Scholarships

providing instruction > A statement confirming the child will be meeting compulsory educational requirements of the Education Act 2016 (Regulations) The above must be submitted along with a cover letter explaining the reasons for the home schooling request to the Director of the Department of Education Services at 130 Thomas Russell Avenue, PO Box 910, Grand Cayman KY1-1103. The application period normally ends between June–August, depending on the circumstances that academic year. Be sure to check with the DES when the deadline is to make sure your application is received on time. For parents wishing to apply after the start of the school year (end of August), written notice must be provided within 14 days of arrival to the Island. Once a family or child is a resident, the child must be registered with a school.

The Director of the Department of Education Services will inform parents if their application has been approved within 10 days of receipt. If approved, a home schooling certificate is issued, valid until the end of the school year (30th June). This must be renewed prior to expiration each year if the parent wishes to continue home schooling. A home school cannot serve more than five students. There is now a very useful website for the Cayman Homeschoolers Group where you can find additional information and organise meetups with other home schooled students. See https://homeschoolcayman.ky.

Qualifications for Home Schoolers Depending on the age of the child, the parent or tutor providing instruction must hold the following qualifications:

> Primary – the parent(s)/tutor must have at least a high school diploma. > Secondary – the parent/tutor should have a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. This is a recommendation and is not mandated. The Department of Education strongly recommends that an accredited programme for home schooling be used. If you go to the www.homeschool.com website, you will find lots of suggestions. Alternatively, look into the UK-based home schooling group Wolsey Hall, Oxford, or you could try K12 or Abeka. Accredited programmes such as K12 have online teachers who can help.

Teaching Requirements The DES requires that the school day be at least five hours long, excluding recess and lunch, and that there be at least 185 days of instruction in the school year.

The curriculum must include the areas of reading, writing, mathematics, sciences and social studies, and must be an accredited programme. Parents/tutors must maintain a record of attendance and submit semiannual reports on the students’ progress to the Department of Education. If there are any changes to the programme, the DES must be advised in writing.

The DES will conduct at least two site visits, one scheduled and one impromptu each year, and where necessary will liaise with the Education Quality Assessment Unit (EQAU) for assessment and reporting. More information on home schooling in Cayman and other useful resources for home schoolers and their parents can be found in our sister publication, the Cayman Parent magazine.

COLLEGES & TERTIARY EDUCATION

Tertiary education in Cayman began with the establishment of the International College of the Cayman Islands in 1970 (ICCI), followed by the Community College in 1976, and the Truman Bodden Law School in 1982. In 2004, the Community College’s status changed to that of a University College (now called UCCI).

UCCI offers international accreditation for a variety of different courses, ranging from hospitality studies to technological and computer training. They also have international partnerships with other universities, so students can enjoy various options to study abroad and locals can select internship opportunities. Nonetheless, the educational programmes now on offer have opened up opportunities in a wide variety of industries including finance, tourism, education, nursing, medical, veterinary, legal services, engineering and computer sciences. Many institutions such as those previously mentioned, as well as St. Matthews School of Medicine, the School of Veterinary Medicine and Innovative Management and Professional Training (IMPT), now run internationally accredited courses or degrees that are not only training our local population, but also those from the entire Caribbean region. Most of them offer courses that are far more affordable than going overseas to study, and scholarships are available through the Government and private companies who both help qualifying Caymanian students who need assistance with fees.

Scholarships for Tertiary Education The Cayman Islands Government offer scholarships to all Caymanian students who qualify to pursue either a local or an overseas tertiary education course. Students can apply to the Scholarship Secretariat for an overseas scholarship between 15th November and 31st January annually, and a local scholarship between 1st March and 30th April. No late applications are accepted. Students need to apply to a university prior to their scholarship application. The qualifying criteria for a scholarship varies depending on whether you are aiming to take a Technical and Vocational course (TVET), a Bachelor’s degree, a Master’s or a PhD. Incidentally, you must be 18 within the first academic year of study, but there is no upper age limit on applying for a scholarship.

The Education Council introduced means testing in September 2018 as a way of prioritising students whose parents or legal guardians have a combined income of less than CI$400,000 per year. However, if the student is above the threshold but there are "special" circumstances then they may ask the Education Council to consider their application.

The qualifying criteria for a local or overseas scholarship can be quite complicated and vary according to which type of degree or course you choose to take. One important thing to consider is that a student who is awarded a scholarship must sign a legal document committing them to a) successfully completing their proposed studies and b) then working in the Cayman Islands for a specific period of time after their studies finish. If the student fails to meet either of these two requirements they will have to repay all the scholarship funds that they have received.

