What is beneficial about the collegiate system?

The way universities are being administered is changing rapidly the world over since the demands of the times are also changing at exponential rates.

In the wake of dwindling funds from governments to support public universities all over the world, it has become imperative for these institutions of higher learning to devise strategies to make judicious use of their finances if they want to be transformed into world-class universities. 

The University of Cape Coast (UCC) has since August 1, 2014 began operating under the Collegiate system and the Vice Chancellor, Professor D.D. Kuupole, provides the basis for that.

 He says that the idea of a collegiate system has been his vision since 2012 when he took over as Vice Chancellor and that after 52 years “we have come of age to warrant a regrouping to become colleges so that we can share experiences and best practices and to make people more creative and imaginative to develop their fullest potential rather than centralising”.

The university's council therefore, in consonance, with its Statute 19:1 of 2012 and on the recommendation of the academic board decided to establish colleges with their respective faculties, schools and departments. According to the university’s council, this idea will ensure that related faculties and schools were brought together to pool resources, strengths, potentials and opportunities to “deliver better service” to their clients.

An inter-faculty committee set up to draw the modalities for the establishment of the colleges settled on five new colleges to be set up. They are as follows: College of Humanities and Legal Studies, College of Education Studies, College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, College of Health and Allied Sciences and College of Distance Education. The composition of the College of Humanities and Legal Studies is the Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Law and the School of Business.

The College of Education Studies will comprise the Department of Arts and Social Sciences Education; Department of Basic Education; Department of Educational Foundations; Department of Health; Physical Education and Recreation. Others are: Department of Science and Mathematics Education, Department of Vocational and Technical Education, Institute of Education, Institute of Educational Planning and Administration. The rest are: Centre for Child Development Research and Referral, Centre for Research, Evaluation and Learning Support, Counselling Centre and Teaching Practice Unit. 

The College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences will have the School of Physical Sciences, School of Biological Sciences and the School of Agriculture.

The College of Health and Allied Sciences will be made up of the School of Medical Sciences, School of Nursing and Midwifery, School of Laboratory Technology, School of Biomedical and Forensic Sciences, School of Dentistry and Dental Surgery and School of Applied Health Sciences.

What existed as the Centre for Continuing Education is now College of Distance Education with the following departments: Department of Arts and Social Sciences, Department of Education, Department of Business Studies, Department of Mathematics and Sciences and Department of Medical Education. These departments will also have various units under them.

The five colleges will be headed by acting provosts for an initial two-year period. 

The College of Education Studies and College of Distance Education will be operating a two-tier system for now. They will have no schools or faculties but will have academic departments. The three other colleges will operate the three-tier system this time with faculties/schools and departments.

The Collegiate System is about the decentralisation or devolution of power from the centre to the 'periphery'.   

What this means is that some responsibilities will be handled by the colleges. 

The former Executive Secretary of the National Council for Tertiary Education, Dr Paul Effah, stated recently at a training programme to equip officers who will manage these colleges that “We need to be creative and think about what we can do to be able to fit in the 21st century by moving from “gown to town” and in essence, bridging the gap between the knowledge acquired in the university and the job market. The collegiate system should help us achieve this since the various colleges have been empowered to come out with innovations”.

In spite of these new arrangements the vice chancellor still remains the chief executive officer of the university and wields the power of control over activities of these colleges, though the processes may change this time.  

With this new arrangement, examinations will be organised at the college levels but coordinated by the Teaching and Examinations Unit. 

Also, admissions would be handled by the colleges with the Division of Academic Affairs coordinating such activities, while the recruitment and placement of administrative and supporting staff would be carried out, as usual, by the central administration.

One main work of the university, which is graduate studies, and the subsequent research component, would still be carried out by the School of Graduate Studies and Research as it is currently constituted.