Tarlac State University responded to the call of quality assurance by undergoing the Institutional Sustainability Assessment (ISA) spearheaded by the Office of Institutional Quality Assurance and Governance of the Commission on Higher Education (OIQAG-CHED) last August 28 to 30, 2019 at the TSU Alumni Center of the Lucinda Extension Campus.
The ISA is a quality assurance process that assesses the institutional sustainability of an HEI in five key result areas which are KRA 1 – Governance and Management, KRA 2 – Quality of Teaching and Learning, KRA 3 – Quality of Professional Exposure, Research, and Creative Work, and KRA 5 – Relations with Community.
This 3-day assessment includes perusal of documents, interviews with members and stakeholders of the university, and site visits to verify the self-evaluation done by the TSU area heads and to ensure quality in the five KRAs.
The assessors are from higher education institutions in regions I, II, and IV composed of Dr. Lea L. De Guzman, Dr. Conrado I. Dotong, Dr. Olivia M. Legaspi, Dr. Nerissa P. Batoon, Dr. Eva U. Cammayo, and Dr. Esmenia R. Javier.
Representatives from CHED Regional Office III were also present during the ISA to provide assistance to the needs of the assessors and to assist TSU in the needed supporting documents.
“The ISA is a means to fortify and strengthen quality assurance measures in the university,” as told by Dr. Javier, the team leader of the assessors, during the interview with deans, directors, and program chairpersons.
It is seen by the university as a means to improve its Internal Quality Management System and as an avenue to possibly receive points for vertical typology (Autonomous and Deregulated for Private HEIs and SUC Levelling for SUCs) under the Institutional Sustainability and Enhancement Criteria.
In addition, University President Dr. Myrna Q. Mallari expressed her gratitude to the assessors and the conduct of the ISA during the exit meeting for it enabled members of the TSU community to learn and appreciate the achievements, milestones, and present status of the institution through the preparations done and questions asked.
She added, “This [ISA] is actually doing us a favor because we learned our strengths and we will learn also for our earnest improvement.”
Also during the exit meeting, Dr. Javier commended the hard work of the institution, particularly the Quality Assurance Office headed by Dr. Niño B. Corpuz. “The work is a bit harder because of time constraints but it became very light because of the full support of everyone,” said Dr. Javier.
TSU will receive the ISA results from CHED after the technical working group reviewed the reports submitted by the assessors.
