The College of the Bahamas Problems

[tux]

The College of the Bahamas, who supposedly wishes to be a University by the year 2007 is doing a poor job in providing services to students. Firstly the whole registration thing which was promised to be online since 2003 is yet to be implemented and we are still subjected to long lines and inefficient service. When I first registered I arrived at 7:00 am thinking I was early, low and behold I was number 280 something and wasn't even served until the afternoon. Not only is registering lousy but also bill paying and transcript pickup are subjected to long lines. And don't listen to the junk about students being late to pay because we who are under scholarships require our transcripts, however transcipts were issued the day before the final day to pay.

Another thing the labs are awful. Yes they bought a dreyload of computers but what sense does that make if there is only one public lab for all students. Yes folks one lab for over 3000 people give or take. Secondly that one lab doesn't even have decent printing. We have to print term papers, essays and proposals on some faded out printer and on top of that each student must pay a 100 dollar tech fee. That is at least $300,000 cant that pay for laser printing?

This is only a tiny example of things that go one at the nations "premier tertiary educational institution" and the future University of the Bahamas.

[BAHMIA]

Man, at 7:00am, anyone could have told you that you were going to meet people there. Tons of people there. But I went through it and sympathize with you. I doubt that they will truly be ready for univeristy status by 2007, but we'll have to wait and see.

[12play]

Man I have to say this again..until we put technical people in charge and get rid of the paper pushers and political cronies things will only get worse at our institutions. Just about every institution the British have left us is falling apart from the civil service to our court system. But incompetence is rewarded in this country and people who try to do their jobs properly are punished. Go figure.

[bsmbahamas]

College of the Bahamas?

lol.

I pray to God I will never be subjected to their standard of customer service for as long as I live.

I dropped out and got a job. And I have never regretted doing so.

They need to burn that place down in my opinion, they suck big time.

During the time that I was there, a whole class failed chemistry - because the teacher kept skipping class and still gave us a final with stuff she never taught. My Botany teacher took 15 for lunch every day before he came to lecture us because he had 4 classes of 30 students per day and no lunch break? I won't even speak on registration and late scholarship payment.

It is amazing anyone graduates from there.

I had a friend that had to wait through 2 semesters to take his final class because they only had one class and one teacher and only offered the class during the fall semester.

He was doing pre-engineering, now he works at Atlantis dealing cards!?!

At least BTVI tries to hook you up with a job for when you graduate.

COB and most of our government run organizations need to be desperately overhauled. COB, BEC, Batelco, Water Works, PMH, Fox Hill Prison - heck the government itself needs to be overhauled - they are a bunch of crooks(and now rapists as well)

lol

Nassau has truly gone funky.

[CG]

The College of the Bahamas, who supposedly wishes to be a University by the year 2007 is doing a poor job in providing services to students. Firstly the whole registration thing which was promised to be online since 2003 is yet to be implemented and we are still subjected to long lines and inefficient service. When I first registered I arrived at 7:00 am thinking I was early, low and behold I was number 280 something and wasn't even served until the afternoon. Not only is registering lousy but also bill paying and transcript pickup are subjected to long lines. And don't listen to the junk about students being late to pay because we who are under scholarships require our transcripts, however transcipts were issued the day before the final day to pay.

Another thing the labs are awful. Yes they bought a dreyload of computers but what sense does that make if there is only one public lab for all students. Yes folks one lab for over 3000 people give or take. Secondly that one lab doesn't even have decent printing. We have to print term papers, essays and proposals on some faded out printer and on top of that each student must pay a 100 dollar tech fee. That is at least $300,000 cant that pay for laser printing?

This is only a tiny example of things that go one at the nations "premier tertiary educational institution" and the future University of the Bahamas.

It pains me to say this but it seems, from what you say that at the College of the Bahamas the "talent is not equal to the task" of running an institute of higher learning. I think it is safe to say that they are fooling with people's futures - not to mention the future of the nation.

It is time we get in help for the outside to get the College up and running. This is to important to fool around with. If the College wants to build an academic reputation it must pull its socks up, fast - or a diploma from there will not be worth the paper it is written on.

[chancellor]

The most pathetic excuse I heard was that they couldn't provide better service because of the hurricanes! Hurricanes that happened 3 months ago! But the Nassau Campus didn't even get touched! Niether should it affect why they cant print a few pices of paper and assign more workers. So thats not even valid. I'll never understand why things never work around here especially when government is involved. Perhaps you should suggest that some of the students volunteer to help out as casheirs and stuff? Might be pathetic but it might probabaly eliminate the backlog.

