Continuing the disruptive innovations of previous planning sessions, Tarlac State University kept its eyes on fortifying internationalization plans and “burning of boats” during the annual university planning attended by the TSU executives and Administrative Council on March 30, 2021 at the Alumni Center of the TSU Lucinda Extension Campus.
This planning session themed “Quality, Responsiveness, and Resiliency: Keys to TSU’s Internationalization” is seen as a springboard for strengthened internationalization in all roadmaps and undertakings of the university according to TSU President Dr. Myrna Q. Mallari noting that the purpose of planning is to “always move forward.”
“We need to look beyond what happened in 2020. While we say that it was a challenging year, let us just think of 2020 as an opportunity to do better. Let us look at it as an opportunity for us to keep on shining in terms of our services to TSU,” President Mallari said.
Furthermore, President Mallari urged the Administrative Council to journey together to attain the university’s vision and to observe a paradigm shift in generating new knowledge (research), imparting generated knowledge (instruction), and sharing the generated knowledge to the community (extension) to produce 21st century learners and become a society-centric academic institution.
“Let us journey for a strengthened internationalization which is not just about inking a MOA [memorandum of agreement]. It is about generating knowledge together through these [international] exchanges,” President Mallari added.
Along with the TSU administration, Mr. Christian Aaron Bondoc attended the university planning as a representative of the TSU alumni association. Bondoc was the student regent from 2016 to 2017.
Burning and Building of Boats
During the presentation of plans, Vice President for Administration and Finance Dr. Marlon V. Gamido shared a quote on “burning of boats” alluding to leaving old habits and moving forward for development.
“When you burn the boat, don’t return to old ways. We must look into what we have now, and we must look forward to IZN [internationalization] to direct all our efforts in research, extension, and instruction,” Dr. Gamido said in reference to the achievements of TSU during the seven-year presidency of Dr. Mallari.
Meanwhile, Vice President for Academic Affairs, who presented Roadmap B, responded to the said quote that the academic group aims to build bigger boats which will take TSU “around the world” or towards internationalization.
Continuing the trend, Vice President for Research and Extension Services Dr. Armee N. Rosel mentioned that they have already “burned their boats” and moved forward with the appointment and designation of promising directors along with the creation of a new roadmap, Roadmap C, solely dedicated for research and community services.
On the other hand, Vice President for Planning and Quality Assurance Dr. Niño B. Corpuz emphasized that they do not need to build boats because they continually teach people to be relevant and self-reliant through Roadmap D.
For Roadmap E, Management Information Systems Office director Dr. Heidilyn V. Gamido stated that TSU has leaped from traditional classrooms to flexible learning with the help of information systems.
Improved Roadmaps
TSU has been using roadmaps since 2014 to assess the university’s accomplishments and to guide its future strategic actions with the leadership of President Mallari. Such roadmaps were reviewed and improved through the Office of Planning, Performance Monitoring, and Evaluation (then Institutional Planning and Development Office).
From four roadmaps in 2014 focusing on infrastructure and equipment development; faculty, personnel, and executive development; quality management system; and information systems, the university’s path has been streamlined and new roadmaps were added and refined for inclusive development.
In 2018, the academic performance roadmap was added to include academic targets and performance. While in 2020, the roadmaps were revamped with the merging of infrastructure and human resources and the creation of a research and community service development roadmap.
In crafting the TSU roadmaps, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of United Nations were considered and incorporated. [Jazzel Llaneli M. Manabat]
