collaborative challenges re preparedness for distance education, the type and format of the programme, recruitment, affordability and the programme’s role in the region’s development. // The MSc Counselling Programme by Distance Education atThe University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, is a regional higher educational initiative which is delivered using a network of collaborative relationships both within and outside of the University. Higher education programmes at the University, including the MSc Counselling Programme, are supported by collaborative relationships which enhance their sustainability. This paper examines the dynamics of these relationships against the background of regional development. // Paper ID 333