Accra, July 24, GNA – The University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), on Saturday held its 13th Special Congregation for the School of Graduate Studies and the UPSA School of Law, during which 870 students graduated.
Out of this number, the School of Graduate Studies presented 764 students, which comprised 55 Master of Philosophy students, 591 Master of Business Administration students, 107 Master of Arts students and 11 Master of Science in Insurance Risk Management students.
The UPSA Law School graduated 106 students, 15 of whom obtained Second Class Upper, 47 Second Class Lower, 35 Third Class and nine pass.
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was the special guest of honour at the Congregation.
At the Congregation, the University conferred an honorary Doctorate Degree on Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Minister of Energy, who also served as the Minister of Education during the first term of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (2017-2020).
Professor Abednego F. O. Amartey, Vice-Chancellor in his report to the Congregation noted the UPSA Governing Council had been reconstituted and inaugurated by the Minister of Education.
He thanked the former Council members for their untiring support, and welcomed the new members into the UPSA Family.
He mentioned Madam Akyaa Afreh Arhin, a former Council Member, for her strong support, commitment and devotion to the advancement of UPSA; saying “her hard work and dedication will be sorely missed”.
With regards to teaching and learning, Prof Amartey said the UPSA was now maximizing the opportunities provided by online education tools, to include the optimization of their Learning Management System, for effective teaching and learning.
“With COVID-19 thrust upon all of us, it goes without saying that the blend of in-person and off-campus learning is now here to stay.”
He said the UPSA’s investments in technology, focused on elevating online teaching and learning space and capacities, had served them well, and they would continue on this trajectory.
He said additionally, the University’s state-of-the-art Library now includes a vast array of online resources for research, and reference for faculty, staff and students.
Concerning students’ enrolment, Prof Amartey indicated that the University enrolled 8,247 new students at the beginning of the 2020/2021 academic year, bring the total student population to 18,074.
He said the number included; 1,687 postgraduate students, 13,434 undergraduate students, 2,793 diploma students and 160 professional students.
The total student population comprises 9,827 male and 8,247 female.
Throwing light on the UPSA’s growth over the last four years, the Vice-Chancellor said the exponential growth illustrates how the UPSA had greatly benefitted from the immense support they received from Dr Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, a former Minister of Education and the Governing Council of the University.
“In 2017, our total student body was about 11,500. Today we are more than 18,000 students strong,” he stated.
“In 2017, we had a total of 20 academic programmes. We have increased that number to 30, representing a 50 per cent increase. It is noting that we also have about seven additional programmes in various stages of accreditation.”
He noted that during the period under review, their infrastructure projects included; the commissioning of the new auditorium and student centre, the completion of the astroturf and three near-completion construction projects.
“The above significant achievements amply demonstrate why UPSA among other things is honoring Dr Opoku Prempeh today.”
In advice to the graduating students, the Vice-Chancellor urged them to work hard and excel wherever they find themselves and entreated them to become worth ambassadors of the UPSA by exhibiting the values and tenets they had imbibed over the period of their studies.
Dr Opoku Prempeh expressed gratitude the UPSA Governing Council and Management for the honour done him.
Dr Kofi Ohene-Konadu, Chairman, UPSA Governing Council, commended the University’s Management for putting in place measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He advised the graduands to always do what was right and not what was easy.
GNA