Promoting Global Excellence in Engineering Education Among Private Institutions of Higher Learning

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(1)APCChE 2004 Plenary Session III Chemical Engineering Education: Global Standard and Future Strategy. PROMOTING GLOBAL EXCELLENCE IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION AMONG PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING PL36011 Julius B. Maridable De La Salle University-Manila 2401 Taft Avenue 1004 Manila, Philippines Phone: (+632) 524-4611 local 200 Fax: (+632) 524-0563 E-mail: [email protected]. ABSTRACT The Philippine Educational System is such that majority of educational programs for higher learning are serviced by private schools with limited financial assistance from the government. These private institutions supported their operations primarily from tuition and school fees. For example is the chemical engineering education in the country offered by 34 engineering institutions and universities; 7 are state run while 27 others are privately managed. The fundamental problem the private schools face is the shortage of funds that make accreditation by an independent body a low priority budget item. But how do we address the issue of “quality engineering education”? How good a school is? All schools in the Philippines have gone through one form of accreditation. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED), is a regulatory body that oversees the program offerings in tertiary learning institutions and universities in the country. This is the government agency that first determines if schools have adequate resources that could sustain their program offerings as well as could maintain the level of educational quality prescribed by the commission. Schools who have complied with the minimum requirements prescribed by the government have their programs “recognized by the government”. This is then viewed as a type of school accreditation by the government. However, “recognition by the government” is inadequate for judging the quality of the school. Thus voluntary, private accreditation provides the opportunity for an institution to attain standards above those prescribed as minimum requirements by the government. The paper will provide an insight of the educational accreditation process that is happening or is supposed to be happening in the country’s engineering institutions and universities.. 1.

(2) KEYWORDS Permit to Operate, Government Recognition, Registered Chemical Engineer. INTRODUCTION The paper deals with the process of voluntary accreditation undergone by the private colleges and universities in the Philippines. But first it will describe the system of higher education in the country especially on the mechanism employed by the government in regulating course offerings of private institutions, on its effort to recognize excellent schools by granting them autonomy and deregulated status, and the establishment of Centers of Excellence (COE) and Centers of Development (COD) to schools whose academic programs have attained standards comparable to that of international universities. The paper will also highlight the licensing process of becoming a Registered Chemical Engineer by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the academic training that one should fulfill for conferment of the baccalaureate degree in chemical engineering. The voluntary accreditation process by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) will be described. It will cite the objectives of the accrediting agency, the composition of the accrediting board and the assigning of weight values to each section covered by the evaluation.. The Philippine Higher Education System The Philippine Higher Education System is a private led system established by private individuals or families (National University), by foundations (Baguio University Foundation), religious groups (University of Santo Tomas, Order of Preachers, Dominican), and industrial corporations (Mapua Institute of Technology). Currently, there are 1200 private higher education institutions under the supervision of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) under the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines with a total of almost 2.6 million students enrolled in some 978 academic programs in the undergraduate and graduate levels. Among these academic programs is the Chemical Engineering Program offered by 27 private colleges and universities and 7 state run institutions in the country. The process by which an institution can offer a new program requires that an institution first be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), especially if the institution is a newly established one. After it has fulfilled the documentary requirements and passed the initial inspection of CHED, a “Permit to Operate” will be issued by the Commission. It will be allowed to operate for a probationary period during which the institution must apply for government recognition. A “Government Recognition” is. 2.

(3) bestowed to an institution on a probationary status only after it has met CHED standards of operation. It will take about 5 years for an institution offering a new engineering program to earn the “government recognition”. An engineering undergraduate program like chemical engineering follows a curriculum that will require 5 years of study. The curriculum consists of General Education, Physical and Chemical Principles, Mathematics and Allied Sciences, General Engineering and Chemical Engineering Major Courses. The latter consist of Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics, Chemical Engineering Calculations, Industrial Processes, Momentum Transfer, Heat Transfer, Mass Transfer, Industrial Waste Management and Control, Process Equipment and Plant Design, Biochemical Engineering and Bioengineering. The curriculum also requires a research based thesis and an on-the-job training (OJT) in companies or industrial plants. Upon completion of the program, the degree of Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering is conferred. However, a possession of the degree in Chemical Engineering is not a guarantee that one can practice the chemical engineering profession or render chemical engineering service in the country. One needs to be registered by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to be able to practice the profession and earn the title of an “Engineer”.. The Registered Chemical Engineer The practice of an engineering profession in the Philippines is being regulated by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) under the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines. It is composed of several Regulatory Boards, one for each type of profession, under the administrative control and supervision of the PRC. The latter is headed by a Commissioner appointed by the President of the Republic. The Chemical Engineers Regulatory Board is composed of a Chairman and 2 members to be appointed by the President of the Republic of the Philippines from among those recommended by the Commission from the nominees of the duly integrated and accredited national organization of chemical engineers. Among the duties of the Board in regulating the practice of chemical engineering profession are: (i) Determine and evaluate the qualifications of the applicants for registration; (ii) In coordination with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), inspect the facilities, faculty, equipment and other aspects directly related to the chemical engineering program of educational institutions; and (iii) Prescribe the subjects in the licensure examinations, determine the syllabi of the subjects and their relative weights, construct the test questions in the examination, score and rate the examination papers and submit the examination results to the Commission. The qualification of the Board Chairman and members at the time of the appointment shall be: (a) A natural-born Filipino citizen and resident of the Philippines (b) At least a holder of Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering or its equivalent, as conferred by an engineering school of good standing, recognized and accredited by the Government (c) A registered chemical engineer who has been in active practice for at least 10 years (d) A member of. 3.

