Reggie Hill, UMSL’s vice chancellor for strategic enrollment and career advancement, stands with Chilean Burrows and other members of The Bahamas Ministry of Education & Technical and Vocational Training after signing an agreement to create the National Teachers and Guidance Counselors Grant. (Photo courtesy of The Bahamas Ministry of Education and Technical and Vocational Training)
The University of Missouri–St. Louis is partnering with The Bahamas Ministry of Education and Technical and Vocational Training to create a National Teachers and Guidance Counselors Grant that will support professional development and educational opportunities for eligible educators and guidance counselors in the island nation.
Under the three-year agreement, teachers and counselors in the Ministry of Education will be able to enroll in master’s, bachelor’s, graduate and specialist certificate programs offered by UMSL’s Colleges of Education, Business and Arts and Sciences in national priority areas specific to this agreement. All of the courses in the programs are offered fully online with options for synchronous or asynchronous learning to help students balance work, life and school.
“UMSL is proud to partner with The Bahamas Ministry of Education to offer affordable, flexible, and high-quality degree pathways to those who play such a vital role in shaping the next generation of learners,” said Reggie Hill, UMSL’s vice chancellor for strategic enrollment and career advancement. “At its core, this partnership is about creating access – for the educators who guide students every day. By removing financial and geographic barriers, we’re making it possible for Bahamian teachers and counselors to continue their own education while shaping the futures of so many others.”
The partnership will use a tuition-funded model that will provide MOE employees with financial assistance, scholarships and other arrangements, including tuition discounts from UMSL, so that students can access educational opportunities with minimal financial burden. Students enrolled in undergraduate programs will be able to have up to 18 credit hours covered per calendar year, and the partnership will cover up to 15 credit hours per year for graduate students.
“The National Teachers and Guidance Counselors Grant reflects what is possible when public institutions collaborate with purpose,” Hill said. “We are honored to help Bahamian educators advance their credentials while expanding UMSL’s global impact.”
This is not the first time UMSL has partnered with The Bahamas Ministry of Education. An agreement signed in 2022 has helped Bahamian students enroll at UMSL either as part of the Public School Scholars Programme or the National Scholarship Programme, which is designed to provide financial assistance to deserving Bahamians. Scholarships are awarded on the bases of academic merit, financial need, and the relevance of study to the economic, social and developmental needs of The Bahamas. The value of the awards ranges from $7,500-$35,000 annually.
Through the Public School Scholars Programme, instituted in the Bahamas in 2015, the Ministry of Education provides students with scholarship awards ranging from $10,000 to $15,000 – and matched by awards from one of its 27 partner institutions in the United States and Canada – for up to four years.
There are currently 40 students from The Bahamas enrolled at UMSL.
“The agreement with UMSL is a testament to the government of The Bahamas’ commitment to tertiary education,” said Chilean Burrows, the deputy permanent secretary in The Bahamas and the acting administrator of the Scholarship and Educational Loan Division, “and the desire to build capacity for teachers and guidance counselors in the public school system.”