Local overseas undergraduate scholarships used to provide up to CI$20,000 per annum for students, with intent of covering costs of tuition, plane tickets, food, stationery, accommodation and other necessities. Now, as of Fall 2021/22, current and new undergraduate students can expect an increase in their funding of up to CI$30,000 per annum. Students pursuing a degree in education or classroom teaching are also eligible for the

Education Teaching Scholarship, where they can receive up to CI$35,000 in annual funds.

Cayman Scholar Award: Taking effect in the Fall 2021/22 academic year, The Cayman Islands Ministry of Education (MoE) will provide full tuition to the most outstanding male and female Caymanian students. Two individuals will be eligible to receive a scholarship of up to CI$100,000 per annum. Such funds were increased to cover larger costs of students attending more elite or Ivy League universities.

The Community Engagement Programme (CEP): As of June 2021, UCCI now offers their Community Engagement Programme where students can receive up to CI$2,500 per year in financial aid to support tuition, books, fees and other needs. To be eligible for the scholarship, you must: demonstrate potential for civic service leadership in the Cayman Islands, be a first-generation college student, be a Cayman resident for at least one year, and be a new student in your first year of study at UCCI. To learn more about how to apply and eligible Associate and Bachelor programmes, visit www.ucci.edu.ky/cep.

Undergraduate Degree Scholarships: To be considered for an overseas scholarship to study a Bachelor’s degree programme you must have passed your AP, IB, A Levels, BTEC, SATs or Associate’s Degree to a certain criteria set out in the Scholarship Secretariat’s application form. For example, if you took the IB you will have to have taken and passed the full IB diploma and achieved a high school GPA of 3.25. A Level and CAPE students need to have passed three A Levels each with a minimum grade of C, or CAPE Unit 2. If you took an Associate’s Degree or Associate level studies then you must have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher. BTEC Level 3 students must have an Extended Diploma with a minimum MMM grade average. If you took APs, please refer to the scholarship section of the Ministry of Education website as the point system and requirements have recently changed. Finally, the Education Council may award an overseas scholarship to students who do not have advanced standing (IB, A Levels, CAPE, AP) if they meet one of the following two criteria: 1) Seven GCSE/CXC passes at A or B grade, including Mathematics and English, or 2) a combined cumulative High School GPA of 3.25 or higher or an SAT score of 1500 on the old SAT, 1100 on the new SAT or an ACT score of 22.

Undergraduate Funding & Subsequent Years: To maintain their scholarship, students must achieve a 2.75 GPA or a 2:2 in the first year of study, and a 3.00 GPA or a 2:1 in your subsequent years. The Secretariat requires you to do at least 12 credits per term/semester in your first year and then 15 credits per term in the subsequent years. Overall, a Bachelor’s degree should take 120 credits to complete. Each year you should be doing a minimum of 30 credits for a four year course, and 40 credits for a three year course. The Secretariat’s annual audit of your scholarship will measure this, and your funding will stop if you are taking less than the credit requirements. Funding comes in twice a year and is based on your declared expenses. Qualifying students can get funding of up to CI$20,000 per year for a maximum of four years, unless they are reading Medicine and then that can be extended to six years and beyond if the student is specialising in a chosen field and needs to take internships. Once per degree, and based on budgetary considerations, students can apply for mandatory summer funding; this is capped at CI$4,000 and is dependent on specific guidelines having been met.

Tracking Undergraduate Scholarship Expenses: Each semester students must go through a detailed submission process for their scholarship funds to be continued, and in the process they must submit a detailed grade and transcript record, along with receipts of how the money they received was spent. All the paperwork will then be reviewed in great detail and the Scholarship Secretariat, who are more like forensic financial accountants, will study how you have spent the money they gave you and whether you qualify to receive any money for the next semester. In addition to the Ministry of Education’s scholarships, students can also apply for a private sector scholarship as long as both scholarships do not exceed the students total costs.

Although the process of getting a scholarship may seem overwhelming, the Secretariat must have a way of measuring student’s performance. They also require the students to go through a costing procedure. Each student must fill in a spreadsheet which automatically tables their expenses and identifies the different costs which they should be thinking about (tuition, room and board, food, dorm supplies, school supplies, books, utilities, transportation at university, flights home, etc.).

For more information on the application process see www.education.gov.ky or pick up a copy of our sister publication: Cayman