The University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus closed its most recent academic year with a surplus of EC$3.7 million and an operating margin of 13.2%, according to Antigua.news. Campus Principal Professor Justin Robinson made the disclosure at the institution's annual Campus Meeting.
While overall financial performance remained strong, Robinson acknowledged that two metrics moved in the wrong direction — the total expenses-to-income ratio and the operating margin. He attributed both shifts to a single one-time expenditure: a EC$4.2 million investment in the Ellucian Banner Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System.
"What you are seeing in the numbers is a campus that made a strategic, one-time investment in digital autonomy," Robinson said. "Autonomy from manual processes. Autonomy from patchwork systems."
Of the EC$4.2 million total, EC$4 million covered subscription, software and licensing costs. Because the system operates on a subscription basis, the campus was required to expense the full amount within a single financial year rather than spread the cost across multiple years. Adjusted for that investment, Robinson said the surplus would have stood at EC$7.9 million, with an operating margin consistent with the prior year.
Planning for the Banner system integration began in late October 2024, with implementation teams fully mobilised by March 2025. The system went live in July 2025, covering student registration, finance, accounts receivable, data migration, and reporting and analytics.
Robinson described the transition as the single largest investment of his career, adding that it was already delivering returns in efficiency, agility and overall performance.
Campus Registrar Dr. Camille Samuel said the platform provided one-click visibility into student progress and retention, enabling her team to identify students who had not returned and intervene early.
Robinson noted that as the only UWI campus founded in the digital era, Five Islands is committed to becoming the most digitally advanced institution within the UWI system, with the Banner platform serving as a cornerstone of that strategy.
