Online-supported tourism degrees for the Eastern Caribbean

Curriculum specification for the Eastern Caribbean Institute of Tourism (OECS, 10th EDF), 2018

The challenge

Nine small island partner colleges wanted to offer tourism bachelor degrees without duplicating costly faculty and course development at each site.

What I did

• Specified eight Bachelor degrees on a 2+2 model with PLAR credit for experienced professionals.
• Reviewed 19 online courseware providers and recommended courses from 12; identified further free courses from Lobster International.
• Ran a two-day capacity workshop in Grenada, March 2018.
• Built on earlier NETHTE field work (2014–15) with stakeholder consultations, TNA and ICT surveys.

Outcome

• 47 of 54 professional courses covered by recommended providers, plus 9 free courses (56 in total).
• Year 3–4 management courses based on open courseware.
• Nine specialisations across nine colleges: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, BVI, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent.

Lessons

• Reusing existing courseware reduces cost for small institutions.
• Platform choices change; the Moodle recommendation was superseded by the LMS OECS sourced.