Onsite and online participants and organizers of the UPOU External Quality Assurance (EQA) Seminar-Workshop.
The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), through its Quality Assurance Office (QAO) and Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA), conducted the External Quality Assurance (EQA) Seminar-Workshop on 24 April 2023 at the CCDL Auditorium, UPOU and via Zoom. This whole-day event assisted the UPOU Self-Assessment Report (SAR) Writing Teams in preparing for the actual conduct of EQA of their respective programs.
Dr. Primo Garcia, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, delivered the opening remarks, emphasizing the vital role of quality assurance in helping the universities become more self-aware of how institutional processes and their quality affect and are influenced by learners, teachers, support staff, and other stakeholders. He further highlighted the importance of internal and external assessments as these quality assurance mechanisms enable educational institutions to demonstrate the quality of their programs to external stakeholders, including the government, the public, and the wider community of professionals.
Asst. Prof. Mari Anjeli Crisanto, Director of UPOU QAO, served as the resource speaker and facilitator of the seminar-workshop, wherein the UPOU SAR Writing Teams were oriented with the UP EQA process in the context of UPOU and were guided for various EQA preparations.
QAO Director Mari Anjeli Crisanto sharing the seminar topic, “External Quality Assurance (EQA) in the Context of UPOU.”
Through the Open Forum, the participants were able to communicate their concerns, questions, and insights on the contextualized EQA process that Director Crisanto presented. The UPOU QA Officers also addressed the queries and considered other possible approaches to carrying out the EQA activities. In the breakout sessions, they also guided the UPOU SAR Writing Teams on the specific details of external review activities, budget proposals, and timelines of the EQA activities.
A total of 64 participants consisting of members of the UPOU Quality Assurance Committee (QAC) and SAR Writing Teams of the degree programs of the Faculty of Education (FEd), Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS), and Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS), collaborated in the workshop, wherein the following outputs were drafted and/or accomplished through the breakout sessions:
- Updating of the UPOU EQA Masterlist;
- Invitation for Target Reviewers/Assessors;
- Line-item Budget for EQA;
- Budget Requests;
- Proposed Itinerary to the External Assessor/Auditor/Reviewer; and
- EQA Gantt Chart.
UPOU SAR Writing Teams working on outputs necessary for the EQA of their programs during the workshop part of the event.
With this seminar-workshop, the UPOU SAR Writing Teams can now continue with the preparation and initiate the actual conduct of the EQA of their programs through the help and support of all involved stakeholders within and outside the University.
Written by Maelyn Pisueña
Edited by Myra C. Almodiel and Mari Anjeli L. Crisanto
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