A stand-off between former students of Montego Bay Community College (MBCC) and administrators about the school’s failure to issue degrees is about to come to a head.

Part-time students of the 2013-2017 class, who read for Bachelor of Business Administration degrees and who told the Jamaica Observer that they graduated from the programme in Defcember 2017, in several letters to the editor, said their degrees are being withheld for reasons unclear to them.

The students, who all asked not to be named, said that they have repeatedly questioned the status of their degrees and have since grown weary of waiting.

One student, in a letter dated October 1, appealed to the college to award the degrees they have “sacrificed” so much to earn.

“We the students are writing this open letter of appeal to the Montego Bay Community College, and by extension the Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica (CCCJ).

“It has now been over a year since the completion of our Bachelor of Business Administration degree at the Montego Bay Community College. We graduated in December of 2017 after completing the programme in August 2017, yet we cannot get a copy of the paper to show as proof that we have earned our degrees.

“Many a student sacrificed time with their families, took hours out of their work schedules, and paid their way through. In these times these are no small feats. To compound the situation, staff at MBCC behave as though students are asking them for a favour when we enquire about receiving our degree certificates. They are unable to provide a timeline and we have been told the CCCJ does not communicate directly with students,” a section of the letter read.

The student said that an opportunity to be a part of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme was missed because the degree has not been received.

The JET Programme aims to promote internationalisation in Japan’s local communities by improving foreign language education and developing international exchange at the community level, by fostering ties between Japanese youth and youth from other nations.

In an e-mail thread that started on September 6, 2018 between the student and the school, which was seen by the Observer, the student expressed displeasure at not being issued the degree despite successfully completing the programme.

There was no response to the student’s initial email, but on September 11 the student sent a follow-up email to which the school’s administrative assistant responded by apologising for the delay.

“As soon as it becomes available from the Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica you will be notified,” the administrative assistant said.

The Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica is a statutory agency under the Ministry of Education, formed by an Act of Parliament that was passed in December 2001 to supervise and coordinate the work of community colleges in Jamaica.

The student responded to the administrative assistant by indicating that the matter would be “escalated” to the CCCJ because the same response was being given for months.

The college representative responded saying that the e-mail would be forwarded to the principal. An apology was again offered for any inconvenience caused.

Another student who was interviewed by the Observer said that there was no outstanding course and also that no money was owed to the school, but the degree was being withheld.

“We sat our last exam in August 2017 and I’m still waiting for my degree. There are no courses outstanding and no outstanding fees. I think that it is the part-time people who are having the problem. I have colleagues who were a part of the full-time programme and they have received theirs. So it seems to be a problem with the part-time programme. In my case, I do not have anything outstanding. I graduated. You would not have made the graduation list if you had anything outstanding,” the student said.

The student told the Observer that pursuing a master’s degree is not possible because there is no proof that a bachelor’s degree was completed.

“I received a part scholarship offer for a university in the UK (United Kingdom), but I still have to go through the application process and my degree is outstanding, so I had to defer until next year. I am currently employed so it has not affected me in that regard, but in terms of getting to the graduate level, it’s hindering me,” the student stated.

The student also said follow-ups with the school have not been successful as the school has repeatedly stated that it has no control over when the CCCJ will print the degrees.

“They keep telling me that the names have been submitted to the CCCJ but that they have not received anything.”

Another student told the Observer that an e-mail was sent to the school regarding the issuing of the degree, to which the dean of the faculty responded.

“He said he is aware that nothing is outstanding for me, all monies have been paid, [and] that I have never failed any course before, and that I should check back in August of this year. I did. I have been calling them since January asking them what’s happening, why we don’t get our degrees as yet? I don’t have anything outstanding and I know most of my friends don’t have anything outstanding.

“I have been denied promotions at my job because I don’t have anything to show and so I had to get the school to call my workplace and that’s how I actually got a raise. So all now I don’t have anything to show for my degree,” the student said, adding that an e-mail was sent expressing disappointment with how the matter was handled.

The Observer contacted MBCC’s Principal Dr Maureen Nelson, who said that she was not aware of the problem until the media contacted the school.

The principal said that students who have not received their degrees had “things outstanding”.

“They have now been resolved and the degrees are ready from the CCCJ for them to get them by Friday. Nobody had said anything to me about the status of their degree… Some of the students have projects outstanding and work experience outstanding,” the principal said.