During the opening ceremony of the inaugural UP Diliman QAhusayan Fair 2026 held on September 7, 2026, Dean Dina C. Magnaye, presented the transformative journey of the School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP) as a world-class academic unit of the University of the Philippines. Her keynote address, titled “Strengthening Systems, Uniting People, Reimagining Processes, and Propelling Impact: SURP Quality Journey from Commitment to Excellence,” detailed how SURP actively operationalized its strategic vision to position itself as a globally recognized and quality-assured center for graduate education, research, and governance across Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific. Central to the School’s transformation was the implementation of the Enterprise Performance and Evaluation Scorecard (ePES), a numerical assessment framework that monitored SURP’s operational milestones, consistently exceeding annual performance targets and rising from an 80% rating in 2022 to a 93% achievement rate in 2025.
School of Urban and Regional Planning Dean Dina C. Magnaye delivered the keynote address during the opening ceremony of the QAhusayan Fair.
A central theme of the keynote address was that true quality extends far beyond regulatory compliance, audit checklists, and static paperwork. Dean Magnaye emphasized that achieving sustainable excellence requires moving past records maintenance to instill a proactive culture centered on evidence-based continuous improvement. To operationalize this mindset, UP SURP grounded its strategy in its core values—Selfless Service, Unity, Respect, and Passion for Purpose and People—while executing the six foundational principles: leadership, academic program integration, evidence-based practices, continuous learning, people-centricity, and public engagement. The School standardized its internal administrative systems by aligning Individual and Office Performance Commitment Reviews (IPCR/OPCR) with its multi-year business plans, restructuring core course syllabi under Outcome-Based Education (OBE) frameworks, establishing standardized thesis, job, and competency manuals, and maximizing previously underutilized institutional data.
This collective approach enabled the school to attain the Level I of the Philippine Quality Award (PQA) entirely through internal alignment and capacity building without relying on external consultants. This distinction made SURP the first degree-granting unit in the entire UP System to earn PQA recognition, awarded on July 17, 2024 at the Heroes’ Hall, Malacañang Palace. SURP’s journey offers a concrete and highly replicable blueprint for academic units across UP Diliman, demonstrating that high-level quality assurance standards are achievable while maintaining academic independence and relying on native talent.
Rather than treating accolades as a final destination, UP SURP views its quality milestones as stepping stones toward broader global impact. Looking ahead, SURP is directing its strategic priorities toward full curricular revisions for all graduate programs, building retrofitting, and qualification for international benchmarks such as the Global Performance Governance Systems Recognition and the Global Performance Excellence Awards (GPEA) under the Asia Pacific Quality Organization. Moreover, its Master of Arts (Urban and Regional Planning) program is poised to undergo assessment through the ASEAN University Network-Quality Assurance (AUN-QA) in June 2027.
By framing quality as an everyday working standard rather than a temporary demonstration for evaluators, SURP sets an inspiring precedent for the broader university ecosystem. Its success serves as both a roadmap and a call to action for other colleges to move past bare-minimum compliance, harness their own internal data, and cultivate a shared culture of excellence across Ultimately, SURP’s journey stands as a powerful reminder that honor and excellence are not static ideals to be evaluated, but daily practices to be lived.
UPD QAO Director Evangeline C. Amor and UP Diliman Chancellor Edgardo Carlo L. Vistan II presented the Certificate of Appreciation to School of Urban and Regional Planning Dean Dina C. Magnaye for her keynote address during the opening ceremony of the QAhusayan Fair.
Know more about the QAhusayan Fair here: https://qa.upd.edu.ph/the-up-diliman-qahusayan-fair/.
UPD QAO successfully concluded the 2026 Self-Assessment Report (SAR) Writing Workshop pilot program, with UP Diliman Institute of Chemistry (IChem) and UP Manila Department of Physical Sciences and Mathematics (DPSM) completing the three-day onsite lecture workshop on March 9, 16, and 23, 2026.
The Bachelor of Science programs in Chemical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mining Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, and Materials Engineering completed the 61st interim review visit of the PTC-ACBET last March 23-24, 2026, at UP Diliman.
The UP Diliman Performance Monitoring Team (PMT) successfully conducted the PBMS Delivery Unit Administrators and Encoders Orientation on 11 March 2026 at the Malcolm Hall Theater, UP College of Law, with 117 participants and representatives from all 32 Delivery Units of the University in attendance.
The UP Diliman Quality Assurance Office held an onboarding session for project proponents of approved Academic Program Improvement (API) Fund 2026 programs on February 2 at Seminar Room C, National Engineering Center. The session covered key budgeting, accounting, and procurement guidelines for implementing API-funded projects.
As global university rankings continue to shape how higher education institutions are perceived, evaluated, and engaged worldwide, the University of the Philippines Diliman convened academic and administrative units for the QS and THE University Rankings Symposium on December 5, 2025, at the UP National Engineering Center Audio-Visual Room (AVR).
The Bachelor of Science programs in Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, and Geodetic Engineering successfully completed the 57th Philippine Technological Council-Accreditation and Certification Board for Engineering and Technology (PTC-ACBET) Accreditation Visit on November 18-20, 2025, at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