[Teniel]

Thank God someone posted on this issue. I am a 2001 grad of COB and I can attest to all the foolishness allowed at that instition. My first gripe with COB, was the qualifications of the lecturers. I was in the sciences, and a large majority of them did not have a degree higher than a Bachelors. Many of them were not qualified enough to teach a progressive science syllabus. When more qualified foreign teachers were brought in, some of the lesser qualified Bahamian teachers would rally and eventually force them out. Particulary when these foreign teachers wanted to bring in much needed changes to the syllabus, which would eventually be of benefit to the students. However they were to concerned about the so called 'foreign invasion', or insecurity as I call it, because they knew that their qualifications could not match. I know this for a fact.


I am all for allowing qualified Bahamian teachers to teach at COB, but if you are not qualified then we have to bring in those who are. Go and get your qualifications, dont have the student population at a disadvantage. Has anyone taken Chem 135, a lare majority of students had to take that course an average of 3 times. That is ridiculous, obviously someof the fault lies with the lecturer, how can 90% of the class fail 2-3 times.

Another gripe I had was the amount of computers at COB. There were like 3-4 in the library when I was there, and there were like 2 small computer labs as far as I knew with a total of maybe 30 computers, for a campus of almost 3000. That was ridiculous, and we were still required to pay $5 per hour when I was there to just use the computers, and a seperate fee for printing.
Why could we not just have such a fee added to our student fees.

The science labs were a joke, and hopefully they are a bit more up to date since I was a student, becaue tehy in no way prepare a student for the labs and equipment abroad.

I think COB can be a better institution, but there is too much politics around there, and the students are the ones suffering.

[bsmbahamas]

I was in the sciences, and a large majority of them did not have a degree higher than a Bachelors. Many of them were not qualified enough to teach a progressive science syllabus. When more qualified foreign teachers were brought in, some of the lesser qualified Bahamian teachers would rally and eventually force them out. Particulary when these foreign teachers wanted to bring in much needed changes to the syllabus, which would eventually be of benefit to the students. However they were to concerned about the so called 'foreign invasion', or insecurity as I call it, because they knew that their qualifications could not match. I know this for a fact.

*I was doing bio/chem - avoid COB for science courses!

Has anyone taken Chem 135, a lare majority of students had to take that course an average of 3 times. That is ridiculous, obviously someof the fault lies with the lecturer, how can 90% of the class fail 2-3 times.

*I took it and did pretty well as did everyone else, the problem is the teacher skipped so many classes and still tested us on the stuff she never taught. We were all doing well - but how do you pass an exam containing stuff never covered by your teacher? You would expect to be tested on what was taught. By the way I had to do it twice, others had to do it 3 times! We even got a petition together saying that she was skipping classes and testing us on stuff she didn't cover.

Another gripe I had was the amount of computers at COB. There were like 3-4 in the library when I was there, and there were like 2 small computer labs as far as I knew with a total of maybe 30 computers, for a campus of almost 3000. That was ridiculous, and we were still required to pay $5 per hour when I was there to just use the computers, and a seperate fee for printing.
Why could we not just have such a fee added to our student fees.

The science labs were a joke, and hopefully they are a bit more up to date since I was a student, becaue tehy in no way prepare a student for the labs and equipment abroad.

I think COB can be a better institution, but there is too much politics around there, and the students are the ones suffering.


Ha! What computer labs? You mean the computer lab(singular) that was always booked solid?

Let's talk about the library - we were instructed to write a 3 page report about a green algae called Spirulina by my Botany teacher. We had to purchase an $80.00 Botany book, mind you. Between the COB library and my brand new text book I found a total of 2 paragraphs that mentioned the word Spirulina!

We had tons of plants in our $80.00 book that we could write a report on but he chose something off the wall - he would come to class 15 minutes late after taking his lunch before our Botany class and talk about the Government or the Basketball Game for another 10 minutes. Thento make up he would teach thru the last 10 miutes that we had to move from class to class. To add insult to injury our Botany class was located in the plaza past The Shoal restaurant - and most of us had to walk there and back.

Most of us failed Botany too by the way.

I am glad I had a scholarship that paid for the nonsense they were doing, it doesn't make me that mad as if I had spent my own cash.

I did complete up to 168 Math without any problem though because we had a descent teacher.

[Great Demos]

It pains me to say this but it seems, from what you say that at the College of the Bahamas the "talent is not equal to the task" of running an institute of higher learning. I think it is safe to say that they are fooling with people's futures - not to mention the future of the nation.

It is time we get in help for the outside to get the College up and running. This is to important to fool around with. If the College wants to build an academic reputation it must pull its socks up, fast - or a diploma from there will not be worth the paper it is written on.