(4) good standing of the integrated and duly accredited national chemical engineering profession and (e) A person who does not have any pecuniary interest, directly or indirectly in any university, college, school or institution conferring an academic degree necessary for admission to the practice of chemical engineering or where review classes in preparation for the licensure examination are being offered or conducted; nor shall he be a member of the faculty or of the administration thereof at the time of his appointment to the Board. It could be gleaned that the Regulatory Board for Chemical Engineers represents an independent body that is working in close coordination with CHED, Professional Organizations and Industry not only in the licensing of individuals to practice the chemical engineering profession but also in the evaluation of the chemical engineering program if and then graduates have earned the level of competencies needed by the industry. The Board has the power to close educational institutions whose graduates have not performed satisfactorily in the licensure examinations. To be registered and licensed chemical engineer and be included in the Roster of Chemical Engineers, an applicant seeking admission to the chemical engineering examination must fulfill the following requirements: (1) Must be a citizen of the Philippines (2) Must be of good moral character (3) Must be graduate of a school, college or university recognized by the government and has been conferred the degree of Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering or its equivalent and (4) Has not been convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude by a court of competent jurisdiction. A successful candidate should obtained a general average of no less than 70% and a rating of no less than 50% in any examination subject. The Commission will then issue a Certificate of Registration and Professional Identification Card and upon registration obtain a seal as prescribed by the Board bearing the registrant’s name, registration number and the legend “Registered Chemical Engineer”. To be a Chemical Engineer in the Philippines therefore, takes 6 years of study and preparation for the licensure examination.. The Process of Accreditation All schools in the country have gone through one form of accreditation. “Government Recognition” can the be viewed as the first level of accreditation of private institution by the government because the latter officially accepts the fact that such institution has complied with the set of standards prescribed, and authorized the institution to continue with its operation. This is a compulsory form of accreditation with the government as the accrediting body. In August, 2001 CHED Resolution Number 151 was passed that promulgates the guidelines to implement the grant of autonomy and deregulated status to selected private higher education institutions (PHEIs) with corresponding benefits. This is another form of “recognition” by the government. “Autonomy and Deregulated Status” are granted to institutions established as Centers of Excellence (COE) or Centers of Development (COD). 4.

(5) and or private higher education institutions that have attained with Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP), Level III Accredited Programs; outstanding performance of graduates in the Licensure Examination administered by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and institutions with long tradition of integrity and untarnished reputation. With the granting of Autonomy and Deregulated Status, an institution has attained a higher level of accreditation than recognition, since the criteria for selection have gone beyond minimum requirements for institutional operation alone but include parameters indicative of the institution’s overall quality performance (i.e. quality of instructions, research outputs, support services, graduates, etc.) as manifested by the Level III accredited programs by a non-government accrediting agencies and other criteria as indicated above. To date, of the 1200 private higher education institutions supervised by CHED, 4.33% have been granted autonomy and deregulated status. One of the criteria for institutions to gain autonomy or be deregulated is that their programs are recognized as Centers of Excellence (COE) or Centers of Development (COD) by the commission. The evaluation process involved actual visits by CHED Technical Panels to various institutions in the whole country. The areas covered for evaluation are Faculty, Instructions, Library, Laboratories, Physical Plant, Student Services, Administration, Community Involvement and Research. Each area is assigned grade points so that a weighted average of 80 to 89 will earn the program as COD while 90 onwards, the program becomes a COE. For example, De La Salle University’s program in Chemical Engineering is the only Center of Excellence in the country and is recognized to be at par with the world’s best. As COE in Chemical Engineering, the university is expected to spearhead the development of chemical engineering education in the country and to extend assistance to other institutions in upgrading their chemical engineering program. Programs recognized as COE or COD receive financial grants from the government and will be re-evaluated after 3 years. Aside from government recognition, some private higher education institutions believe that voluntary accreditation by a non-government independent body can significantly help improve their educational quality. And being accredited will enhance and protect their academic integrity as well as assist academically weaker institutions in improving the quality of their program offerings. In so far, agencies involved in accreditation process are the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) founded on 1957; the Association of Christian Schools and Colleges Accrediting Agency (ACSC-AA), founded in 1972; and the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACU-COA), founded in 1973. These associations are coordinated under a separately incorporated Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP), which serves also as the liaison between the voluntary accreditors and the national government, primarily the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Among the 3 accrediting agencies, PAASCU has the most memberships and stable operations. In this paper only the PAASCU process of accreditation will be presented.. 5.

