People In 2018/2019 total student enrolment on the Campus was 16,349 – down 2% from the previous year. Meanwhile, on the staff side, the Campus employed 979 full-time and part-time Academic staff – 3% fewer than the previous year and 14% lower than five years ago. The number of full-time staff was, for the first time, higher than part-time staff, as many part-time teaching and administrative positions were cut as the Campus sought to reduce its expenditure. However, this has meant that the remaining staff have had to concentrate on maintaining existing services, a compromise that led to a reduced focus on only those new projects deemed to be the most strategic. Our students are also facing economic stress as many more Trinidad and Tobago students are seeking assistance, citing new financial pressures linked to the new means test for the now tiered government funding system. Infrastructure The maintenance of the Campus’ physical infrastructure remains challenged by the reduction in financial resources. While a number of new buildings were constructed over the last decade, there are still several structures that pre-date the establishment of the Campus 60 years ago. These are becoming increasingly expensive to maintain, and difficulties accessing funds in a timely manner led to delays in the receipt of goods and services, and therefore, the response time of the facilities management team.
Financing – the Current Arrangement Although this is not the first time that this Campus has had to weather an economic downturn, given the changes in the world economy there is a sense that we are facing a new normal that may render the existing financing arrangements unsustainable. Most programmes operate on a model in which economic costs are shared between governments and students, where typically, governments cover 80% of costs while the remaining 20% are covered by tuition fees charged to students. The dollar value that 80% subvention paid to a Campus by any given government is based on the number of its citizens enrolled at the Campus. Approximately 92% of the enrolment at St. Augustine are Trinidad and Tobago citizens. For the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FMS) at St. Augustine, which was originally a full fee-paying Faculty, this cost sharing ratio is actually 50/50 for Trinidad and Tobago citizens, with students from other jurisdictions paying full cost. This special arrangement was entered into to address a shortage of doctors in Trinidad and Tobago many years ago. Germane to this aspect of the discussion is the fact that, in the Trinidad and Tobago context, many are unaware of the fact that even when local students are refused support for GATE approved Campus Grants Committee (CGC) programmes, they still pay only 20% of the actual tuition cost. Furthermore, the cost of tuition at St. Augustine has not been increased for almost two decades.
For the most part, the upgrade and expansion of campus infrastructure has been funded through the Trinidad and Tobago Government Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP). This programme has, not surprisingly, been negatively impacted by the nation’s finances over the past couple of years. Thankfully, after some delays, the PSIP has funded some critical projects such as upgrades to the original electrical distribution system that could put large sections of the Campus at various levels of risk. Entrepreneurship The St. Augustine Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (StACIE) is charged with monetizing the research of the Campus, an activity that most agree is critical to its future. This is discussed further later in this report. The challenge here is how to finance a growth strategy which we expect to be self-sustaining when a critical mass of projects are commercialised. Funding is, however, required at different stages from concept creation to prototype fabrication and then to commercial engagement. To this end, StACIE also manages the new UWISTA Innovation and Technology Transfer Fund (ITTF) , which provides grants to UWI staff and students to accelerate the development of intellectual property (IP) for commercialisation. At present the fund is limited, while the Research and Development Impact (RDI) Fund, originally financed by the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and used to resource early stage projects with strong potential impact, is quickly being depleted and in critical need of replenishment. The low level of funding for the new Innovation and Entrepreneurship initiatives has, not surprisingly, stymied activities to date.
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