The Accreditation Process in St. Kitts and Nevis is guided by two Acts passed in the National Assembly, viz:

1. The Saint Christopher and Nevis Accreditation of Institutions Act, 1999 (No. 21 of 1999)

2. The Saint Christopher and Nevis Accreditation of Institutions (Amendment) Act, 2001 (No.9 of 2001)

Under the above Acts, an Accreditation Board has been established. All tertiary institutions wishing to operate in St. Kitts and Nevis are required by law to apply to the Accreditation Board. Only those institutions that are registered with and accredited by the Accreditation Board can legally claim to be accredited by the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Accredited institutions in St. Kitts and Nevis are required to engage in re-accreditation activities at least once every five years.

For information on the status of any accredited institution in St. Kitts and Nevis, please contact the Accreditation Board at:

Ministry of Education
P.O. Box 333, Lockhart Street
Basseterre, St. Kitts

Telephone: (869)466 8610
Fax: (869)466 3322

email: Board_Acc@hotmail.com

Official list of accredited institutions in St. Kitts and Nevis as at 7 April 2004

Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (the National College)

Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine

Medical University of the Americas (located in Nevis)

International University of Graduate studies (IUGS)

Medical International Learning Institute at St.Kitts (MILIK)

International University of Health Sciences (IUHS)

Windsor University School of Medicine

Berne University International Graduate School

The Accreditation Process is shown in Figure 1.

Institutions that are applying for accreditation for the first time must submit information and documents required under Section A: Basic Information to be Provided; and Section B: Matters to be Considered by the Board to be submitted in triplicate.

Section C: Institutional Self-Study and Section D: Site visit are optional for the first application. However, they will be required for follow-up review exercises.

Fees

1. In view of the international concerns regarding money laundering, all institutions applying for accreditation will be subjected to a due diligence check on its principal officers and/or Board Members. Each institution will be required to pay US$1000.00 to cover the costs of the due diligence check, for U S addresses, and US$1500.00 for addresses outside of the United States.

2. Initial applications for accreditation: US$2000.00 to be submitted along with the application.

3. Review and site visit.

All expenses for the site visit will be met by the institution. An appropriate budget will be prepared by the Board and submitted to the institution.

Cheques should be made payable to: Accountant General for Accreditation Board and sent to the Chairman, Accreditation Board at the address below:

c/o Ministry of Education
Planning Division
Lockhart Street
P O Box 333
BASSETERRE
St Kitts

Table 1 Suggested Chapter Divisions of a Self-evaluation Report.

Review and Site Visit

Adapted from document: “Eastern Caribbean States: Establishment of a National Accreditation Body. Analyses and Recommendations”. Prepared for the CARICOM Secretariat by Marie Levens. December 1999.

Institutions applying for accreditation will be subjected to a site visit by a Review Committee, either as part of the initial application or as part of a follow-up review. The review committee may include at least one (1) person from an external (regional or international) accredited institution.

Prior to a site visit, the institutional self-study should be made available to the Accreditation Board. The review and site visit will seek answers to questions under the following headings:

1. Philosophy of Education and Objectives
2. . The Programme
3. . Final Papers, Final Project, practical training
4. . The student and his/her education
5. . Study load and counseling
6. . Facilities
7. . The Graduates
8. . The Staff
9. . Internal Quality Assurance

The following phases will be evident in the work of the review committee involved in a site visit.

1. Preparation for the meeting to be held before the site visit(s).
(a) Studying the self-evaluation; (b) Evaluating final papers).

2. The meeting of the Review Committee.

3. The visit of the Review Committee (introduction to the board, program of visit - interviews with board, staff, coordinators, student panel, consultations, formulating the oral and written reports).

Note: The programme for the visit is finalized in consultation with the Administration of the Institution.

4. The Review Report

• Departmental Report for the Accreditation Board
• (Optional) A confidential management letter for the board of the institution

Issues relating to the information that should be made public would be addressed.

Extract from The Saint Christopher and Nevis Accreditation of Institutions Act. 1999

Institutions eligible for accreditation

7. (1) Any institution that is capable of offering or intends to offer tertiary education and such institution wishes to be accredited by the Government of Saint Christopher and` Nevis and offer courses on the basis of that accreditation shall apply to the Board in the prescribed form.

(2) Any institution which is accredited by a recognized accreditation body may, at its option, seek local accreditation except that if it does not opt for local accreditation then it shall enter into an agreement with the Government.

(3) Any institution which is not accredited anywhere and does not wish to be accredited by the Government shall operate in accordance with existing laws relating to educational institutions.

(4) Any tertiary institution that entered into an agreement with the Government of Saint Christopher and Nevis on the basis of which such institution was accredited by the Government of Saint Christopher and Nevis to offer certain degrees or courses prior to the coming into force of this Act shall be deemed to have been accredited under the provisions of this Act, except that such institution shall continue to comply with the terms of its agreement, this Act and the regulations made thereunder for the purpose of maintaining the required academic standards.

(5) For the purposes of this section “tertiary education” means education offered by a college or university following secondary education.

