By Cleveland Sam
Assistant Registrar
Caribbean Examinations Council
Understanding
credentials and
articulation
agreement:
Tools for
marketing higher
education in the
Caribbean.
Introduction
• Caribbean Examinations
Council (CXC established
by governmental
agreement in 1972
• Offered first exams in
1979 for the Caribbean
Secondary Education
Certificate (CSEC)
• Currently services the
English-speaking
Caribbean
Participating Countries
Trinidad &
Tobago
Antigua &
Barbuda
Cayma
n
Islands
Anguilla
Dominica
Barbados
Grenad
a
Belize
British Virgin Islands
Guyana
Jamaica
Montserrat
St. Kitts &
Nevis
St. Lucia
Turks and Caicos Islands
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
External Territories
Saba
St Maarten
Suriname
CXC’s Mandate
Conduct
examination
s and award
certificates
and
diplomas as
a result of
those
examination
System of Examinations
• Criterion-referenced examinations
• Performance is measured against specific objectives,
set criteria or standards
•Focus on interpreting the candidate’s exam
performance in terms of how much of the targeted
learning outcomes the candidate achieved
How CXC assesses
APPLIED KNOWLEDGE
EXTERNAL EXAM
Internal
Assessment
School-based assessment
Teachers Assessment
TEACHER PREDICTION
Multiple choice component
Order of Merit List
Written papers
CXC Qualifications
• CAPE – Caribbean Advanced Proficiency
Examination
• CSEC – Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate
• CVQ – Caribbean Vocational Qualification
• CCSLC – Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level
Competence
• CPEA – Caribbean Primary Exit
CSEC
• First qualification offered by CXC in
1979
• Flag-ship examination for Caribbean
students
• Taken by students exiting high
school/private candidates
• Offered in 34 subjects
• 153, 120 candidates took CSEC in
May/June 2011
• 610,000 subject entries in May/June
2011
CSEC – Proficiencies
• General Proficiency
•
The General Proficiency offers learners a deeper understanding of the topics covered
in the subject and is designed for learners who are likely to pursue studies in the
subject beyond the secondary level.
• Technical Proficiency
•
•
The major difference between the Technical and General Proficiencies one of orientation. The
General provides for a general education while the Technical is focused on the acquisition of the
knowledge and skills for technical competence in a subject area.
Candidates with Technical Proficiency will accordingly have the skills and knowledge to pursue
tertiary education or to be employed at the pre-technician level.
• Basic Proficiency (Discontinued in 2009)
•
The Basic Proficiency is designed for persons who are likely to enter first level occupation. It
allows coverage of the fundamental concepts and principles of a subject matter which are
applicable to everyday life. The Basic Proficiency should also form the basis for further
education.
CSEC Grading Scheme
• 6-point scale
• Grades I to VI (Overall)
• Grades A to F(Profile)
•
– Profile grades give additional information about candidates’
performance on specific content or skills
E.g.: Mathematics - Computation, Comprehension and Reasoning
Spanish – Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing
CAPE
• Introduced in 1998
• Replaced British A’ Levels in
Caribbean (most)
• 46 Units in 24 subjects
• Taken by students in 6th form schools,
community colleges and private
institutions
• 27, 595 candidates in 2011
• 108, 380 Unit entries
Structure of CAPE
1-Unit and 2-Unit courses
Each Unit has 3 Modules
Each Module has several topics
e.g.: Physics Unit 1 – Mechanics|Oscillation and
waves| Thermal and Mechanical Properties of
Matter
Mechanics (Topics)
•
•
•
•
SI Units
Motion
Effects of Forces
Conservation of Energy
Grading system
• Overall Unit Grade
– Grades I – VI
• Module Grade
– Grade A to F
Assessment
• Each Unit requires
approximately 150 hours
• Each Unit is assessed by
an external examination
and an school base
assessment
– SBA accounts for
percentage of overall
marks
• Projects
• Research papers
• Portfolio
• UK NARIC
• AIU
Articulation Agreements
An articulation
agreement is one
that permits credits
that are earned
from one
educational
institution’s
programmes to be
transferred to a
higher level
institution.
