Undergraduate Degrees

B.Sc. in Banking and Finance

Introduction

The B.Sc in Banking and Finance provides exposure to banking and finance concepts, knowledge and skills that allow for practical application in the workplace, in a highly competitive and rapidly changing sector. The programme seeks to develop a formally trained cadre of banking and finance industry Caribbean professionals, specifically targeting persons who desire formal academic qualifications to bolster their work experience and advance their technical competencies.

At a time when the financial services industry is becoming one of the most dynamic in the Caribbean, the programme has been developed to provide regional professionals with a relevant Caribbean-based alternative that is equivalent to those offered by international banking institutes.

Aims and objectives

To develop well-rounded professionals who have a sound and comprehensive knowledge of critical issues important in the banking and financial services sector and the business environment in general.
To expose students to the fundamental components of the banking and financial services sector.
To enable students to develop knowledge and skills in specialist areas related to the banking and financial services sector.
To enhance the technological culture of the financial community in the Caribbean.

Entry Requirements

Successful completion of The Certificate in Basic Financial Services Practice as well as The Diploma in Financial Services Practice OR Be considered a Mature Student

Applicants will be accepted for admission as Mature Students if they fulfill the following criteria:

Have been out of school for at least five (5) years
Are over the age of twenty-one (21)
Have demonstrated academic potential
Have gained academically relevant knowledge and work place experience

All applicants MUST BE standing members of The Eastern Caribbean Institute of Banking and Financial Institutes (ECIB) and/or The Caribbean Association of Banking and Finance Institutes (CABFI)

Programme Requirements

A Username and a Password (supplied by UWIDEC) to log into the blended learning courses
A computer with CD-Rom drive
Access to the Internet, preferably with a connection speed of greater than 56 kbps
A full-featured browser, e.g. Netscape Navigator version 4.5x or higher, or Internet Explorer version 5.0 or higher
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Anti-virus software
An email account

The following three (3) manuals have been included in your course package and were prepared by UWIDEC to assist you in adapting to an online environment as well as functioning effectively as lifelong learners:

Orientation to Online Learning
This manual is intended to prepare you for UWIDEC courses with an online component and help you familiarize yourself with Moodle.
Improving Your Study Skills
This manual is intended to assist you to become aware of your learning styles and to identify and use study strategies appropriate to your style.
Assist you to develop strategies for effective time management
Enhance your capability for interacting meaningfully and productively with reading material
Provide opportunity for you to strengthen your higher order thinking skills
Managing Your Learning Offline And Online (2006-2007)
This guide is intended to assist you in managing key areas of your study, with special emphasis on the tasks that you are required to perform in the study of a typical course. While a lot of it focuses on your study online, it also pays attention to your offline activities, since the two are interdependent.

Whereas it is not compulsory that you read these manuals, we do recommend that you at least get acquainted with the content and that you refer to the relevant sections throughout your course of study.

Most importantly.... What you will need to successfully complete your course of study is:

A commitment to spend at least 8 hours per week on work and related interaction for each course undertaken in the programme

Prerequisites

The English Language Proficiency Test (ELPT)

The ELPT must be taken by all students who do not have the qualifications to allow them to register for English for Academic Purposes (FOUN1001/FD10A). Depending on your campus of registration, the ELPT is used for various purposes. For students seeking admission through the Cave Hill and St. Augustine campuses, the ELPT is a diagnostic test. For candidates seeking entry through the Mona campus, passing the ELPT is an entry requirement for admission into all undergraduate degree programmes.

Persons in the following categories are exempted from the ELPT:
(a) Persons with any one of the following English Language qualifications:

(i) Grade 1 - CXC English ‘A’ examination
(ii) Grade A - Cambridge GCE O’ Level
(iii) Grade A or B - Cambridge GCE ‘A’/O’ Level General Paper examination

(b) Persons who are applying to enter a UWI undergraduate Diploma or Certificate programme.

What if you fail the English Language Proficiency Test?
If you fail the ELPT, you will have to take a course called Language Proficiency for Tertiary Level. Selfinstructional materials are designed for this course and they can be bought from your DE site. Enquire at your site for information on how to obtain these materials. Once you have completed the course, you retake the ELPT. Different campuses offer the test at different times throughout the academic year. Check at your site to find out when and how often the test is administered by the campus at which you are registered.

Remedial Mathematics

For entry into certain B.Sc. programmes, Mathematics is a requirement. You are required to have a minimum of CXC General Proficiency or the equivalent, or else you will be required to pass MATH0900/CE001 Mathematics 1 in the summer prior to admission to the programme of study, or by the end of Semester 1 in the year of entry to your programme of study. You should consult your Head of the University Centre/Site Coordinator for information about how to access MATH0900 through the School of Continuing Studies. You should note that you are required to obtain a grade of at least B+ in this course for equivalency.

Since CXC, O’level Mathematics or MATH0900/CE001 is a prerequisite for ECON1003/EC14C Mathematics for the Social Sciences I; you are required to obtain the requisite pass in one of these Mathematics courses before you are allowed to register for ECON1003/EC14C.
_______________________
1 This is a remedial mathematics course offered through the School of Continuing Studies.

Programme Structure

Below is the list of all courses in the programme. These will be delivered through videoconferencing and other teaching modalities.

Click on links below for course brief and Course outline

LEVEL I

LEVEL II

LEVEL III

FINA 3001 Caribbean Business Environment
MGMT 3031 Business Strategy and Policy
MGMT 3049 Financial Institutions and Markets
MGMT 3048 Financial Management II
FINA 3010 Supervised Research Project
ECON 3011 Economics of Financial
10 Four(4) Approved Electives

Course of Study

As a part-time distance student, you will be allowed to register for a maximum of twenty-one (21) credits or a minimum of twelve (12) credits over a period of two (2) semesters. In your first semester (as a new student), we suggest that you register for two (2) three-credit courses and no more than three (3) courses in any semester.

Currently, distance students are governed by the University’s regulations for part-time students. Accordingly, an average distance student is expected to complete one academic year of full-time study in two academic years.

ECIB and UWIDEC will partner for course delivery. ECIB’s courses will be delivered via videoconferencing (VC - delivery) while UWIDEC’s courses will use the blended learning approach (BL - Bended Learning delivery).

The Videoconferencing delivery mode (VC)

The videoconferencing delivery courses are supervised by UWIDEC and ECIB appointed course coordinators and assisted by ECIB appointed course tutors supervised by UWIDEC staff.

The videoconferencing will take place at ECIBs' appointed Centres throughout the region.

The blended learning approach (BL)

The blended learning approach uses the Learning Management System “Moodle”. The intention is to place greater emphasis on the asynchronous dimensions of delivery and reduce emphasis on the synchronous dimensions. In other words, UWIDEC is focusing more on using technologies that allow students to study anywhere and at any time, and less on those technologies that require students to be present at a particular place at a particular time. The self-study print-based instructional package remains a significant component of this approach.

In this web-based learning environment, students are monitored by e-tutors, and, depending on the course, engage in any of the following activities:

Participate in an online discussion forum
Undertake practice exercises also known as self-assessment exercises (SAE’s)
Do multiple-choice questions (MCQ’s)
Engage in some limited research activity using links to other web sites
Comment on articles or any other material selected by the course coordinator
Engage in other activities that the course coordinator may decide on

Note

For more information visit the ECIB Website.