8. (1) Any institution which offers degree programmes or courses shall, before submitting its application for accreditation to the Board, take into account the provisions of subsection (2) of this section when describing any programme the institution offers or intends to offer.

(2) The institution shall, in pursuance of the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, when describing any programme or courses give the following information:-

(a) the degree title and areas of study available;

(b) type or level of previous education required for admission to the programme;

(c) Academic Credit policy for prior learning or with experience;

(d) Academic Credit policy regarding standardized achievement tests;

(e) the number of semesters, terms or quarter hours required to receive a degree;

(f) the minimum on-campus time for study in order to complete the programme

(g) type of instructions for off-campus learning;

(h) student support services provided;

(i) information materials such as programme catalogues;

(j) the grading system used to evaluate students’ work while enrolled in the programme;

(k) projected enrolment;

(l) the number of degrees conferred per annum or to be conferred;

(m) commencement of academic programme;

(n) the institution’s policy on admission of local, regional and international students;

(o) proposed mechanisms or available mechanism to enable continued self-improvement at the institution.

9. (1) Any application for accreditation submitted to the Board in accordance with the provisions of this Act shall be considered by the Board in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(2) For the purpose of streamlining the consideration of applications referred to in subsection (1) of this section, the Board shall appoint committees to be known as Review Committees.

(3) A Review Committee appointed under subsection (2) of this section shall be responsible for reviewing any proposal accompanying an application submitted to the Board by any institution.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section, the Medical Board shall be the Review Committee responsible for reviewing any proposal submitted by any institution that intends to offer medical courses in Saint Christopher and Nevis in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(5) The chairman of a Review Committee shall be a member of the Board.

(6) A Review Committee shall, in reviewing any proposal referred to it by the Board, mainly deal with the academic and professional aspects of the proposal.

(7) A Review Committee shall review a proposal within a period specified by the Board and shall upon completion of the review submit a report to the Board.

(8) The Board shall, upon receipt of the report of the Review Committee and when considering the application, take into account the provisions of section 10 of this Act.

10. The Board shall, in considering an application submitted to it under the provisions of section 7 of this Act, take into account the following matters:-

(a) the mission of the institution and any specialised programme the institution intends to offer or offers;

(b) clearly defined and educationally appropriate goals and objectives of the institution or programme;

(c) conditions under which the goals and objectives are to be achieved;

(d) expected standards and how such standards are to be maintained;

(e) list of programmes or courses to be offered and policies regarding course credits;

(f) links with other accredited institutions;

(g) a student registry, and the admissions policy which shall be in conformity with the objectives set out in the paragraphs of this section;

(h) maintenance of student records;

(i) student counselling services and the procedure for monitoring student performance;

(j) in case of recruitment of students into a faculty:

(i) the recruitment procedures,

(ii) curriculum vitae for the staff,

(iii) the general productivity measures relating to staff performance;

(k) examination regulations and procedures with particular emphasis on:

(i) how written exams are set, marked, and how student appeals are dealt with,

(ii) how oral exams such as research proposals are conducted,

(iii) the grading systems as a basis of evaluating students’ performance;

(l) procedure for selecting approved external examiners and how such examiners function;

(m) library and research facilities with particular emphasis on:

(i) the adequacy of such facilities, and

(ii) their linkages with other libraries in Universities and other tertiary institutions in the Caribbean and outside the Caribbean;

(n) The proposed local physical location of the campus with particular emphasis on:

(i) projections regarding student enrolment and staff size,

(ii) provisions for classrooms, laboratories (types, equipment) offices, student residency;

(o) proposals relating to the financing and management of the institution with particular emphasis on:

(i) the charter of the institution,

(ii) the governing body of the institution, and

(iii) costs and efficiency of the institution;

(p) benefits which are to accrue to the local economy.

The Saint Christopher and Nevis Accreditation of Institutions (Amendment)Act, 2001

SAINT CHRISTOPHER AND NEVIS No. 9 of 2001

AN ACT to amend the Saint Christopher and Nevis Accreditation Act No. 21 of 1999.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen’s most Excellency Majesty by an with the advice and consent of the National Assembly of Saint Christopher and Nevis, and by the authority of the same as follows:

1. This Act may be cited as the Saint Christopher and Nevis Accreditation of Institutions (Amendment) Act, 2001.

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, “Act” means the Saint Christopher and Nevis Accreditation of Institutions Act, 1999, herein referred to as the principal Act.

3. The principal Act is amended

(a) In section 6(1) by repealing and substituting for paragraph (a) thereof the following:

“(a) Full accreditation reviewable after every five years”;

(b) In section 7 by repealing and substitution for subsection (3) thereof the following:

“(3) No institution shall operate in Saint Christopher and Nevis unless it is accredited by the Accreditation Board in accordance with the provisions of this Act”;

(c) In section 8 by inserting immediate after paragraph (b) paragraph (c) as follows:

“(c) self-study programme and supporting documentation”; and by renumbering the other subparagraphs accordingly