About ACTT

About ACTT - Overview

Background to the Establishment of ACTT

There exists a common stance among CARICOM nations that national accreditation bodies should be established in as many territories as it is feasible (it has been suggested that a single body be established to provide services to the OECS). A regional mechanism has also been agreed on by CARICOM for co-ordinating the operations of the national bodies.

Global trends and the internationalization of tertiary education have created a situation in which the quality of programmes offered locally is being questioned and in some cases challenged. Students which transfer from one institute to another and graduates which seek admission into post-graduate and other programmes, as well as those desiring to be employed or promoted on the basis of advanced qualifications, are those most affected. The Committee on the recognition of Degrees CORD/NIHERST remained for many years the only institution that issued statements of recognition of foreign or other qualifications that are required by government agencies and companies in the private sector when making decisions regarding recruitment and employment.

Developments on the local and regional scene within recent years served to highlight the need for the issue of accreditation to be given high priority on the government’s legislative agenda. Two examples are cited; In the first, a local organization seeking to offer a joint degree programme by distance through a partnership between a reputable local tertiary level institute of high standing nationally and a foreign university, failed to progress very far in its negotiations because the local institute could not provide evidence of accreditation by any national body.
 
In the second case, at the regional level, CARICOM was forced formulate a decision to establish a Caribbean Health Education Accreditation Board as an urgent and immediate measure to address a situation that arose when the UWI Medical Faculty was informed that starting this year its programmes would no longer be accredited by the General Medical Council (GMC) of Great Britain. Accreditation status with the GMC normally allowed graduates the opportunity to register to practice in most Commonwealth countries without further scrutiny. This situation developed on account of the United Kingdom’s membership in the European Union and the need for the GMC to comply with the Union’s accreditation regulations regarding academic and professional training programmes.

Taking into consideration the spiraling number of local and foreign providers of tertiary level education and training operating in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean region, it became imperative that a national accreditation council be established to monitor and evaluate the quality of educational programmes, to safeguard the interests of students and the public, and to provide an assurance of, and improve the quality of education and training offered to consumers in this country.

ACTT is a key instrument in the development of quality tertiary education in Trinidad and Tobago and plays a major role in facilitating quality assurance and accountability mechanisms across the tertiary education sector. ACTT’s key functions include:
  • Accreditation and re-accreditation of institutions and programmes
  • Recognition of foreign qualifications
  • Promotion of quality enhancement and quality assurance in tertiary education.

ACTT also serves to facilitate the establishment of:
  • A national qualifications framework that provides the basis for the creation of a seamless education and training system
  • Criteria and guidelines for ensuring programme articulation and student transfers within the system at the national and regional levels, and to facilitate the free movement of skills within the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).

Operational Framework
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