ACCREDITATION

The accreditation of curricular programs in the Philippines, particularly for state universities and colleges, is the main function of the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (AACCUP), Inc.

Organized in 1987, though officially registered and recognized under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 4, 1989,
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it is the youngest of the four (4) accrediting agencies in the country until late 2003. Under its charter, one of the functions, if not the main purpose of AACCUP, the is "to develop a mechanism of, and conduct evaluation of programs and institutions.

The AACCUP is a member of the:

National Network of Quality Assurance Agencies, Inc. (NNQAA), formed by AACCUP and the Association of Local Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation, Inc. (ALCUCOA).

Asia-Pacific Quality Network (APQN) with AACCUP as member of the Steering Group based in Hong Kong, China.
International Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) based in The Hague, The Netherlands.

THE PROGRAM OF ACCREDITATION

What is Accreditation?
Accreditation is viewed as a process by which an institution at the tertiary level evaluates its educational activities, in whole or in part, and seeks an independent judgment to confirm that it substantially achieves its objectives, and is generally equal in quality to comparable institutions.

Program As the Unit of Assessment

Currently, accreditation in state colleges and universities is by program. A program is defined as a course or a group of related courses packaged in a curriculum and leading to a graduate or undergraduate degree. Examples of programs are elementary teacher education, civil engineering, agriculture, etc. AACCUP is now considering other models, like, accrediting by institution as alternatives to, or to complement program accreditation.

Other Attributes
- Aside from being program-focused, accreditation is: based on standards of the accrediting agency, which are normally higher than those set by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)and other appropriate agencies, e.g. Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).; voluntary on the part of the higher education institution that may want to be accredited; an evaluation by peers, i. e. the external accreditors are mostly faculty members from other higher education institutions; and non-governmental.

BENEFITS OF ACCREDITATION

Programs that have passed the standards, and are awarded accreditation status: lend prestige to member institutions, justified by the possession of quality standards and unremitting efforts to maintain them at high level; help parents to know which program they may send their children to for quality education; make all those engaged in education aware of standards of excellence which they should strive to attain;

 make possible for those proposing funding and those who are to fund, to know what to support and how much support is needed; and make possible for an evaluated program to know its strength and weaknesses, and in what aspects it needs to develop.

Accreditation has also been used as a criterion in administrative decision-making in a variety of ways:

applicants for teaching in the Department of Education (DepEd)who are graduates of accredited programs are granted credit points; used as a criterion in the levelling of State Universities and Colleges (SUCs); used as a criterion in the selection of schools for foreign students;

 some agencies consult AACCUP about the accreditation status of colleges and universities attended by their employees for purposes of promotion; and

sometimes foreign universities consult AACCUP regarding the accreditation status of programs attended by Filipino students seeking admission.

In view of the failure of CHED Order No. 31 to provide benefits to SUCs, AACCUP has taken cognizance of the following potential incentives to be granted to accredited programs/institutions:

as a rational basis for budgetary requests; for normative financing; as a factor in the selection of Centre of Excellence (COEs) and Centre of Development (CODs); for SUCs levelling;

 as a requirement for the conversion of a college to a university; as a factor in assessing the appointment/transfer of an SUC President; and for matching-fund schemes where requirements for accreditation are matched with funds from CHED

THE CONDUCT OF ACCREDITATION

Stages of Accreditation

The accreditation process passes through different stages/activities:

Application
an educational institution files its application to undergo accreditation with AACCUP.

Institutional Self-survey
upon approval of the application, the applicant institution will be required to make an internal assessment by its internal a creditors to determine the program's readiness for external review.

Preliminary Survey Visit

the evaluation of the program for the first time by external accreditors. Passing the assessment entitles the program to be awarded a Candidate status valid for two (2) years.

1st (Formal) Survey Visit

the evaluation of the program which has attained Candidate status, and if it has attained a higher level of quality, is awarded a Level I Accredited status, good for three (3) years.

2nd Survey Visit

involves the evaluation of an accredited program, and if it has passed the standards set at a higher level of quality than the immediately preceding survey visit, may qualify the program to an award of Level II Re-accredited status, good for five (5) years.

3rd Survey Visit

the accreditation stage conducted after a program has enjoyed a Level II Re-accredited status for five (5) years. Passing a higher level standard of quality entitles the program to apply for Level III. The program is then evaluated and must excel in four (4) areas, namely:1) instruction and 2) extension, which are mandatory; and two (2) more areas to be chosen from among research, performance in licensure examination, faculty development, and linkages.

4th Survey Visit

is a higher level which if hurdled, may entitle the institution to an institutional accreditation status.

Criteria Used
Mission, goals and objectives Faculty Curriculum and Instruction Students Research Extension and Community Involvement Library Physical Facilities Laboratories Administration

ACCREDITORS
The actual accreditation survey visits are conducted by teams of accreditors usually composed of five (5) members per team per program staying in the host institution for a period of three (3) days. At present AACCUP has already trained over 900 senior faculty members with different specializations from different state universities and colleges. More than 500 have qualified, and 323 are active members of the Pool of Accreditors.

Thank you...