(6) The Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) PAASCU is a private organization which accredits academic programs which meet commonly accepted standards of quality education. It was founded on December 2, 1957 when 11 colleges banded together after having undergone peer accreditation and became the Charter members of a permanent Accrediting Association. The PAASCU’s objectives are as follows: 1. To stimulate and integrate the efforts of institutions to elevate the standards of education in the Philippines in both rural and urban areas. 2. To strengthen the capabilities of the educational institutions for service to the nations. 3. To identify educational institutions which meet or exceed stated criteria of educational quality. 4. To encourage and assist institutions which have the potential and interest to improve themselves through continuing evaluation and self-surveys. 5. To provide counsel and assistance to established and developing institutions and programs. 6. To provide a basis for institutional relationships, particularly in the transfer of students. 7. To provide guidance to the students and parents in the choice of institutions and programs. 8. To attract financial aid from government and other sources for accredited programs and schools applying for accreditation. PAASCU accreditation follows the goals model. Great emphasis is therefore placed on the formulation of the school’s purposes and objectives. Only when its goals are clear can the school discover the extent to which they are being achieved. PAASCU does not expect school to be identical. Rather, it evaluates the school according to its stated purposes and objectives taking into consideration the nature and needs of its students and the school’s individual context. PAASCU judges an institution not by comparison with other sound institutions, which may legitimately vary in many respects, primarily by the degree to which each institution’s avowed purposes are matched in actual practice in the eight broad Areas included in any school’s framework: College Community Involvement, Faculty, Instruction, Library, Laboratories, Physical Plant, Student Services and Administration. There is no automatic cut off point to define PAASCU standard. The schools accredited by the agency can have a wide range of quality yet the lowest of these is clearly better than the average school in the country. Programs accredited by PAASCU are: Engineering, Liberal Arts/Sciences, Education, Commerce, Nursing, Agriculture, Accountancy, Social Work, Medical technology,. 6.

(7) Computer Science, Pharmacy, Radiologic Technology, Physical/Occupational Therapy, Interior Design/Fine Arts, Architecture, Hotel and Restaurant Management. The evaluation criteria and self-survey forms developed by PAASCU attempt to list all the desirable traits or characteristics of a school. Taken together, they give the picture of an ideal. No school is expected to have all these characteristics in an outstanding manner, for the ideal does not exist. The criteria and instruments (self-survey forms) are merely tools to help the school measure the quality of the education which it provides. In the assessment of the various areas, weaknesses in one area may to some extent be balanced or compensated for by the strength in another area. To emphasized the relative importance of the areas to be evaluated, weight values have been given to the different Sections and Sub-sections of the Survey Forms. The general average given to a particular Section is multiplied by the weight value to arrive at the weighted average for the Section. The sum of the weighted averages of Sections IA-VIII is the divided by the sum of the weight values to get the final evaluation mark for the survey. The weight values given to the different sections are shown on the Table below: SECTION I-A II III IV V VI VII VIII. DESCRIPTION College/University Community Involvement Faculty Instruction Library Laboratories Physical Plant Student Services Administration Total. WEIGHT VALUE 4 6 6 4 4 2 4 3 33. The PAASCU Accreditation Process 1. The Institutional Self-Survey This is a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the school’s educational resources and effectiveness, made by its own Faculty and Administration. Such an institutional survey or self evaluation is a major enterprise that takes about six months to complete. It is conducted with the use of PAASCU survey forms by a staff appointed by the administration. The results of the institution’s self-evaluation are finally presented to PAASCU in the Self-Survey report, which records and interprets the salient features revealed by this self-evaluation. This report is later used by the PAASCU Survey Team when it evaluates the school. 2. The Pre-Survey Visit. 7.

