Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister, has challenged the governing council and management of the Evangelical Presbyterian University (EPUC) to establish a school of graduate studies to offer opportunity to people who wanted to pursue higher degrees.
He said the College had chalked many successes in the past 10 years and should consider offering opportunities to post graduate students.
The Regional Minister said this at the 10th anniversary of the College and stated the readiness of the Regional Coordinating Council to support the College’s goal as an institution of higher learning and research.
The anniversary coincided with the College’s 12th matriculation and 10th congregation.
Professor John Gatsi, Head of Finance Department of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), said the University would continue to support EPUC until the College was fully established.
“The University of Cape Coast will continue to support the EPUC to the best of her ability until the University College is fully chartered,” he stated.
Professor Gatsi said UCC was proud in accepting the challenge to mentor and be “higher institutional building effort of the EPUC,” and that the successes chalked by the College was as a result of the effective collaboration between the two institutions.
He commended the governing council of the College, management, the staff and the E.P Church for efforts at developing the College in the past 10 years.
“Investment in private tertiary education should be seen as continuous investment and the church must not stop on the way,” he added.
The Acting President of the College, Dr Kenneth Nyalemegbe, said the College was committed to teaching, research and community service for the good of society.
Dr Nyalemegbe said in the quest to make the College visible, the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences organised outreach programmes to sensitise communities on the strategies and importance of maintaining healthy environment.
He said the students from the Governance Studies Department in collaboration with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) also held a mock parliamentary session to build the capacity of students and produce significant repository of information for young aspiring parliamentarians.
Mr Lawrence Kwarteng Ashia, Head of Public Relations at the National Accreditation Board (NAB), said the Board had acknowledged the financial challenges faced by private tertiary institutions, hence instituted a “policy on provision of financial guarantee where private institutions are expected to sign up with a financial or insurance company to serve as a buffer to fall on to enable students complete their programmes, in case an institution is in financial distress and wish to close”.
He said regulation and quality assurance was imperative to maintain standards, inform and protect the investment of the public thus tertiary education should not be “left to the control of market forces because markets are probably more reliable in ensuring effectiveness and efficiency than quality and equity”.
Mr Ashia added that institution’s quality endeavours should not only focused on examination but the entire academic and co-academic processes ranging from admissions, orientation of new students and staff, matriculation, teaching and learning, including course design and assessment, to proper maintenance of students and staff records, improved students – staff public relationships and student-centred policies.
He said currently, private tertiary education institutions admitted 14 per cent of all students enrolled in tertiary education and therefore urged the private institutions to work hard to put systems in place that would create, maintain, improve and sustain quality in all levels and all sectors of their academic delivery.
The College, which started operating in February 2008, with student population of 54 after it was granted accreditation by the National Accreditation Board (NAB) on September 1, 2007, now has a student population of 1,008.
The College is affiliated to the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and offers 14 degree programmes in five schools, which includes; School of Business, School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, School of Social Sciences, School of Modern Languages and School of Education.
The College also has an approval from the Institute of Commercial Management (ICM) in the United Kingdom (UK) to run diploma programmes in Accounting and Finance, Marketing, Human Resource Development, Journalism and Media Studies, Purchasing and Supply and Public Relations and Advertising.
In all, 234 students matriculated and 257 graduated with Magdalene Etornam Afianu emerging the best female student and Loverage Kofi Amenu, best male student and overall best student.
GNA
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