UCCI Brac opens new campus

UCCI Cayman Brac celebrated its new
campus location on Saturday with a rededication ceremony and open house for
potential local students.

The campus has moved from Stake Bay
to the Avistar Building on the West End near the airport and north of the fire
station.

The move went smoothly, and the
staff is ready to start work with students, according to the Brac Campus
director and environmental science teacher, Martin Keeley.

“One of the most important things
is to be able to offer tertiary education on the Brac,” he said.  “The kids graduate so young — at age 16 —
and they’re not ready to go off to Canada, the US and the UK.”

Mr. Keeley said he’s thrilled to be
able to offer a two-year associate’s degree to these young students so that
they have an opportunity to learn practical skills, discipline and study
skills.

“It costs the government a lot of
money to send a student overseas,” he said. 
“It makes more sense to put that money into the local economy to get
that student prepared to go overseas.”

He said students have the necessary
support system here in Cayman, which allows the students to decide if they want
to continue their education beyond their associate’s degree. 

The Brac campus is also geared
toward adults returning to their education.

“Older people from Cayman may have
never had the opportunity to go to college,” he said, adding that those who
didn’t originally attend college might not be able to leave the Brac.  They could go online for courses, but that
won’t provide the interaction with students and teachers.

Mr. Keeley says that the Brac
campus will raise educational standards in the community, offering civil
servant programmes and continuing education programmes.

“What we’re hoping to do in the
future is develop a series of new courses,” he said.  “These courses would entice people from Grand
Cayman to study here at the Brac.”

The rededication event started with
introductions by the master of ceremonies, UCCI dean Brian Chapell, and an address
from UCCI president Roy Bodden, followed by a tree planting ceremony.