Education minister takes peak at private college

(CNS):  Although the International College of the Cayman Islands (ICCI) is a non-profit private educational institution, the new education minister Rolston Anglin visited the campus recently to see where the college may fit with Cayman’s overall tertiary education programme. Cayman’s oldest institution of tertiary learning, ICCI is accredited as a senior college by ACICS, the Accrediting Council for Independent College and schools and Washington, D.C.  and offers students associate, bachelor and master’s degrees.  

The visit which took place in the evening when most of the college students are in class saw the minister meet with students and staff and learn about the work of the college Dean Scott Cummings said ICCI was very pleased to welcome the Minister for a tour of the campus. “We had an opportunity to show him our facilities, introduce him to many of our students and also had a very positive discussion about the role ICCI can play in the Cayman Islands Tertiary Education system," Cummings said.

Anglin said he was interested in developing relationships with all educational institutions on the isands, whether they are government owned or in the private sector.  "The bottom line is understanding where ICCI is, if I don’t understand where ICCI is, I can’t see where it fits in and know how best to move forward and how it should best fit into the education platform in Cayman and how we can best assist as Government," Anglin stated. He said that he looked forward to a further formal meeting with ICCCI officials and Chief Education Officer, Mary Rodriguez. 

Cummings said that the college forward to a productive and mutually beneficial relationship with the Ministry that would benefit Caymanians seeking higher education."
The dean added that the focus of the institution is on providing students with a means of pursuing an education while employed and contributing to the Cayman Islands economy and it is in the early stages of a campaign to add a third building to the campus in order to meet the needs of the growing student body.

ICCI was founded in 1972 by the late Dr. John Hugh Cummings.  The land for the college was donated by Cayman’s first National Hero, James M. Bodden.  More than 1,000 students have graduated with associate, bachelor and master’s degrees in business and related areas.