USP earmarks P6 million for school upgrade

CEBU, Philippines - The University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USP) is spending around P6 million this school year for the upgrading of the school’s curriculum and facilities, among others, in preparation for evaluation visits of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA).

This investment is over and above the investment the school has poured for the physical expansion in its two campuses located in Lahug and Mabini such as the construction of a three-story student dormitory in the USP Lahug campus.

“(The investment on the accreditation) is more of building the inner university. This is in line with the school’s vision and commitment to provide quality education to our students,” USP president Alicia Cabatingan told The Freeman.

She said USP is instituting ways to “strive for excellence.” These include revisiting its curriculum, its grading standard, syllabi and implementing programs for accreditation, “the best yardstick to quality education,” from independent organizations such as the PACUCOA.

PACUCOA is a private accrediting agency which gives formal recognition to an educational institution by attesting that its academic program maintains excellent standards in its educational operations, in the context of its aims and objectives.

The USP has applied with the organization its various college programs and its basic education programs for accreditation. From level one, USP aims to move a notch higher to level two its programs under the college of arts and sciences (CAS) and college of education. The school will also submit for evaluation to level one status its college of computer studies and information technology, the school of business management and its basic education—elementary and high school—programs.

Cabatingan said USP’s ultimate aim is to acquire in 2012 the autonomous status, the highest status a university can get, from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Universities placed on the autonomous status are considered premium schools and are at the pedestal, in terms of quality. They also enjoy certain privileges such as deregulation of academic programs and tuition fees. To gain the autonomous status, CHED requires a school to have six programs accredited on level three. 

USP plans to apply in 2012 for level three accreditation the four programs under the CAS and the two programs under the College of Education to acquire the autonomous status.