Articulation Agreements
• Based on the CAPE Units
• CXC Associate Degrees (based on CAPE)
• Transfer Units in the area of their
bachelors
• Exemptions from first year courses in
there area of study
Advantages of articulation agreements
• Marketing tool for the university
• Students and parents know what
to expect in terms of credits and
exemptions =$$$$$$$$$
• CXC promotes the partner
universities at
events/website/magazine/presenta
tions
• Joint presentations when in the
Caribbean
JWU
USF
How it works
• CXC gives the school copies of all CAPE
syllabuses and past exams papers(if
requested)
• The school’s faculty evaluates the Units
and determines credits/exemptions
• An equivalency chart is prepared by the
school
• CXC reviews the chart and sends
comments
• The agreement is based on the
UK NARIC
•
•
“We will be pleased to commend
CAPE as a higher education entry
qualification
to
UK
higher
education institutions and to
present its full flexibility. Our
objective would be to ensure that
CAPE is well understood by the full
range of admissions tutors so that
students with CAPE qualifications
will maximize their personal
benefits
from
UK
higher
education.”
UK
National
Academic
Recognition Information Centre
(NARIC) July 1999
“Acceptab
UK NARIC, the body
that twoat the
advises UK universities on
Unit level i
international qualifications,
of GC
has evaluated thelieu
CAPE
syllabuses. NARIC
has
Levels
on
advised universities that six
subject
Units will be acceptable
for for
subject
matriculation.
basis.”
UCAS-International Qualific
booklet 2006
India (AIU)
“AIU has granted
equivalence to
Caribbean
Secondary
Education Certificate
(CSEC) conducted
by Caribbean
Examination Council
with minimum of 5
subjects in Grades 1
& 2 with Grade 10
Examination of an
Indian Board…”
•Association of Indian
Universities (AIU) has granted
equivalence to CAPE with a
minimum of 5 subjects with +2
stage qualification of an Indian
board
•Candidate having passed
CAPE are eligible to join
conventional degree
programmes at Indian
universities.
Canada
“We feel that students
who have achieved
strong results in their
CAPE Units 1 and 2
examinations are well
prepared for entry to
McGill University, for
advanced standing
credits and exemptions
towards our degree
programmes and for
successful studies with
us.”
Katherine Mayhew, Senior Admissions Officer,
McGill University
“For each
CAPE course,
the equivalent
of six credit
hours at Saint
Mary’s
University is
granted”.
Dr Paul Dixon, St Mary’s
University
US
•
CSEC - We have found that these results
accurately reflect students’ academic
abilities and preparation for post-secondary
study.
• SUNY Plattsburgh has been awarding
transfer credit for successful completion
of CAPE for several years. Students with
satisfactory CAPE results enter with
advanced standing which enables them to
complete their bachelor’s degrees in three
(3) years. The content of the CAPEs
appears to be comparable in content and
intensity to introductory-level courses in
various disciplines within our course
offerings.
Mrs. Jacqueline "Jackie" Girard Vogl
Assistant Vice President
International Enrollment Management
“If you are taking CAPE
Unit 2 level exams and
score Grades I and II on
any of the following
subjects, and you are
admitted to AU and join our
global community, you will
receive advanced standing
AND credits for UA level
classes....We at AU value
CAPE and the education
that you have received at
home...”Evelyn Levinson,
Director of International
Admissions at American
University
Current Agreements
•
•
•
•
•
•
Berkeley College
University of South Florida
Monroe College
SUNY-Plattsburgh
Oglethorpe University
Johnson and Wales
Why recruit in the Caribbean?
It is the
best
bang for
your
buck!!
Ratio of students in the US per 10,000 of tertiary aged population
Caribbean
Sout h & Cent ral Asia
Oceania
East Asia
Cent ral America & Mexico
Europe
Middle East
Sout heast Asia
Sout h America
Cent ral Africa
West Africa
East Africa
Sout hern Africa
Nort h Africa
39
24
20
18
15
14
11
9
9
6
5
4
4
2
Where Caribbean students go?
State
Florida
New York
Texas
Massachusetts
DC
% of TOTAL
23%
15%
5%
4%
4%
Thank You
Q&A
www.cxc.org