By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

THE University of The Bahamas (UB) could be recognised as a candidate for membership in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) as early as Christmas, a milestone officials say will bolster the institution’s credibility, expand opportunities for students, and attract new revenue.

UB president Dr Robert Blaine III revealed the development during a recent appearance on On the Record with Jerome Sawyer, where he rejected critics who have dismissed the accreditation push as a “vanity project”.

“This is not vanity,” Dr Blaine said. “This is really about opening doors of opportunity and creating processes that are going to continue to make the university better well into the future.”

Dr Blaine said accreditation provides clear standards for universities to follow and ensures continuous improvement. He added that a peer review visit is expected this fall, with reviewers observing students, faculty, and the wider campus environment before recommending UB for candidacy.

UB, which transitioned from the College of The Bahamas in 2016, has been preparing for both national and international accreditation for years. It has filed applications with The Bahamas’ National Accreditation and Equivalency Council (NAECOB) and SACSCOC.

Board of Trustees vice chair Gadville McDonald underscored the economic benefits, saying accreditation would draw international students whose higher tuition fees could boost UB’s revenue. Chair Allyson Maynard-Gibson added that student housing expansion would be necessary to accommodate growth if international enrolment increases.

Still, the accreditation drive has not been without controversy. Former UB executive vice president Ian Strachan has branded the SACSCOC bid “the most colonial thing” the university could pursue during The Bahamas’ 50th independence anniversary, arguing it reflects longstanding anxieties about foreign leadership at UB.

Faculty concerns have also surfaced. Some have questioned whether lecturers were sidelined or disqualified because of accreditation requirements. Dr Blaine denied this, saying no one has been dismissed.

“The only thing that we have done is to ensure that the qualifications for faculty meet the courses that they’re teaching, and so it’s a matter of matching faculty qualifications with the courses that they’re teaching,” he said, describing it as a technical step in the process.

He added that Bahamians remain central to UB’s progress, noting that new faculty hired during the accreditation preparations have all been Bahamian.

Mrs Maynard-Gibson likewise rejected claims that Bahamians are being sidelined, stressing that the process validates their work. She said UB has partnered closely with stakeholders, faculty, unions, and alumni, and that pursuing international accreditation has always been part of the institution’s long-term vision.

Tensions resurfaced recently over leadership roles at the university. At a faculty seminar earlier this year, retired Justice Ruby Nottage publicly urged organisers to include vice president of academic affairs Dr Maria Woodside-Oriakhi, who had been shortlisted for the presidency. Justice Nottage, citing her decades-long connection to the university, said Bahamian leaders should be treated with “respect, dignity, law and order,” insisting Dr Woodside-Oriakhi belonged on the panel.

Union president Daniel Thompson, who attended, said the seminar was unusually organised by the Office of the President rather than Academic Affairs and that Dr Oriakhi was initially excluded. Justice Nottage’s intervention prompted colleagues to invite Dr Oriakhi, who later joined the discussion in full.