00:00 When changes to the GATE program were made, allowing people who had received prior funding
00:07 for certificate courses to get full funding for bachelor programs, Nakeisha Gonzalez was
00:13 elated as she was now able to pursue her dream of furthering her studies.
00:18 The 26-year-old chose a bachelor's in psychology at the University of the West Indies Global
00:23 Campus and entered the September 2023 cohort, having been approved for 100% GATE funding.
00:32 But it all came to a screeching halt in January 2024, spawning a headache for Gonzalez, who
00:39 was looking forward to her second semester after completing her first semester exams.
00:44 "So after getting accepted, there was a hold on my account, which UE themselves did, well
00:54 Open Campus, did email us and tell us that there was really no hold on anybody's account
00:59 and that they were giving everybody to the end of the semester to pay.
01:05 I did not think that that applied to me since I applied for 100% funding."
01:12 Gonzalez tells us she did not see a pamphlet that was sent to her via email in August before
01:17 she was even accepted into UE, stating that the university had increased its tuition fees
01:23 and that students would have to cover the balance that was not being covered by GATE.
01:28 This document pointed to a 5% increase in tuition fees for the academic year 2022-2023,
01:35 reduced to 4% for semester 1 of academic year 2023-2024, and then increased by 2% for semester
01:43 2 for the same academic year.
01:46 According to her, there was no other form of communication from UE on that issue, from
01:51 the point of her acceptance to the time she was getting ready to register for her second
01:56 semester.
01:57 "So in January, I was not able to register for semester 2 courses because now there was
02:05 an actual hold on my account.
02:07 At this point, GATE had already accepted me, GATE had already given me full 100% funding,
02:14 so I was a bit confused.
02:17 So when I was reaching out to everybody, I believe, in UE, everybody, I sort of got an
02:23 outing from around the 12th or so of January."
02:28 But based on Gonzalez's claims, substantiated by emails and screenshots sent to us, the
02:34 first response she received from UE to four emails she had sent in that time span was
02:40 on January 22nd.
02:42 Meanwhile, GATE officials kept referring her back to UE to address her concerns.
02:50 The final clarification concerning her predicament was on January 29th.
02:55 It was then UE explained that the 100% funding she was receiving from GATE was based on UE's
03:02 2015 tuition costs and that there is always a difference that students are responsible
03:08 for.
03:09 UE informed Gonzalez that she would have to clear the balance of $4,458 owing from the
03:16 previous term before a payment plan can be worked out for semester 2, for which by that
03:21 time the registration date had already passed.
03:24 "So I'm guessing that you are not in semester 2 at this point?"
03:32 "No, I'm not there at this point at all.
03:36 I couldn't afford to see that at all.
03:40 And again, jobs are so unpredictable."
03:43 "Are you employed right now?"
03:46 "As of last week, no, I am not."
03:50 It is taking a mental and emotional toll on Gonzalez, who tells us she initially broke
03:55 down when she was hit with the news.
03:57 "I was a bit discontent.
03:58 So this is the second time I believe I'm trying to finish my degree.
04:03 So it's a bit frustrating.
04:06 It was the same financial.
04:07 So I was extremely disappointed.
04:08 Right now, you know, I feel stuck because I didn't have the stock, which I didn't really
04:19 want to at all."
04:22 While Gonzalez understands that there might be administrative fees attached to graduate
04:27 programs, she is hoping that GATE and UWE can come up with an arrangement that would
04:32 not disadvantage students, especially those who are unable to afford tuition.
04:37 "I would like that if you apply for 100% funding, you don't have to worry about an
04:45 administrative fee being attached to that even after you get confirmation that yes,
04:51 you have 100% funding."
04:54 She's also calling on UWE to do better in terms of communicating with students.
04:59 TV6 News contacted UWE St. Augustine on the issue and sent our questions via email.
05:04 We're told that the information has been related to UWE's global campus, also called Open Campus,
05:11 where Gonzalez is a student.
05:13 We are awaiting a response.
05:15 Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
05:18 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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