Hope is Bravery

            “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it, the brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” This famous quote by Nelson Mandela inspired the College of Education (COE) to boldly face the loops and holes of moving a step forward and achieving the greatest height of accreditation.

            With the belief that as a family of unified passion, dedication, and commitment, the College of Education confidently subjected its Bachelor of Secondary Education and Bachelor of Technical Teacher Education program to the Accrediting Agency of Charted Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (AACCUP) Inc. for a Level IV Phase 2 Accreditation. This is the highest level of accreditation set under CHED Memo 1 series of 2015 which indicates that the program granted with such status has very high-quality academic programs.

            The journey was not easy for the COE considering the presence of the COVID 19 pandemic and the challenge of doing the accreditation process virtually. Collating data, making follow ups for the beneficiaries of the community services, preparing the physical and virtual set up, and uploading pertinent documents were never been easy for the local counterparts. Nonetheless, the COE family with the leadership of Dr. Riza B. Lintag and the chairpersons of the programs evaluated, Dr. Chona M. Navarro (BSED) and Dr. Analaine G. Laxamana (BTTE), the test of patience, emotional and physical capacity alongside with the responsibilities as educators was surpassed. The College was even more fortunate for having a very strong support system from the University President, Dr. Enrique G. Baking, the Vice-Presidents; Engr. Rohel S. Serrano, Engr. Reden M. Hernandez, Dr. Reynaldo C. Nicdao, Engr. Ranie B. Canlas, Dr. Dolores T. Quiambao and the members of the Administrative Council. The Quality Assurance Office headed by Dr. Emmanuel Pareño and the Accreditation Coordinator Engr. Mary Anne M. Sahagun and their staff also expressed their tremendous assistance in making the undertaking a reality.

            The product of the long days (and even nights) of hard work and sacrifice of the entire faculty of the College of Education has started to see the fruition of success during the AACCUP Online Accreditation on May 19-21, 2021. Day 1 set of activities encompass the Orientation, Presentation of the Compliance Report for the 10 Key Areas that were evaluated in the Level IV Phase 1 and the Evaluation of Narrative Reports.  Engr. Rohel S.  Serrano, the Executive Vice President set an invigorating mood with his Welcome Remarks.

Two equally competent, skilled, and respectable accreditors represented AACCUP. The first one is the Over-all Coordinator and Team Leader of the BTTE Program, Dr. Manuel A. Sanchez, Jr., Professor 6 at Iloilo Science and Technology University.  Prior to his retirement, he became the Vice President for Academic Affairs of the said institution.  It can be construed that he had a very active professional life in the field of education as manifested in his previous administrative positions.  He was the former Research Director, Main Campus Administrator, Dean of the College of Industrial Technology, and had been the Officer-in-Charge as the College President for six months of Iloilo Science and Technology University.       

For the BSED Program the Team Leader is Dr. Carlo T. Nabo, Professor 3 at the College of Teacher Education in Western Mindanao State University in Zamboanga City.  He is an active CHED RQAT Accreditor for Teacher Education in Region IX, and an active AACCUP Accreditor and having been awarded the Top 1 Accreditor in active service during the recent AACCUP annual convention.  He received such recognition after having accredited more than 50 different SUCs to this day all over the country from Level I to IV including Phase 2. 

Day 2 kicked off with the formal Opening Program and the Presentation of the Five (5) Mandatory Areas to be evaluated which are Research, Teaching and Learning, Community Service, International Linkages and Consortia, and Well-developed Planning Processes. During the presentation, the best practices of the programs were highlighted. The chair and the members for each area smartly and confidently answered all the questions of the accreditors.

Day 3 marked the Closing Ceremony in which the over-all impressions of the accreditors were relayed. The results were not revealed yet Dr. Sanchez left the College of Education with positive remarks with his parting quote from Tom Peters, “Excellent firms do not believe in excellence- only in constant improvement and constant change. He left the College with a challenge of unceasingly seek for improvement and embrace positive changes. The Vice President for Academic Affairs, Engr. Reden M. Hernandez, concluded the program with the Pledge of Commitment.

The 3-day Online Accreditation was a great leap for the COE family to serve as an inspiration in conquering one’s fear and emerge triumphantly in the end.  In each of us we carry a little amount of courage but when put together we become unstoppable: BRAVE and DEDICATED with high HOPES all for God for Honor and for men.

gam/jya/abf