History

Omega Advanced Schools for Interdisciplinary Studies (OASIS) is an outgrowth of information from the Fifth International Conference on Adult Education (Hamburg, Germany, 1997), the conference at the institution of Mumbai (India, 1998), and the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education (Paris, 1998). The recommendations were to open schools, colleges and universities to adult learners and adapt programmes and learning conditions to meet adult needs. The task was to develop coherent mechanisms to recognize the outcomes of learning undertaken in different contexts, bring the services of universities to outside groups and to concentrate on interdisciplinary research in all aspects of adult education and learning with the participation of adult learners themselves. This effort was to include opportunities for adult learning in flexible, open and creative ways, taking into account the different needs of people in multicultural and pluralistic environments. In considering the difficulty of transforming existing colleges and universities into agencies for lifelong education, it became apparent that new institutes could better meet the needs of the 21st Century. OASIS Institute of Higher Learning grew out of this need recognized by higher educators, scholars and specialists in the area of adult learning and lifelong education. Advances in computer technology and telecommunications have facilitated computer- assisted learning and virtual collaboration. OASIS takes advantage of these advances in professor-student, student-student, course and tutorial interactions. Many procedures and processes in education have become dated with improvements in technology. The growth of the internet and other interactive media systems allows academic institutions to possess a global reach in education. In a global, interdependent context, a relevant institution maintains a campus environment that trans-nationally preserves the faculty-student relationship, holds students accountable for academic performance, and upholds academic standards in the learning process. Learning at OASIS involves principles and processes that are cross-curricular and creates competence in graduates for integration and application across disciplines and boundaries through interdisciplinary studies. OASIS was established and constituted under the laws of Trinidad and Tobago in October of 2002. The institution was the brainchild of Dr. Hollis Green, the Chancellor of Oxford Graduate School, Dayton, Tennessee, U.S.A., who translated his vision of an interdisciplinary post graduate institution serving the Caribbean into reality with the help of a handful of founding members. Among the earliest local visionaries for the institution were Subesh and Debra Ramjattan who offered their facilities at the Anapausis Community as the campus. OASIS continues to operate out of Anapausis and offers post-graduate Masters studies. During its earlier years OASIS partnered with Oxford Graduate School, Tennessee, USA in offering these programmes. Oxford Graduate School gave extensively of their resources under the guidance of their Chancellor in areas such as curricula, teaching resources, administrative, and financial resources. As OASIS developed they became less reliant on their foreign partner and have since developed their local capabilities to independently deliver these programmes. OASIS no longer maintains a business relationship with Oxford Graduate School. Over the years, OASIS has developed good relationships with the Oxford University, Bodleian Library in the United Kingdom, and the Library of Congress in the United States of America. Annually students engage in meaningful research at both Institutions. Since the first intake of students in 2002, OASIS Institute of Higher Learning has graduated several cohorts of Masters Graduates. Present student population is 36. There has been consistent enrollment of students over the academic years due to continuing awareness from students and as a result of advertising and institutional marketing, and programmes approval. OASIS currently offers two Masters programme: Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and a Master of Arts in Family Life Education. OASIS was granted its first registration with the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago in April 2009 and received re-registrations in 2012, 2015 and 2018. At present the organization is once again pursuing registration.