Anguilla is now a member of the Association of Caribbean Tertiary Institutions (ACTI) Inc. which held its Council Meeting on the island, on March 29, for the first time. Some sixteen officials, from various islands, were here to participate in theAnguillaCommunity College’s week of activities and the installation of Professor Delroy Louden as the first President of the local institution.
The ACTI’s mission is “to engage all stakeholders in tertiary education, regionally and internationally, for the continued enhancement and development of tertiary education, its services and member institutions: and to provide technical support for all regional tertiary institutions”.
President of ACTI, Dr. Angela Samuels-Harris, told media representatives that theAnguillaCommunity Collegewas the newest member of her organisation, and she was happy to have the island among the group of islands involved. She said that the aim of ACTI was to have some regional collaboration in the tertiary sector, which was further explained by First Vice President, Dr. Karl Dawson.
“Our role is the development of people through the tertiary sector, and we do this by pooling resources and know-how to see if we can further advance the aims of the sector,” he stated. “ACTI looks forward to educational development for the entire Caribbean region stretching from Bermuda toSuriname. We specifically look at the development of the two-year institutions, and how they will be aligned to the four-year institutions like UWI and all the other universities like UTECH and so on.”
Dr. Dawson said ACTI was delighted that Anguilla was one of its members and was pleased that Professor Louden was the first President of theAnguillaCommunity College.
Dr. Louden observed that it was a grand occasion and privilege for the college to be a member of ACTI, and that he was happy with the welcome he had received at the first meeting he attended in theBritish Virgin Islands. He was of the view that theAnguillaCommunity Collegewould derive “strong linkages and collaboration” from its membership in the regional tertiary association, as well as “the strengthening of its curriculum, guidelines and policies”.
Among other matters, the ACTI’s Council Meeting inAnguillalooked at the harmonization and articulation of Associate Degree Programmes being offered by regional and national Community Colleges in terms of monitoring and evaluation. The meeting also discussed MOUs involving the University of theWest Indies, the American Association of Community Colleges and the Association of Caribbean Tertiary Institutions Inc.
