University officials and academic and non-academic staff from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) and Central Mindanao University (CMU) visited the University of the Philippines Diliman last August 9, 2024 to meet with degree-granting units (DGUs) and the Quality Assurance Office (QAO) to know more about QA structures in higher education and best practices for external assessment. The Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) Quality Assurance Center sought guidance from the Department of English and Comparative Literature (DECL) and Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas (DFPP) of the College of Arts and Letters (CAL) and the Department of Journalism of the College of Mass Communication (CMC) with regard to their designation as Center of Excellence for Literature (English and Filipino) and Center of Excellence in Journalism, respectively, by the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) in 2015. On the other hand, the Central Mindanao University (CMU) Office of Quality Assurance expressed interest in pursuing program assessment through the ASEAN University Network-Quality Assurance (AUN-QA).
L-R (1st Row) Prop. Jocson (CAL-DFPP), Professor Emeritus Dr. Lily Rose Tope (CAL-DECL), L-R (2nd Row) Asst. Prof. Tangi (CMC-DJourn), and Prof. Ick (CAL-DECL) shared best practices with the PUP delegation
In the morning, QAO Director Aura C. Matias and staff welcomed the representatives from PUP, led by Prof. Rebecca E. Palma, the Assistant Director for International and Institutional Quality Assurance of the Quality Assurance Center. Assoc. Prof. Christ Michael C. Atienza, Chief for Institutional Accreditation and Sustainability, Assoc. Prof. Luisito L. Lacatan, Chief for Continuous Quality Improvement, Assoc. Prof. Mary Grace F. Yebra, Chief for International Quality Assurance, Dr. Rafael Michael O. Paz, Dean of College of Arts and Letters, and Ms. Emelie D. Taton, administrative staff, joined the PUP delegation. Representing CAL-DECL were Dr. Judy Celine Ick, the Department Chairperson, and Professor Emeritus Dr. Lily Rose Tope. Prof. Schedar D. Jocson and Prof. Maynard Manansala represented CAL-DFPP, while Asst. Prof. Lucia P. Tangi represented the CMC Department of Journalism as resource persons.
CMU’s purpose for requesting the benchmarking meeting is for its plans to undergo program assessment through the AUN-QA. The delegation was particularly interested in the preparatory activities and experiences of the Institute of Biology and School of Statistics. The delegates from CMU were composed of Mr. Bienvenido M. Butanas, Jr., Director of the Office of Quality Assurance, Mr. Erwin P. Ambasa, Asst. Director, and Ms. Charlyn C. Losaria and Ms. Fatima Grace B. Lagua, the staff from the Office of Quality Assurance. Also with them were Ms. Cheryl C. Cordova, the Director of Office of Admission Scholarships & Placements, Ms. Ruby Española, a faculty member of the College of Engineering, Ms. Marivir M. Ortega, a faculty member of the College of Arts and Sciences-Department of Mathematics, Mr. Zeus S. Elumba, a faculty member of the College of Arts and Sciences-Department of Biology, and Ms. Jenyliza T. Ucang, a faculty member of the College of Education.
Aside from the specific topics that these institutions expressed interest in, Director Matias also shared the quality assurance structure of UP. As the national university, UP has a mandate to welcome and share its knowledge to state universities and colleges (SUCs) and other higher education institutions (HEIs) in their pursuit of academic excellence.
Throughout April and May 2025, the UP Diliman Quality Assurance Office led a series of workshops, forums, and dialogues for staff, project leaders, and students with the objective of empowering the UP community to strengthen QA practices across academic and administrative processes.
The symposium brought together UP administrators, QA officers, and support staff to reflect on the University’s contributions to the SDGs and explore ways to further align academic and research efforts with the UN 2030 Agenda.
The UP Diliman Quality Assurance Office (UPD QAO) marked the institutionalization of the UP Quality Policy last April with a month-long celebration themed Pagpapatuloy, emphasizing the University’s sustained dedication to excellence and continuous improvement.
To strengthen the engagement of various quality assurance stakeholders in the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD), the UPD Quality Assurance Office held a two-day QA General Assembly last March 3 and March 10, 2025 at the Bulwagang Tandang Sora, College of Social Work and Community Development, participated by 248 members of the UPD community across the 87 academic and administrative units.
To reinforce the foundational knowledge gained from the series of onsite training for the Phase 1 of the ISO 21001:2018 EOMS Certification Project, the UP Diliman Quality Assurance Office (UPD QAO) successfully conducted multiple sessions of Process Mapping and Risk Management Coaching from November 2024 to February 2025.
7 undergraduate degree programs from UP Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga, College of Fine Arts, and College of Social Work and Community Development completed two batches of external review visits last November 20-22 and November 27-29, 2024, with external quality reviewers hailing from UP Diliman and UP Los Baños. This brings the total of undergraduate degree programs that have undergone external quality assurance to 27 in 2024.
