Acadia University - with one of Canada's strongest business departments - gave the Bermuda College an affirming pat on the back yesterday.

This came from Acadia president Dr. Kelvin Ogilvie, who told The Royal Gazette: "We have great confidence in the College. We recognise there is strength here and we see the breadth of the programme."

Dr. Ogilvie is visiting this week, along with several Acadia faculty; including Walter Isenor, of the Acadia business department and Jennifer Bolt, of Acadia's Institute of Technology and Teaching.

During the week, the two institutions are looking at their respective curricula, and yesterday renewed a long-standing agreement which allows Bermuda College students to transfer to Acadia for their junior and senior years.

The agreement includes a new articulation agreement for the College's two-year old Associate in E-Commerce programme. E-Commerce students, transferring from the College, move in to Acadia's Business Administration programme.

Dr. Ogilvie said: "We have had had a formal arrangement in place (with Bermuda College) for many years, and we are renewing that agreement.

"The objectives of individual institutions change, and the agreement deals with students coming to Acadia, both broadly, and in specific disciplines. We are looking at it carefully course by course," he said.

Dr. Ogilvie added: "We are confident in the quality of students (from Bermuda College)."

Both Dr. Ogilvie and Bermuda College president Dr. Michael Orenduff said the agreement allows students to complete an undergraduate degree in four years.

Dr. Ogilvie said the University has been attracting students from Bermuda from the 1950s, and he said Acadia averages between 50 and 60 Bermuda students per year. About half of those, Dr. Ogilvie said, go in to the University's business programme - which is the University's largest department, in terms of enrolment.

Dr. Ogilvie added that over 200 Acadia alumni are in Bermuda, and he cited a number; UBP Senator Leonard Santucci, Accountant General Anthony Richardson, and lawyer Timothy Marshall.

Speaking of Acadia, Dr. Ogilvie said, the University has been ranked year-after-year in the top ten of Canada's primarily undergraduate universities.