GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — The Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) says it is seeking to transfer Guyanese students to other universities in the United Kingdom (UK) following a rift between the International Skill Development Corporation (ISDC) and the University of Staffordshire (UoS).

“GOAL sincerely apologises to its awardees for the inconvenience and frustration caused by this situation. We assure them that every effort is being made to safeguard their academic progress. Affected scholars will be contacted before the end of the week with details of available transfer options within our network of partner universities,” GOAL said in a statement.

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It said it remains committed to expanding access to online education for Guyanese citizens and that since its establishment, GOAL has transformed lives through academic and professional training, facilitated by strategic partnerships with over 20 local, regional and international institutions.

GOAL said that these partnerships provide Guyanese students with opportunities to pursue academic programmes in diverse fields, including business, technology, healthcare, and engineering. Additionally, GOAL collaborates with third-party partners to enhance the delivery of its programmes. It said these partners are the UK-based ISDC, Structuralia in Spain, UNICAF in Cyprus and the United States (US) based Coursera.

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GOAL recalled that at a meeting on November 30, 2023, a representative met with the leadership of UoS and ISDC to discuss collaboration in delivering undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes to Guyanese students via the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) progression pathway.

“The meeting was productive, resulting in the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between ISDC and GOAL. Under this agreement, GOAL scholars would pursue their degrees through the ISDC progression pathway, leading to UoS qualifications. Subsequently, UoS officials issued a letter to GOAL confirming this arrangement, while ISDC’s executive director provided a similar confirmation in writing.”

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GOAL said that the initiative has benefited over 4,000 Guyanese by enabling access to tertiary education and that many of these students are now nearing completion of their bachelor’s degrees at internationally accredited universities.

“However, it was not until late January 2025 that GOAL was made aware of challenges affecting the delivery of academic programmes under this arrangement. Multiple efforts were undertaken to address these issues, including three virtual meetings with affected students.

“Initially, the difficulties pertained to a mismatch in course offerings, access to the Learning Management System (LMS), and inaccuracies in course matrices. However, the situation escalated into a dispute between UoS and ISDC over the implementation of their partnership. At no point prior to this had either institution formally notified GOAL of the breakdown in their collaboration or its implications for our scholars.”

GOAL said attempts to engage directly with UoS leadership were unsuccessful, saying “It is our understanding that legal representatives of both parties are currently negotiating a resolution.”

“Since this dispute came to light, GOAL has provided affected scholars with opportunities to transfer to other partnering universities. Additionally, ISDC is actively engaging five UK universities…that are likely to accept our awardees and recognise the credits they have earned under the disrupted partnership,” GOAL added.