The Caribbean Tertiary Level Personnel Association

CARIBBEAN TERTIARY LEVEL PERSONNEL ASSOCIATION’S 13^th ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The Caribbean Tertiary Level Personnel Association’s 13^th Annual Conference was held at the Sunset Jamaica Grande, Resort and Spa in Ocho Rios, Jamaica June 21-24, 2010 with over 70 participants from 3 Caribbean islands and the United States. The theme for the conference was “Innovative Ideas, Exceptional Results – A New Paradigm for Excellence in Caribbean Higher Education”. The theme was chosen to reflect innovative ideas in Higher Education institutions. In line with the theme of the conference issues pertaining to quality education, resource constraints, programme development and the knowledge of “who our students are” were discussed.

The conference began with a grand Opening Ceremony.  Greetings came from the Dr Angela Samuels-Harris, Principal of the Montego Bay Community College and Chair of the Joint Committee for Tertiary Education; Dr Thelora Reynolds, Founding President of CTLPA, ACPA International Division Co-ordinator and Dr Susan Salvador, President of the America College Personnel Association: College Student Educators International. Mrs Jacqueline Austin ACPA’s International Co-ordinator was unable to attend and sent her greetings.

Dr Tomlin Paul, Senior Lecturer and Sub Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus was the Keynote speaker.  Dr Paul’s presentation was directly related to the conference theme in which he examined the innovative ideas that were implemented in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at UWI, Mona and highlighted the exceptional results that were achieved. He further underscored the need for greater collaboration between faculty and student services practitioners.

Dr Susan Salvador, was the main presenter. She did two presentations: Presentation One was on “Maximizing Your Strengths” and Presentation Two “Learning Reconsidered: The Inter Connectedness of Student Learning”.  Presentation One examined the “Strengths Quest Model” as a strategy for success. This model provides a common language aimed at looking at:

• Relationship Building
• Strategic Thinking
• Influencing and
• Executing

Presentation Two looked at how student affairs professionals can intentionally create the conditions that enhance student learning and personal development.

Other presentations include:

• “Mainstreaming Diversity: Opportunities, Obligations and Obstacles by Dr Mervyn E. Chisholm, UWI, and Mona Campus.
• The First Year Experience: A corner stone in building positive campus culture” – Dr Thelora Reynolds, Founding President, CTLPA.
• “The UWI Graduate and their perception of cultural relevance of their programme: The case of Management Studies” – Mr Orville Beckford, UWI Mona Campus.

Panel discussions on the theme were frank and panelists were from higher education institutions (UWI, Mona Campus, University of Technology, Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts, College of the Bahamas) and professional organizations in Jamaica (Jamaica National Building Society, Jamaica Employers Federation).

Of note were the topics discussed at the Concurrent sessions. These included:

• “Discovering your Career DNA” – Dr Suzanne Newbold, College of the Bahamas
• “Collaborative programme development: A report on co-operative programme creation and implementation between The University of Louisville and Barbados Community College and the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus” – Dr Michael Cuyjet, University of Louisville.
• “Shifting the paradigm in tertiary education towards excellence: Employers perception of UWI graduates” – Mr Chandar Gupta Supersad, UWI St Augustine Campus. & President Elect, CTLPA.
• “The role and effectiveness of ‘laddering’ in increasing access to tertiary education: The case of the UWI Open Campus, Jamaica” – Mrs Gillian Glean-Walker, UWI, Open Campus.

Included in the three day conference was the annual general meeting held primarily to chart the way forward for the association.

The Annual General Meeting

The annual general meeting was held in the Windsor Ballroom at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort and Spa on June 22, 2010. Mr Curtis Mike, President in his report noted the achievements of the organization during 2009/2010. He highlighted the following:

• The attendance of all Chapter Presidents for the first time to the ACPA Summer Leaders Workshop in Louisville, Kentucky in July 2009;
• The launch of the new CTLPA Website;
• The workshops/seminars held by the Jamaica Chapter and the Trinidad and Tobago Chapter;
• Mrs Jerome Miller-Vaz recognition as a member of the Diamond Honoree class of 2010;
• Mrs Merrit Henry assuming the role of International Co-ordinator, ACPA.

Election of Officers

The following persons will form the executive for 2010/2011:

President:                              

Mr Chandar Gupta Supersad, UWI, St Augustine Campus

Immediate Past President:    

Mr Curtis Mike, UWI, St Augustine Campus

President Elect:                      

Ms Donna Mae Jackson, UWI, Mona Campus

President, Jamaica Chapter:  

Mrs Marine Cunningham, Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts

President, Trinidad & Tobago Chapter:

Mr Raul Mohammed, University of Trinidad & Tobago

President, Barbados Chapter :

Mrs Jacqueline Austin, Barbados Community College

Ex- Officio Members:            

Dr Thelora Reynolds, UWI, Mona Campus

Mrs Merrit Henry, UWI, Mona Campus

Mrs Jerome Miller-Vaz, UWI, Open Campus

Public Relations Officer:        

Ms Marcia Bishop, UWI, Mona Campus

Treasurer:                              

Ms Paulene Richards, UWI, Mona Campus

Membership Co-ordinator:    

Ms Deborah Crichlow, UWI, St Augustine Campus

Secretary:                               

Mrs Allyson Logie-Eustace, UWI, St Augustine Campus

Island Co-ordinator Bahamas: 

Mr Vicente Roberts, College of the Bahamas

Members-at-large:                

Ms Pamela Townsend, UWI, St Augustine

Mrs Cheryl Layne, UWI, St Augustine

Mrs Dorsett Pottinger, University of Technology

The conference was a huge success and was particularly satisfying as most of the objectives were achieved. It also provided an excellent opportunity for student services practitioners in the Caribbean to network, adopt best practices and discussed topics of interests to Caribbean Higher Education. The inclusions of practitioners from the United States added a more global perspective to the conference.