About CTLPA

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The Caribbean Tertiary Level Personnel Association - situated in Jamaica at The University of the West Indies is known for leading scholarship and discourse on student services in the Caribbean. The CTLPA's  guiding philosophy is to foster the development of a student-centered culture in educational institutions at the tertiary level across the Caribbean. The Association's aim is to network with student services personnel within those institutions so as to enhance their roles as educators and encourage the highest levels of professionalism. 

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Objectives of CTLPA

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The CTLPA's objectives are to: 

• Provide training for student services personnel through workshops, seminars, conferences and exposure to student services literature.

• Enhance professional development by encouraging members to engage in research & publication, join other relevant professional services organizations and pursue academic training in student services.

• Foster development of indigenous expertise in the area of student services.

• Allow for networking among student services personnel in different tertiary institutions. This will be done by way of newsletters and annual conferences.

• Encourage the lobbying of management to initiate and maintain student-centered institutions.

• Facilitate collaboration between student services personnel and faculty to enhance the holistic approach to student learning.

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History of CTLPA

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The student learning imperative, a modern theory of Student Development, emphasizes the importance of out-of-classroom learning in the holistic approach to student development. Therefore, every staff member who interacts with students at whatever level, needs to see her/himself as an educator, with an essential role in student learning.

 

The Caribbean Tertiary Level Personnel Association (CTLPA) was born out of the need for student services personnel at tertiary institutions to:

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• Better understand their role as an essential part of student learning & development

• Enhance their ability to plan & implement student development programmes

• See themselves as a part of a specific professional group, rather than as isolated individuals performing specific tasks.

 

Seeds of CTLPA were sown at the 1996 Student Services Practitioners Workshop, held at the University of the West Indies, Mona (UWI). The main presenter was Dr. Carmen Neuberger, the Director of the American College Personnel Association (ACPA), who encouraged the Director of Student Services at UWI Mona, to start a State Division of ACPA. A meeting was convened in December 1996 with student services personnel at UWI Mona and University of Technology (UTECH). The meeting agreed to seek affiliation with ACPA as “The Caribbean Tertiary Level Personnel Association” rather than as a state division of ACPA.

 

A letter was sent to ACPA asking that consideration be given to the inclusion of countries other than the USA in the nomenclature of the organization. As a result ACPA by-law changes were approved and the designation State Divisions has been changed to State and International Divisions. History was created when CTLPA was chartered as one of the first international divisions of the ACPA, at its convention in Chicago in March 1997.

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