The CRLA Certification Team’s core value is to help tutor training administrators develop and deliver exemplary training. We help tutor training programs to meet the needs of their institution, reflect the program philosophy, and provide meaningful engagement for the tutors they train and students they serve.

The purpose of the ITTPC program is twofold. First, certification provides recognition and positive reinforcement for tutoring program’s successful work from an international organization, The College Reading and Learning Association. Second, the certification requirements set an internationally-accepted standard of skills and training for tutors. ITTPC does not certify tutors nor tutor trainers, but instead certifies tutor training programs that have demonstrated excellence in developing, designing, and implementing strong training procedures, as situated within the context of the tutorial program.

CRLA sees the review process as a valuable learning experience for the applicant. CRLA volunteer ITTPC reviewers are practitioners in the field who have been trained by CRLA to be effective reviewers. The reviewers take great care in the review process, determining if a program meets or exceeds the minimum requirements for certification. Because no two tutor training programs are exactly alike, CRLA views each application individually; attentive to its uniqueness. There is no standard “cookie-cutter” training program. CRLA reviewers pay attention to the details outlined in each application and will consult with the applicant, and/or CRLA Certifications leadership, if they have any questions or concerns.

All material contained herein is copyrighted by the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA) and the authors and is licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialNoDerivatives 4.0 International License . These materials are meant to help guide tutorial programs situated within institutions of higher education in their design, development, and revision of tutor training sessions, and may not be copied, shared, transmitted, or used in any commercial way without explicit written permission from CRLA.©

When an application is submitted, the CRLA Main Office determines that the application and payment are in order. If there are any issues at this point, the Certifications Administrator will reach out to the primary contact on the application via email or telephone to resolve the issue. The application is then posted internally, along with other applications waiting for review.

 

In 1986, following a national conference, a team was formed to propose and create a formal tutor training program standard for programs in the US and Canada. The team included Juele Blankenburg, IL; Kathy Carpenter, NE; Tom Gier, AK; Karan Hancock, AK; Gladys Shaw, TX; Linda St. Clair, UT.

In March 1989, CRLA's tutor training certification became a reality, initially as the ITCP (International Tutor Certification Program). It was later named ITPC (International Tutor Program Certification) to emphasize that it is programs, not tutors, that are CRLA certified. Then, a few years later, the name was updated to International Tutor Training Program Certification, to re-emphasize the focus on tutor training.

Since March 1989, tutorial programs situated in colleges and universities across the United States and Canada have received tutor training certification through CRLA's International Tutor Training Program Certification (ITTPC). Since that time, CRLA Certification has expanded to include programs in Australia, China, Greece, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, Morocco, South Africa, the Republic of Korea, Vietnam, and more to come.

We have certified tutor training programs at a variety of higher education institutions, including community colleges, degree-granting trade schools, institutions of technology, law schools, medical schools, tribal colleges, military schools, and many others.

CRLA's ITTPC has been endorsed by the Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations (CLADEA), including the following professional organizations:

• ACTP: Association for the Coaching and Tutoring Profession
• ACTLA: Association of Colleges for Tutoring and Learning Assistance
• NCDE: National Center for Developmental Education
• NCLCA: National College Learning Center Association

Other organizations that acknowledge the value of CRLA ITTPC include:

• ACPA: The American College Personnel Association
• CAS: Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education
• NOSS: The National Organization for Student Success (formerly the National Association for Developmental Education)

CRLA International Tutor Training Program Certification offers numerous benefits for individual tutors, tutorial coordinators, and programs. The following is a partial list of the opportunities and benefits that are possible with CRLA ITTPC.

Benefits to the institution:

• Sets a benchmark for academic support excellence across the institution.
• Ensures compliance with internationally-recognized best practices in higher education tutorial services.
• Increases assurance that tutoring services comply with standards for ethical academic behavior.
• Improves career-readiness by providing quality professional development for tutors.
• Creates additional opportunities for students to connect to faculty.
• Strengthens the connection between the curriculum and academic support services.
• Provides qualitative and quantitative data that enriches responses to accreditation standards.

Benefits to program administrators:

• Documents program initiatives and processes.
• Gives feedback from highly-experienced reviewers.
• Provides tools for creating a coherent training curriculum.
• Attracts motivated students interested in professional development opportunities.
• Generates interest and respect from campus colleagues and students.

Benefits to program tutors:

• Teaches the skills and knowledge commensurate with best practices for academic support programs and services.
• Increases confidence in the content area, public speaking, academic organization, and job performance.
• Creates a pathway to documenting experience and growth over time.
• Encourages tutors to view themselves as para-professionals in their work.
• Improves training and evaluation focus.
• Strengthens tutors’ resume in the form of internationally recognized certificate.
• Creates a culture of learning for tutors.
• May improve wages (if wages are tied to completing certification).

Benefits to students:

• The student experiences the benefit of working with someone trained in effective helping strategies, communication skills, and structuring the tutoring experience.
• The student becomes more confident as a learner by participating in a learner-centered experience.
• Research has shown that students who attend tutoring with trained tutors perform better academically than those who attend tutoring with untrained tutors.

CRLA supports ACTP's Code of Ethics as cited below:

1. Best Interest: Tutors will be committed to acting in the best interest of tutees as specified by the employing organization or institute.

2. Responsibility: Tutors will take responsibility for their own behavior and work to resolve conflicts that may arise between themselves and a client.

3. Integrity: Tutors will practice and promote accuracy, honesty, and truthfulness.

4. Fairness: Tutors will exercise reasonable judgment and take precautions to ensure that their potential biases, the boundaries of their competence, and the limitations of their expertise do not lead to or condone unjust practices.

5. Commitment: Tutors will fulfill commitments made to learners.

6. Respect for Others Rights and Dignity: Tutors will respect the dignity and worth of all people, and the rights of individuals to privacy, confidentiality and self-determination. 

7. Excellence: Tutors will strive to maintain excellence by continuing to improve their tutoring skills and engage in applicable professional development activities.

8. Respect for Individual Differences: Tutors will respect cultural, individual, and role differences, including those based on age, sex, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language and socioeconomic status.

9. Professionalism: Tutors will not engage in inappropriate relations with tutees.

10. Confidentiality: Tutors will maintain the highest privacy standards in terms of protecting personal information relative to those whom they tutor.