Day 2 of AACCUP National Conference highlights: Challenges and opportunities for SUCs, collaboration, adaptive technology, and accreditation updates

By Cecile Vizcaya, Faculty Correspondent

Photo credits: MPC Office of the President

The second leg of the 38^th National Conference of the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities of the Philippines (AACCUP) continues with a roster of four (4) engaging topics delivered by leading names in the academe and innovation industries.

The first plenary session, dubbed the President’s Time, featured the presentation of Dr. Tirso Ronquillo, President of the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC). His talk focused on the challenges and opportunities for state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the country, giving a statistical glimpse of SUC situational profiles and the lamentable realities that SUCs meet head-on related to: annual budget allocation; infrastructure and facilities; faculty and staff development; curriculum vs. industry needs; and research and extension. He also related the continual efforts of the PASUC to present and lobby for the concerns of SUCs in legislative and executive initiatives related to higher education. On one hand, he congratulated the SUC presidents for driving and delivering their institutional visions. “We may be encountering challenges, but we are seeing progress. We will win this battle,”Dr. Ronquillo said.

The second plenary session, led by Dr. Aphichart Rodchanarowan of Kasetsart University in Thailand, provided insights on the significance of collaboration in pushing for developments in his university, specifically in their flagship program which is agricultural science. In his talk, Dr. Rodchanarowan outlined the must-haves of quality assurance with respect to national policy, which includes clarity in vision and an understanding of strategic challenges, advantages, and threats. Moreover, he mentioned that a key indicator in leadership is moving from compliance and competitiveness to excellence, to challenge the institutions to go further and create an impact. In terms of collaborative approaches to problem solving, he shared that domestic and international partnerships will be able to fill-in knowledge gaps through networking activities. He ended his talk saying that “Cultivating a quality culture is a journey that requires commitment, collaboration, and a focus on continuous improvement. By embracing these principles, institutions can achieve excellence and positively impact our communities.”

Dr. Rodchanarowan also fondly related that the 38th AACCUP National Conference was an opportunity not only to share but to come to the Philippines for the very first time.

Dr. Juan Robertino Macalde, Manager of the Learning Development and Management Office of SEAMEO-INNOTECH, talked about critical advancements in adaptive learning technologies during the third plenary session. He shed light into the evolution of leadership paradigms as drivers and factors that push the world to adaptive learning, including the rise of digitalization and artificial intelligence technologies. He also provided an outlook into the ICT and AI competency framework for teachers, emphasizing the concept of eTeachers, especially in the higher education institutions (HEIs). For Dr. Macalde, artificial intelligence and personalization, machine learning, and data analytics all constitute quality assurance in the age of digitalization, and HEIs have to implement this to ensure value. This leads all HEIs to conduct readiness assessments for adaptive learning technologies, including provisions for ethical standards. He recommended HEIs to develop institutional policies, invest in faculty training, enhance data security, adopt continuous quality improvement models, and foster industry partnerships to be able to embrace an adaptive learning system in universities and colleges.

Dr. Milabel Ho’s talk in the last plenary session identified eight (8) pointers about updates on the AACCUP accreditation system and process. She clarified items related to institutional accreditation (IA), program accreditation, accreditors’ training, big data management, accreditation fees, change of nomenclature, request for certification, programs on accreditation, and instrument revision. The changes, particularly in the process and nomenclature, invited several inquiries from officials and quality assurance directors and managers of different SUCs.