28 Nov. 2021
Weekly Current (archived version)
UCCI President and CEO to step down at end of year. List of elite universities that qualify for $100,000 Cayman Scholar Award. Education takes top billing in budget address. Viewpoint on ‘the marginalization of Caymanian teachers’.
And more!
Welcome to this week’s newsletter on education in the Cayman Islands.
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Week In Review
Stacy McAfee is stepping down from her position as President and CEO of the University College of the Cayman Islands when her three-year contract expires at the end of 2021.
McAfee announced her departure in a letter to staff Wednesday. She and her family will leave Cayman in December.
“I will be concluding my tenure as President and CEO of UCCI at the end of my contract on December 31st, which coincides with the end of my three-year contract,” she said.
New UCCI Board Chairman Gilbert McLean confirmed the news in a press release sent Thursday afternoon.
McLean said an interim President and CEO will be appointed until a new hire is made. The position will be advertised locally and overseas.
For context, the recruitment process that resulting in McAfee’s hiring took the better part of a calendar year.
UCCI is in the midst of a 5-year strategic plan, with initiatives including seeking accreditation from the US Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Our story includes links to a recent appearance on EdBeat by McAfee and UCCI VP of Academic Affairs J.D. Mosley-Matchett, as well as our extended interview with McAfee in September 2020.
(Read our story on the announcement of McAfee’s departure here.)
Looking ahead: On the next episode of EdBeat, we plan to host a conversation with ICCI President Byron Coon and former UCCI board member Thomas Simpson. The agenda includes discussion of the process of recruiting and hiring a university leader. … Stay tuned …
What ‘Gold Tiered’ universities qualify for the Cayman Scholar Award?
The new award provides one Caymanian boy and one Caymanian girl with full tuition, up to $100,000 per year, for their undergraduate studies at an elite university.
The Ministry of Education recently provided more details about the award, specifying that eligible universities must appear in the top 100 in the QS World University Rankings.
In addition to well-known institutions in the UK and US, many of the universities are located in Europe and Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
In total, 35 of the universities are located in Europe or the UK, 31 in North America, 26 in Asia, 8 in Oceania and just one in Latin America.
The UK-based QS ranking is one of the most popular university rankings in the world, along with the China-based Academic Ranking of World Universities and the UK-based Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
We put the top 100 universities in a searchable and sortable list, and our story contains links to multiple sources on university rankings.
(Read our story on the Cayman Scholar universities here.)
Lawmakers and government officials converged upon the Cayman Islands Parliament on Friday for the Throne Speech and the unveiling of the proposed budget for 2022 and 2023.
In his speech, Governor Martyn Roper highlighted that Caymanian students will now be eligible for tuition fee loans to attend English universities. “There are currently 300 Caymanian students in the UK. I hope to see many more,” he said.
As it has under this PACT government, education took top billing in Premier Wayne Panton‘s budget address.
Panton referred to plans to design and build new facilities at Theoline McCoy Primary School in Bodden Town, Joanna Clark Primary School in Savannah and Layman Scott High School in Cayman Brac, as well as plans to expand the Lighthouse School.
He also spoke at length about the free school meals programme and discussed factors inside the home that can affect students’ performance at school.
Panton closed his education-related remarks by praising the Boyz 2 Men Programme, which started at John Gray High School.
Editor’s Note: This weekend we have been poring over the budget documents. We will be publishing stories about education spending and priorities this week.
Patrick Brendel of the Cayman Current and April Cummings of Cayman Life TV discussed McAfee’s departure from UCCI, the Cayman Scholar Award and the education budget.
(Watch EdBeat: Episode 24 here.)
More from the Current
- Morrison: Caymanian Teachers as the Marginalized
- Loan Finance Available For Overseas Territories Students Studying in England
- Layman Scott High School Graduates Urged to be Persistent in their Efforts
- UCCI Expands Science Offerings
Around The Web
The Current is a central resource for education journalism by others, including regional and international news relevant to Cayman education. (Find our running collection of links here.)
- Cayman News Service: UCCI begins search for new president
- Jamaica Observer: Teachers not greedy!
- The Guardian (UK): The Guardian University Guide 2022 – the rankings
- The Guardian (UK): Councils in England report 34% rise in elective home education
- The Guardian (UK): ‘I can’t go through it again’: heads quit over ‘brutal’ Ofsted inspections
- Eye Witness News (Bahamas): THE READ: LOSING IN PLAIN SIGHT, TEACHERS CALL FOR PIVOT IN EDUCATION
The Week Ahead
- Education spending in the 2022-2023 budget
- Data monitoring on public school student laptops
- Nonprofit profile: Nova
- EdBeat: Episode 25