ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL, ZENITH UNIVERSITY COLLEGE AT THE 2ND MATRICULATION CEREMONY HELD ON 8TH OCTOBER, 2011

Guest of Honour, The Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, the Registrar, Deans and Directors, Members of faculty, Staff, Parents, Matriculants, Members of the Press, Ladies and Gentlemen. Praise be to God Almighty for granting us a good weather and for giving us the strength to be here this morning. To Him be the glory
for ever and ever.

I take this opportunity on behalf of the Council of the College to extend a very warm welcome to all of you including our distinguished guests to the second matriculation Ceremony of Zenith University College and to also formally
congratulate and welcome the newly admitted students who have gone through the stringent admission procedures and are being matriculated today.

Today’s ceremony, as mentioned enables you to take the matriculation oath that signifies your formal admission into the University College. The oath enjoins you to be of good behaviour and obedient to the Rector, the President
and all constituted authority while you remain students of this College. Make maximum use of the chance given to you. Take this ceremony and the advice you are given seriously. They can help shape your life in the College and
open new doors for your future professional development.

Zenith is a young institution with great potential to become a world class institution. Its transformation process has just begun and you should be proud that you have come to a university college that can create pathways for a
better future. It is for this reason that I congratulate the 2011 fresh students for gaining admission to Zenith University College. Count yourself very fortunate for being part of the Zenith family and for being part of a history making epoch.

From a humble beginning as a tutorial College to the current status as a degree awarding institution under the mentorship of the University of Cape Coast, Zenith has begun to create an enviable record for itself. Zenith’s long
term association with reputable institutions of learning and professional associations worldwide continues to enrich the pedagogical skills of the academic staff and to enhance the institution’s policy of blending the academic with the professional. This is necessary in preparing graduates who are ready for work. A typical example is the University of London’s International Programmes, namely, Diploma in Law, LLB and LLM programmes. These programmes have become the toast of many, including Parliamentarians, Ministers of State, Senior Public Officers and a host of
foreign students from the sub-region.

The U.K based professional body: The Association of Business Executives-ABE is one of our affiliate institutions with which we have enjoyed great collaboration over the years. This long association has resulted in the
institute’s willingness to allow our students significant exemptions so that some of the courses can be taught locally but certificated externally. This milestone was achieved because of the levels of good performance put up by
both faculty and students over the years in the institute’s examinations. In addition to ABE and The University of London, the College provides tuition for students who write the examinations of the following UK Professional
Institutions: Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality (CTH), Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

Zenith’s top-up degree programmes continue to gain popularity, attracting many people both internally and from the sub region. Zenith’s MBA programmes are over-subscribed and many qualified candidates are not admitted due to our restrictive admission policy and the need to ensure a lecturer-student ratio that allows for greater interaction
between lecturers and students. Ladies and gentlemen, Out of a total of 2831 applications received, 93.8 percent were offered admission to the College in 2011 to read various programmes in Law, Business Administration, accounting, hospitality and tourism.

I am excited that there is a new desire to pursue tertiary education in order to develop the skills and competencies required in the world of work. But I am afraid, being in a Tertiary institution is not a matter of being part of the
statistics and to say that I have also been to a university but it is an opportunity to expand your knowledge, and acquire skills and competencies that are 21st century compliant and development oriented. Zenith provides such an opportunity. Your decision to pursue your higher education at Zenith University College is a choice you have made to be part of a culture of excellence which will shape your experiences and impact your lives in diverse ways.
You are about to embark on a truly demanding educational journey that is certain to change you in many ways. University is special for so many different reasons. For many of you, this is the first time in your life that you will
be truly living independently. This is an opportunity to grow and learn as a person, to discover much about who you are, and of course, to make wonderful new friends. It is a place and time to be mentored but also a plae and time to develop your creative talents. As much as we will do our best to create an atmosphere which will support your pursuit of knowledge, freedom and self realization, it is only fair that you bring yourself under the college rules as set out in the students hand book.

The college will not countenance any acts of lawlessness, including, disrespect for fellow students and staff, examination malpractices, students vandalism, occultism, drug abuse and any other act of misconduct.
Getting to this level has not been easy for all of you. You have scaled a number of Jericho walls in your academic journey – the walls of poverty, walls of basic schooling, and that of secondary education, and now you are faced
with the walls of tertiary education. Your level of determination and commitment will be the deciding factor in your quest to overcome this wall. The time spent here prepares you to face future walls in your life. Your parents, family, and friends are looking up to you. Many of them have literally sacrificed so that you may enjoy the privilege of a university education. The least you can do is to keep the fire of their hopes burning by behaving responsibly, and making the most of this extraordinary opportunity.

We are a small college but doing big things. We inculcate in our students the desire to achieve excellence in their work. Through our focus on quality teaching and learning, we have witnessed with pride the academic exploits of
our students in winning global awards. This year, two of our students achieved top honours in the June 2011 ABE professional examinations in Human Resource Management: (i) Management in Action and (ii) Marketing Management. Our ACCA programme also won global awards at the December 2010 and June 2011 examinations. These awards only go to confirm our resolve as an institution to work hard to maintain our leadership in the enterprise of delivering the quality education that this nation demands. It is worth adding that as a way of motivation, the lecturers teaching these courses have been given due recognition for their work with students. Ladies and Gentlemen, the vision of the College is to provide opportunity to every one who has the interest and ability to be educated at the lowest cost. Zenith believes in transforming people who are nobodies into people people of substance. Financial constraints should therefore not be a limiting factor. A comparative study of the private tertiary education market shows that we offer first class, top quality and relevant programmes at the lowest cost on the market.

We firmly believe in universal and lifelong education and as a result, we embrace diversity in every possible dimension. We also believe that with education comes responsibility. Those of you who are fortunate enough to
study at Zenith have an obligation to use your education for the benefit of others. We believe that each of you must become active citizens of this community and every community that you will be part of in the future. You will encounter our young, sharp and friendly lecturers who will demand your best as they make available to you their experience and knowledge so that by this mutual learning contract you will be given the opportunity to be
part of the process of adding to the existing stock of knowledge. As a student it is your right to question things that are not clear to you. Don’t accept everything you are told in class; challenge them, interrogate them and offer
alternatives based on sound information. In the current age, you can only be useful to the country if you are creative, analytical and innovative. Desire to acquire these skills as well as collaborative, communicative and problem
solving skills as they can shape and give you a better future. Your lecturers are ready to support you in your quest for this wisdom.

So to our matriculating class of 2011, the next time you assemble together like this, it will be for your graduation. May the journey bring you exciting challenges, increased knowledge, excitement, passion, opportunities, and
fulfillment. May you enjoy every moment of your critical journey to the future. God be your Guide. It is our hope that as you pursue your programmes, you will remember that it is not academic excellence alone that should be the focus of your attention but the development of your whole being, especially your moral and spiritual uprightness.
I trust that you will study hard and justify your stay here.

AND NOW MAY “THE LORD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU; THE LORD MAKE HIS FACE SHINE UPON YOU AND BE GRACIOUS TO YOU; THE LORD TURN HIS FACE TOWARD YOU AND GIVE YOU PEACE.”

(Numbers 6:24-27)
Thank you.