USM and UNA collaborate to offer new programme

August 04, 2012 10:17 AM

PHILIPSBURG--University of St. Martin (USM) and University of the Netherlands Antilles (UNA) have teamed up to offer a Bachelor in Business programme to USM students.

An orientation session to introduce the new programme was held at USM on Friday afternoon. UNA's Dean of the Department of Economics and Social Sciences Rudsel Sophia was on hand to provide information to prospective students of the programme which starts in September.
 
Sophia also met with the press to give information about the UNA/USM collaboration as well as to speak about accreditation and other issues.
 
The collaboration between USM and UNA gives St. Maarten students access to NVAO accredited bachelor programmes in Business Administration and Accounting. USM graduates are eligible to enrol in the Bachelor programmes as UNA has agreed to recognise the individual course loads USM's Associate of Arts degrees.
 
USM Dean Annelies van den Assem told reporters that offering the programme here is a result of extensive talks between the two institutions. Only the last two years of the four year programme will be given in St. Maarten.
 
Van den Assem spoke about USM's efforts to have its programmes accredited - a process which she said is very expensive. Sophia also spoke about UNA's experience in getting its programmes accredited, a process which cost the institution NAf. 300,000 to accredit between 20 – 30 programmes. Van den Assem said the university will do all that it can to team up with other universities to make different programmes accessible at USM.
 
The bachelor programmes in Business Administration and Accounting is tailor made for candidates that have completed their Associate's Degree in Accounting at USM and are willing to develop and acquire applied science skills (HBO) relevant to their positions within the business and accounting field.
 
The applied science programme is also for to those who have working experience, have entered middle management, and want to develop their Business Administration knowledge and skills or Accounting skills.
 
With this UNA-USM bachelor in business programme, St. Maarten students are finally able to earn their bachelor's degree in approximately two to maximum three years, including their final thesis. The amount of time to earn a bachelor's degree will of course depend on the area of specialisation chosen and by the background of the candidate.
 
Also at Friday's press conference were USM's Interim Acting Dean Glen Yeung and Head of the Business Division at USM Erwin Wolthuis.