If you didn’t know, you might mistake it for a resort complex.
The pink-roofed buildings are clustered on headland which juts into the balmy, blue Caribbean sea. The drops are mostly steep and rugged. But there are sandy coves with gleaming, white sand beaches.
This can’t be a bad environment for living and learning. And it isn’t, for it is the one enjoyed by students and faculty of St George’s University (SGU) in Grenada, which, 25 years later, is no longer one of those off-shore medical schools which people used to contemplate with more than a little bit of scepticism and plenty of suspicion. Word is out that this off-shore medical school has come on-shore.
St George’s is a serious school. This was always known by its founders, faculty and students, thousands of whom have graduated and now hold respected positions in America, the Caribbean and the world. Now, people in the Caribbean, and elsewhere, are increasingly recognising it as such. In fact figures for 2005 show that 17% of the student body is made up of non-United States nationals with Great Britain, Nigeria, India and Canada amongst others helping to swell the numbers.
The university now has four schools. In addition to medicine there are the schools of veterinary medicine, arts and sciences and graduate studies. Academic partnerships with many other institutions also allow for expanded entry routes into the university.
One of particular interest to the local Grenadian population exists with the T.A.Marryshow Community College with some of SGU’s 1st and 2nd year programmes in business, life sciences, pre-med and pre-vet med being taught at the college, some by SGU professors, in order for students to fulfill some of the programme requirements.
Of course, St George’s does remain a school with a bias towards medicine, with this faculty accounting for a large percentage of the university’s total student body. And North Americans, mostly students from the United States, represent over 80 per cent of the enrollment.
These days though, in a stroll of the campus, with its manicured lawns and high-tech facilities, it is not unusual to bump into students from several Caribbean countries, as well as from other regions of the world. In fact, in the fall of 2005 there were 150 students - or six per cent of the 2,485 students enrolled in the faculty - from Central America and the Caribbean amongst St George’s medical students. The largest group (45) were from Trinidad and Tobago, followed by 36 from the host country, Grenada, 24 from St Vincent and the Grenadines (where SGU students do their 5th and 6th terms of the basic science programme at the Kingstown Medical College) and 13 from the Bahamas. Another, three each per cent of the faculty’s enrollment are from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
According to one student, he finds it like a patchwork quilt which has opened up his mind to many different perspectives. He says, “It’s an absolutely incredible experience here. If you pick a handful of 10 people, you’d just be amazed at what you get.”
Indeed, it was the possibility of this cosmopolitan experience right here in the Caribbean which was one of the drawing cards for Eden-Ann Weston, a 23-year-old Antiguan, who chose SGU for her medical studies.
This former Antigua Girls’ High School Student was watching cricket on TV one-day when an SGU advert came up, offering the region’s young people the opportunity of studying in its idyllic environment and telling about the university and its offerings – just at the time when she was beginning to think about going to university. She saw the ad and was hooked. It helped that a friend of hers was already enrolled at St George’s and could add first-hand information.
The young Antiguan has been at the university for three years and has another four to go before graduating as a doctor. For her, St George’s has been a revelation.
“It’s great to be close to home and also in a familiar type of environment”. For her this has meant less adjustment and it has also costs her less for this off-shore university. Add this to a needs-based scholarship which she applied for and got from the university and these are all very positive reasons for choosing SGU. She also receives a grant from her home government which is available to all medical students who make a commitment to an area of specialization and she has chosen gynaecology.
As a member of several extra-curricular groups at SGU including the Caribbean Students Association, the Pre-Med Club and the SGU Chorale, Eden has made herself comfortable and of course is able to go home regularly.
The learning experience at SGU affords students like Eden much of the same advanced technology and facilities expected by students on any major campus on the US mainland. The library, housing, lecture theatres, lab facilities are all first class. Library facilities are open to students 24 hours per day every day with private study rooms and small group facilities being available.
In lecture theatres individual, padded seats are each equipped with internet access. There are 20 student buses which ply four routes leaving the campus every 15 minutes and a courtesy bus which drops students to their door after dark.
Students living on campus, and this a requirement for all entering medical, veterinary and graduate students, live in residence halls and with some being configured as suites. Some are the traditional hallway with double rooms sharing common bathroom and living area but all have cooking facilities and fridge even though there are restaurants on the campus. Accommodation is air-conditioned and furnished.
One of the outstanding features of the SGU experience is the level and quality of support offered to students. A dean of students works closely with the Department of Educational Services. Every student is assigned an faculty advisor who takes an interest in the progress and success of their students
Clearly the SGU philosophy is about molding each individual student and not merely about the academic course of study. |