(8) Five to six accreditors make an informal preliminary visit for two days mainly for the purpose of verifying the self-evaluation made by the school. This Pre-Survey Team takes a general look at the school situation, studies the recommendations made in the Self-Survey report and makes recommendations of its own if necessary, and decides whether the school can be ready for a Formal Visit within a certain period of time. 3. The Formal Survey Visit This is conducted by seven to eight accreditors not earlier than six months after the Pre-Survey Visit. The visit usually last two days. In their Formal Survey Report, accreditors cite the action taken by the school on the recommendations given by the Preliminary Survey Team, and make recommendations of their own. 4. Initial Accreditation Upon favorable evaluation and recommendation by the Formal Survey Team, the PAASCU Board of Directors grants accreditation for a period of three years. With this initial accreditation the institution becomes a full member of PAASCU. 5. Full Accreditation This is granted upon favorable re-evaluation at the end of the 3-year period. This time accreditation is awarded for a period of five years. 6. Periodic Resurvey An institution after being granted full accreditation status, should expect to undertake a self-survey and to be visited after five years upon the recommendation of the last PAASCU accreditation survey team.. Categories of Membership In PAASCU As was shown on the above, the accreditation process follows several stages, and each stage is identified to a particular status of an institution seeking membership in the Association. Each stage corresponds to certain requirements and qualifications. The first category is applicant status, followed by candidate status, and finally member status. 1. Applicant Status. An educational institution committed to institutional self improvement through the guidance of PAASCU may request to become an Applicant Institution. The applicant must submit (1) Application Letter from the President of the Institution (2) Government Certificate of Recognition (3) Documents supporting the institution’s case for acceptance such as the institution’s objectives, history, organizational structure and by-laws, principal administrators, number of faculty members, number of students, and any other materials/brochures or publications. (4) Payment of an application fee. The terms and conditions include (1) granting of Applicant Status for a maximum period of 3 years, except when extended by specification of the Board. 8.

(9) of Directors. (2) Submission of Annual Progress Report delineating the progress of the institution in specific areas. 2. Candidate Status. The candidate status is granted to institutions which have completed their preliminary surveys and are preparing for initial accreditation. The candidacy should not be misconstrued as accreditation. It only signifies that an institution is progressing toward accreditation. The applicant is expected to have completed a preliminary survey, had implemented the recommendations of the Preliminary Survey team, had completed the Institutional Self-Survey using the PAASCU survey forms and should submit the accomplished Self-Survey at least 1 month prior to the Formal Survey Visit. Terms and conditions at this point allow the granting of the Candidate Status by the Board of Directors until such time that the institution meets the requirements of a Member Institution. Further more, the Institution should implement the recommendations of the Preliminary Survey Team. 3. Member Status. An accredited Institutions may be granted a Member Status if the Institution received a favorable rating during a Formal Survey Visit conducted by a PAASCU Accrediting Team and should implement the recommendations of the Formal Survey Team. The Institution has to pay a membership fee. The favorable evaluation obtained by the Institutions, leads to granting of accreditation for a period of 3 years at the end of which a 5 year accreditation period is merited if the Institution continues receive favorable evaluation. Moreover, PAASCU grant Institutional Accreditation on the conditions that all degree programs of that institution are accredited. For example institutional accreditation Level 4 is granted to De La Salle University-Manila by the virtue that all their programs have been granted Full Accreditation or have earned the Level 3 accreditation status. In retrospect, there are conscious efforts on some private institutions in the country to earn accreditation status through voluntary accreditation vis-à-vis fulfilling the government mandate for recognition. Private institutions that continuously strive for educational quality would on the long term earn the competitive advantage either as a major contributor for national development or gain international prestige as a reputable academic institution. However, institutions in the country should strive for international accreditation or must exert efforts for benchmarking with reputable institutions abroad. It must establish effective and meaningful linkages with universities outside the country through activities like research collaboration, faculty exchange, short term training program, student exchange and joint hosting of seminars and conferences to create networking.. REFERENCE. 9.

(10) 1. CHED Memorandum Order No. 32, Series of 2001, “Grant of Autonomy and Deregulated Status to Selected Higher Education Institutions with Benefits Accruing Thereto”, Republic of the Philippines, September 27, 2001. 2. PAASCU Manual of Accreditation for Higher Education Institutions 2000, Quezon City, Philippines. 3. Republic Act 9297, “Chemical Engineering Law of 2004”, Joint Session of the House of Congress and the House of Senate, July 28, 2003.. 10.

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