The accreditation of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College is an important step for education in the Virgin Islands, and kudos are due to everyone who played a part in the success.
The new status, which comes during the college’s 25th year, will assure the outside world that the institution meets internationally recognised standards set by the United States-based Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
Accordingly, it will bring various benefits: facilitating credit transfers to institutions abroad, for example, and thus making it easier for HLSCC to work with foreign schools.
All who played a part in the achievement should be commended, especially college administrators, educators and other staff, as well as the Education and Culture Ministry and Education Department.
Moving forward, we hope the college will use the success as a steppingstone for further growth and improvement.
Most importantly, perhaps, the accreditation should help the school continue to expand on its educational offerings with an eye toward filling local jobs and preparing graduates for further education abroad.
The new status should also bolster HLSCC’s independence, helping to ensure that it is sufficiently separated from politics and other outside pressures to guarantee the full protection of academic freedom.
Other schools and institutions here should take note. As a tiny territory in an increasingly global world, the VI must always remember to measure itself not by local yardsticks but by international benchmarks.
Accordingly, we hope that public primary and secondary schools will soon follow in the college’s footsteps, as they have been working toward a similar accreditation since at least 2008. This goal should be a priority, and leaders should work to make sure it comes as soon as possible.
Private schools, we note, have led the way, with the Cedar International School notably obtaining certification to offer the International Baccalaureate Programme.
The college’s success is certainly reason to celebrate, but the VI shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that much more needs to be done at all levels to improve education in the territory.
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