Dr. Felisa E. Gomba, the VP for Academic Affairs was among the first 39 who were admitted to the Executive Development Program (EDP) of the Philippine Higher Education Career System (PhilHECS). The Commission on Higher Education (CHED), in cooperation with the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) and the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) opened the program in July of 2016. According to DAP RAS Committee, 140 applicants passed the screening based on documents and were subjected to several level of evaluations/examinations. The first level was a Personality and IQ Computer Aided Test in CITRA where only 70 applicants successfully made it.These 70 applicants were subjected to second and third examination. The second evaluation includes written and oral examination, the written was an essay type on HEI Cases; while the oral was an interview done by three(3) panel interviewers from CHED and CESO Board; and the third evaluation was a simulation type of examination-presentation of analysis of an SUC case. From these 70 applicants who took the second and third examinations, the top 40 applicants were finally chosen to the Batch I PhIlHECS-EDP track training. Only 39 candidates officially attended the training. Only successful candidates from this training are allowed to take the Higher Education Candidate Officer(HECO) Assessment Examination by February 2017.
The PhilHECS involves residential training, experiential learning and practical application of best practices, while also serving as a venue for dialogue on critical issues in higher education governance.
Qualifications of applicants include age (35 to 55 years), a Filipino citizen, must not have been convicted of any administrative offense or crime involving moral turpitude wherein the penalty is more than six months’ imprisonment, have least five years in a senior-level administrative or management position, or at least three years in a senior-level administrative or management position for individuals with an academic rank of assistant professor or higher, and must hold a doctorate degree from a reputable HEI or its equivalent on the basis of outcomes-based education (OBE) and the Philippine Qualification Framework (PQF).