Bermuda College is studying its role in the community ? and has appealed for public help.

New president Charles Green told The Royal Gazette yesterday: ?We are going to be evaluating our mission.?

Dr. Green said the College already had plans for self-improvement, including:

Gaining accreditation, so that course credits were on a par with other universities;

Raising the College?s profile in the community;

Boosting the technical facilities; and

Re-assessing the technical curriculum.

Dr. Green, who has a BA in Industrial Technology from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio and extensive military training in management and technology, took on his new job 19 days ago, replacing Dr. Michael Orenduff.

He said it was time for Bermuda College to put itself under the microscope through strategic planning in which people with an invested interest would be invited to suggest improvements. This exercise would last until Christmas.

?Any entity that has been around 30 years needs to look at itself to see if it is doing what it should be doing. This year is the 30th anniversary of the Bermuda College.?

Dr. Green, who hails from Houston, Texas and has been president of colleges in Chicago and Arizona, said gaining regional accreditation was a primary goal. The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, INC. Commission on Institutions of Higher Learning (NEAS&C) had changed its rules to allow The Bermuda College to apply to be accredited, he added.

Becoming an accredited college would make it easier for students to transfer credits.

?This is the first thing we are doing to overcome the impression that we are lesser,? Dr. Green said.

He explained that the College just needs to be accredited in one region and then the other five regions in the US will accept the accreditation. The Accrediting Association is due to visit the College in March, 2005.

Dr. Green described the college as the ?best kept secret in the community? and he hoped to figure out ways of overcoming this lack of knowledge.

He also wanted to change the direction of technical education.

In an interview just before his departure, former Dr. Orenduff believed the college would more or less stay the same but would develop more of an emphasis on the technical side.

Dr. Green plans to do just that. He said that the technical facilities needed enhancing and he was looking forward to meeting the faculty and then evaluating the curriculum.

Dr. Green agreed with Dr. Orenduff that transforming the college into a four year institution was not a good idea.

He added that if the college was four years then students would not get the opportunity to gain experience abroad.

?Every community in the world needs a two year college.?

Asked about Dr.Orenduff?s belief that the college needed more focus on Bermudian culture and history, Dr. Green said: ?What I hope not to do is impose my views on Bermudians.?

He added that more courses catering to Bermudian culture would be added ? if there was a demand for it.

?The community has to help us bring what is needed,? Dr. Green said. Asked about past unrest within the college administration and whether or not he had had experience dealing with that, Dr. Green said that he had spent two years in Chicago rebuilding a college that had experienced trouble between faculty and the president. ?I think it was successful, but it depends on who you ask.?

Dr. Green, who also has 30 years of military experience under his belt and as an educational administrator in both the secondary and post-secondary school system, said that he purposely did not work along side Dr. Orenduff before taking over as president. ?It is not necessary because it creates confusion as to who is in charge.?

He added that it made divisions greater as well. ?I need to sit down and build a team to serve the students ? not deal with the past,? said Dr. Green.