Reading these posts make me think of somthinng I have been saying for years, and I thought CG was going to touch on it.

That is the Government running the institution. I don't know why, but there seems to be something about the Bahamas government running things that's just bad for business.

Hope I am wrong, but I believe they could bring in the best administrators/lecturers/professors who can be found, and when they arrive government would have some crazy policies in place that would frustrate them!

It could well be that the local Bahamian lecturers/workers already know how our government goes, so they'd just mark time and get paid. No use hurtin ya head and doin' all kinda good things to enhance the college when ya plans will be shot down by the politicians!

[tux]

I think it all stems from the fact that its a school that is publicly subsidized. You see the same inefficiencies in Road Traffic, and the Passport office and other govt organizations. (ie the size of the room where you pick up your license and the one cashier working.)

The persons running these organizations are too comfortable with the levels at which they are at, and opposed to change. That is why i thought getting a new President with all of this experience in running Universities across the US would have made things better. But no, same long lines, same promises same attitudes.

That is why I am going to make a website dealing with COB's problems and possible solutions and make some shirts to wear around. My sister started a petition and got many signatures concerning the labs. Things need to change if the college wishes to be among the elite in the region and I am tired of hearing people on the news and in the paper make the college seem like some excellent and efficiently ran institution.

I dare someone to do a survey and ask students if they think COB will be university material and I bet less that 20% think that it is.

[Jimmy Geek]

I think it all stems from the fact that its a school that is publicly subsidized. You see the same inefficiencies in Road Traffic, and the Passport office and other govt organizations. (ie the size of the room where you pick up your license and the one cashier working.)

The persons running these organizations are too comfortable with the levels at which they are at, and opposed to change. That is why i thought getting a new President with all of this experience in running Universities across the US would have made things better. But no, same long lines, same promises same attitudes.

That is why I am going to make a website dealing with COB's problems and possible solutions and make some shirts to wear around. My sister started a petition and got many signatures concerning the labs. Things need to change if the college wishes to be among the elite in the region and I am tired of hearing people on the news and in the paper make the college seem like some excellent and efficiently ran institution.

I dare someone to do a survey and ask students if they think COB will be university material and I bet less that 20% think that it is.


Being a graduate of COB and an adjunct lecturer, the school has a lot of work to do to improve its administration and customer service. While there are many things wrong with the institution, stick with it. The education obtained and friendships fostered will go a long way in your growth.

Remember, many of our national leaders are graduates of COB. They went through the same frustrations (in most cases worst), as you are currently experiencing. When I attended COB, we had a saying “If you can survive registration, you can survive COB”. In the good ol' days, registration was a two-day process (two FULL days).

While there are more than enough parties to blame for the pitiful state of COB’s administration policies, some blame can also be attributed to the alumni. The Alumni of COB has not taken an active roll in forcing the school’s administration to improve its practices. Most of us were just happy that we survived. ;-)

Good luck and stick with it. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

By the way, what is your major?

[tux]

BBA CIS. Actually I like the lecturers and the courses its just the services that are very lacking.

[Jimmy Geek]

BBA CIS. Actually I like the lecturers and the courses its just the services that are very lacking.

Good, one of these days you might find yourself in my class. While I have not taught since summer, I should be lecturing again on a more regular basis once I am finished with my MSIA program. While I do not have any thing good to say about the administration, the lecturers (for the most part) are golden. Many will go out of their way to help students. In a college, that is the most import attribute.

[tux]

Well you are right about some of the lecturers at least the ones that my sisters have told me about and the ones that I have come incontact with. However I have a problem with the lateness. Some professors come strolling in 15 minutes after everyone made it an effort to get to class early and then would fuss if a student came late the next class.

Although I have heard some bad stuff about certain ones, atleast they put the initials on the timetable so that we could avoid the ones with bad track records.

[12play]

I went to COB as well and had a difficult time with certain courses that demanded a strong math background. Math they say is the key to the universe. Not enough emphasis was placed on it at primary or high school for what reason I do not know. When we were studying for our 'O' levels a foreign teacher who took over the class about four months before the exam was horrified that we were so weak in geometry and mechanics and had never heard of calculus. Only one person managed to score at least a "B" grade as a result and that was because he had money to hire an outside tutor. The teacher said that if he had taught us the syllabus from day one we would have gotten at least six "A" grades. The problem I think is the Ministry of Education. We want teachers to raise our children and to blame them for society's failings, but we treat them like crap and pay them turds. So, we are stuck with teachers who are inept and unmotivated.The result, we are falling further behind every year in technology. Bahamians will continue to be marginalised in our own country, and because our leaders only care about doing things that will get them re-elected I dunno what our children have to look forward to.