UB “Steps Up” Using Online Education
Clement Sankat
The University of Belize has made plans for its student body and while its president, Professor Clement Sankat, hopes to complete semester-two of this academic year, those hopes depend entirely on the COVID-19 situation in Belize. Schools remain closed and the nation’s university, which has about five thousand enrolled students countrywide, has decided to cancel the summer semester. According to President Sankat, teaching, learning, and assessments were stepped up using online modalities with the caveat that there is successful completion of particular courses. But where a student cannot access online instruction, or where the course cannot be fully and successfully delivered by this mode, it is recommended that students voluntarily withdraw from these courses.
Clement Sankat, President, University of Belize
“Before this decision was taken just a few days ago we did an online survey and we did a rapid survey of our students and we did this through our faculty on how many would have access to both internet and a device, how many had a device but no internet or how many had internet but no device. It was that information and that data that allowed us to make the decision that we have made to plunge and I use the word deliberately to plunge into the online education because the vast majority and when I saw majority, the vast majority of the respondent who were more than four thousand plus students and I want to comment all of them. They responded in just a few days to out ICT director with the data and that data allowed to go with a great deal of confidence that we can do this and the majority the vast majority of our students would be able to access in some form online education. The opportunity is there for what is called voluntary withdrawal. It means you withdraw without penalty and it means whatever you may have paid for example; where you wish to recommence, whenever it is possible for you to recommence you register in the course without any additional cost.”
