CHED Regional Director (Region VIII) Dr. George M. Colorado implored Samar State University (SSU) during the Dialogue Meeting between CHED and the university last July 23, 2019 to execute undertakings on the findings given on the different programs in order to be issued with the Certificate of Program Compliance (COPC).
The dialogue meeting attended by Dr. Colorado and the CHED Technical Team together with the University President Dr. Marilyn D. Cardoso, Vice Presidents, Deans and Campus Directors, Director and Focal Persons for Quality Assurance, Program Chairpersons, and the rest of the faculty was a portion of the 2nd day of the Faculty In-House Seminar-Workshop.
Prior to the meeting, the members of the Technical Team visited the different colleges to evaluate their documents.
“SSU has 21 applications for the COPC; 15 COPC from the Main Campus, three from Mercedes and another three from Paranas Campus. Five are still subject for RQAT Evaluation,” said one of the CHED team members.
According to CHED, five of the SSU’s programs are without COPC applications yet. These are the Bachelor of Science in Technician Education (BSTE), Mechanical Technology, Bachelor of Industrial Technology (BSIT), Bachelor of Technology (BT) and in Basey Campus, the Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEED) and BSIT.
They also asked why there were no submission of application for COPC out of all the 10 programs offered in the Graduate Studies.
Dr. Felisa E. Gomba, VP for Academic Affairs, answered that they have submitted their curriculum and they were informed by the Office of the Director before that evaluation was not a priority for the graduate programs that time.
“It was also confirmed by Sir Petillos that Graduate School programs will not be, for now, evaluate because we are waiting for the three-year period of the PSG to come based on the public hearing held last December 2018,” she stated.
The Technical Team encouraged the faculty to pursue Master’s Degree in order to comply on the faculty qualifications. Another finding they have observed was the lack of library holdings. They suggested that e-books, e-journals, and additional books for the different programs should be made available or purchased by the University.
Another concern they have raised was the limited space of the offices in the campus.
With regards to the Student Services, all were in conformity but they emphasized that there must be monitoring on the activities done by the student organizations. The OJT Manual, in addition, must be institutionalized.
The Certificate of Program Compliance is a recognition that the specific degree programs being offered by State Universities and Colleges (SUCs)/ Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs) are complaint with the policies, standards and guidelines of Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to assure the quality and relevance of education and training.
It is being issued by CHED in accordance with the pertinent provisions of Republic Act No. 7722 otherwise known as the Higher Education Act of 1994 and pertinent CHED Memorandum Orders, respectively.