Scores of local professionals and students planning to study for a law or business degree attended a presentation by a London-based college Wednesday evening at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel.
Holborn Colleges’ chief executive officer, Cedric Bell, gave a presentation on the advantages of studying for an LLB or business degree through a flexible schedule.
Seeking to recruit students to the programme, which is facilitated locally though Success Training College, Mr Bell told the Nassau Guardian after his presentation that the 70-plus persons “exceeded expectations.”
“Holborn College is one of the UK’s (United Kingdom) leading independent colleges of higher education,” he advised, noting that the specialist law and business college has been in existence since 1969.
The visit to The Bahamas is part of a tour of the Caribbean where he is seeking to garner greater interest in law studies, he said.
Professor Bell was also scheduled to give a lecture at Success’s campus in Grand Bahama, and meet with the Minister of Education, Alfred Sears before his departure on Friday.
Arriving in the country on Wednesday from Jamaica, Mr Bell said so far the response to the programme has been very promising. He recruits primarily for the flexible learning courses.
“Tonight we have close to 70 students and I think that says a lot for the appeal of the courses we are seeking to promote in The Bahamas,” he stated.
As regards prospective students who may not know what to expect with the course, Mr Bell said, “You need to be very dedicated because flexible learning is working substantially on your own, albeit with a lot of guidance from the college in terms of the staff and the material we prepare. But perseverance is important.
“In addition to perseverance, it’s critical that students studying with flexible learning have good time management skills, because invariably they all lead busy lives – they will either have work commitments or significant domestic responsibilities,” he said.
Stressing that time should be made for studies, Professor Bell continued, “What we’ve found as the key to that, is the persons who’s got the determination and the courage to order their lives in such a way that they make room for the demands of the course.”
During the presentation, Mr Bell explained that the course was the same, if undertaken through full time study “and therefore they (students) have to rise to that challenge.”
“Law has an impact because law provides a framework in which civilized communities operate. It does not follow that if you do a law degree the only thing that you can do is practice law as a solicitor or barrister.”
Government, politics or business were areas listed by Professor Bell as options for those interested in obtaining a law degree. “The training that you get doing an LLB provides a range of skills which many careers will want to harness. Skills like organisation, communication, analytical skills, these are all things that a good law degree should teach a law student,” the professor went on..
The careful and structured approach of the course materials, he said, would assist students in successfully completing any course they committed to.
By: JIMENITA SWAIN, The Nassau Guardian
