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1.    Introduction

The University was established by an Act of Parliament in April 1963 (University of Guyana Act, Chapter 39:02, Act 6 of 1963, amended by 5 of 1965, O.14/1965, Section 4; 21 of 1977, 19 of 1993 and 14 of 1995). The main campus is situated at Turkeyen, approximately 8km east of the centre of the capital Georgetown. In order to extend services beyond Region #4, the Department of Extra Mural Studies was established in 1976 and upgraded in 1996 to the Institute of Distance & Continuing Education (IDCE). In 2000, a second campus was created at Tain, Berbice (Region #6), to fulfil a similar expansion of access.
Over the years, undergraduate education has grown significantly and postgraduate programmes have been offered both in a sporadic and independent manner by a number of Faculties and The College of Medical Sciences. With the imminent growth in postgraduate education to support national development, and the need for the University to pursue a research agenda in keeping with international trends, the coordination of Graduate Education has become even more relevant, hence this proposal for the establishment of the UGSGSR.
The main functions of the UGSGSR are to plan and develop higher degree studies, and to coordinate and administer graduate and research programmes. Additionally, it will oversee the development, implementation, and assessment of graduate academic programmes and policies.
Graduate Programmes will operate within the framework of fundamental principles such as the development of skills of analytic enquiry and of empirical investigation through appropriate research techniques.
Research projects, as far as possible (without dismissing basic research), will be related to the urgent needs of the society while meeting certain standards of scholarship explicitly defined or tacitly embraced by the University. Accordingly, no Department, irrespective of its initial capacity, should institute graduate programmes without first considering and assessing the demand that such programmes are likely to satisfy.
The UGSGSR will adapt to the current approved Graduate Regulations of Graduate Studies (formulated in 2012, and adapted in 2020) as the basis for management and will follow specific regulations in cases such as that of the PhD/MPhil of Biodiversity (2020).

 

2.    Rationale

The UGSGSR is established to support the post-graduate journey. It will ensure that students’ experiences enable them to develop knowledge, skills and attributes needed to navigate their Master’s and Doctoral programmes. It will also prepare students for future careers, with the capacity to address current and future global challenges in the world.

 

3.    The Vision 

The UGSGSR’s vision is to be a regional leader characterized by excellence in graduate programmes and research. We are committed to producing distinguished professionals who are ‘fit for purpose’ in knowledge, skills, innovation, creativity, and service.

 

4.    The Mission 

The UGSGSR strives to promote graduate education, develop, and implement quality standards in leading the tactical graduate planning activities of the University of Guyana, in addition to offering support and services to students and staff, with a view to creating an academic and professional environment that will guarantee the personal success of our students.



5.   Strategic Goals​​​​​​​

The following are the strategic goals of the UGSGSR:

  • Fostering and pursuing appropriate research to enhance national development.

  • Producing graduates with high technical command of thematic subject matters.

  • Producing graduates with the capacity to effectively manage theoretical and philosophical basis of knowledge, skills for independent study and high creativity, and acceptable levels of research output.

  • Producing graduates with high standards in publishing and disseminating the products of their research.

  • Being a model of excellence in every aspect of graduate education.

  • Positioning UG to maximize opportunities in graduate education.

  • Leveraging technology to accelerate and extend benefits of change in graduate studies.

  • Developing graduates who are fit in every way for the purpose of navigating life, overcoming its challenges, and adding highest value to our nation and people

  • Developing graduates who will be part of the succession plan of the institution to serve as lecturers and researchers.

 

6.    The Values ​​​​​​​

  • Communication and collaboration

  • Creativity and innovation

  • Discipline

  • Ethics

  • Care

  • Excellence

  • Sustainability and environmental protection

  • Cultural respect and diversity

 

7.    Roles and Functions

  • To be responsible for developing, managing, monitoring and ensuring the quality of the Research Postgraduate (RPg) and Doctoral programmes at UG;

  • To work closely with Departments, Faculties, Institutes, Schools, Colleges, and Research Centres in recruiting high quality RPg and doctoral students;  

  • To work closely with Departments, Faculties, Institutes, Schools, Colleges, and Research Centres to develop a conducive research environment for grooming RPg and doctoral students, and monitoring their academic progress;

  • To coordinate with Departments, Faculties, Institutes, Schools, Colleges, and Research Centres in the development, implementation, administration, quality assurance and enhancement (QA&E) of all postgraduate programmes;

  • To provide administrative support to the Board for Graduate Studies (BGS) in all matters of graduate education;

  • To assist the BGS in policy formulation, regular review and update of policies, guidelines and regulations, and QA&E of all higher degree programmes and related matters;

  • To promote synergy and articulation in developing, implementing, marketing and managing the various types of higher degree programmes of the University;

  • To be responsible for monitoring and enhancing the quality of research supervision and to work closely with Departments, Faculties, Institutes, Schools Colleges, and Research Centres in organizing research supervisory training programmes for potential research supervisors as well as appointed supervisors who have no prior research supervisory experience.

  • To support the BGS in coordinating with Faculties on the strategic planning of higher degree programmes (in areas such as programme offering, internationalization, international benchmarking, student support, learning and teaching), and the monitoring of consistency and academic standards across all higher degree programmes.

 

8.    Contribution to National Development

The School of Graduate Studies and Research will play a vital role in fostering national, economic, and social development, through the pursuance of a research agenda that will foster investments in building human capital (knowledge, skills, and attributes) at the graduate level, and innovative and ground-breaking research, as well as publications that together, will provide a scientific basis for sound decision-making. Additionally, the UGSGSR will offer new insights into complex issues of biodiversity, environmental management, society, and sustainability.