On Friday (6) University College of the Cayman Islands signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx).

The MOU provides for the accreditation of the recently introduced two-year associate degree in legal studies.

In accrediting and validating the associate degree programme, CILEx will award credentials jointly with UCCI. This collaboration, in addition to equipping graduates to secure jobs in the legal sector, enables these graduates to further their professional development by transferring credits to CILEx’s Professional Programme offered elsewhere.

Further, the new internationally recognised and accredited UCCI associate degree programme provides another option for students wishing to enrol at UCCI directly out of high school.

Meanwhile, UCCI already offers two legal qualifications, also accredited by CILEx – certification in paralegal and legal secretarial studies, respectively, each on completion of one-year, part-time programmes. Graduates from these two existing programmes are now eligible to continue their legal training in the new associate degree programme.

At the recent signing, John Westwood, director of CILEx’s international programmes, said that the organisation was pleased to endorse the new associate degree in legal studies. “This new offering will enhance opportunities for Caymanians to progress within the Islands’ legal environment.”

For his part, President Roy Bodden, who signed on behalf of the university, said that this new offering signalled the “University College’s continuing commitment to the provision of the best educational opportunities for its students.”

He was pleased, he said, to partner with “an institution as respected and prestigious as the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, in the provision of excellent legal education for careers in the Islands’ legal and business sectors.”

PHOTO: UCCI President Roy Bodden, centre right, and John Westwood, director of CILEx’s international programmes, display a copy of the MOU ratifying agreements on accreditation of the new associate degree in legal studies. They are flanked by, left, Dean of Administration Perry George and (right) Dean of Academic Affairs Allan Young