Bethune-Cookman University, the historically Black educational institution in Daytona Beach, Florida, has made expanded efforts to recruit students from the island nation of The Bahamas off the East Coast of Florida. A goal of the Bahamas Initiative is the establishment of articulation agreements with schools and other agencies in The Bahamas that will lead to increased enrollments of Bahamian students at Bethune-Cookman, especially in the STEM fields with a research focus.
Recently, a delegation of university officials held a recruitment fair in Nassau. They explored partnerships with governmental agencies and secondary and higher education institutions. During the delegation’s visit, strategic meetings were held with key representatives of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture, and various schools and foundations.
A Prior Learning Assessment Initiative seeks to provide opportunities and offer credit for Bahamian residents who have acquired learning outside the traditional classroom through work/life experience and world skills. The target population for this initiative includes law enforcement personnel, military members and staff, clergy, corporate and industry employees who are interested in receiving credits toward a bachelor’s or a master’s degree.
This is a classic example of misguided decision making of the highest order. Instead of Bethune Cookman University expanding its outreach in the Bahamas it should be redirecting the time, fiscal and material resources to significantly increasing the educational opportunities for Native born Black Floridians and other Black Americans from around the country. I don’t recall any university from the Bahamas actively recruiting Native born Black American students to attend their respective schools. I wonder why. In my view, Bethune Cookman University will lose its Native born Black American identity due to misguided agreement.