"I always define 'leading' as 'enabling'… When we talk of leading, it means to say that we are also enabling — and that's the only time we can say that we are the leader in this field of distance education," said University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) Chancellor Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria during the exploratory meeting in Ifugao State University (IFSU) on 14 November 2017. Chancellor Bandalaria, along with Asst. Prof. Myra Almodiel and Ms. Cien Angela Baurile, met with the faculty and staff members of IFSU – College of Open Distance Education and Transnational Education (CODETE) as part of the UPOU's Cascading Best Practices Program.
The meeting started with an opening statement from Dr. Nancy Ann Gonzales, IFSU Vice President for Academic Affairs, expressing her gratitude for choosing their university as one of the four Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the country that UPOU will assist in strengthening distance education programs. Dr. Serafin Ngohayon, IFSU President, gave the participants an overview of why UPOU came to visit IFSU – to conduct an exploratory meeting on the Distance Education (DE) Readiness of the university's faculty and staff. Dr. Ngohayon also shared the development that IFSU had gone through in terms of their distance education and transnational education programs. These details are vital in determining in which aspects UPOU's best practices can be cascaded.

As part of the exploratory meeting, CODETE Dean Ivan Baguilat presented the current status of IFSU's distance education program. He presented the programs they offer, the state of their faculty and staff members, and their initiatives for the CODETE programs. Mr. Joel Bahni, CODETE Application Developer, showcased the Learning Management System (LMS) he developed for IFSU.

Another part of the meeting was the identification of possible plans and activities under the cascading program. Chancellor Bandalaria led the discussion mentioning some of her observations from the distance education implementation of IFSU. Moreover, Chancellor Bandalaria also identified areas where UPOU's best practices can be cascaded. She invited the participants to the 5th National Conference on Open and Distance e-Learning (NCODeL), a conference hosted by UPOU, where they can get more insights that may help in the improvement of their programs andLMS. Furthermore, she recommended that the faculty and staff of IFSU enroll in the free online courses on DE Readiness UPOU is offering.

"What exactly do we mean by leading? It's not you walking in front. We have to reconceptualize the concept of leadership. It's you walking side by side." This is what Chancellor Bandalaria said as she explained to the participants why UPOU is assisting HEIs in developing their distance education programs. The meeting concluded with some questions from the participants and final words from President Ngohayon and Chancellor Bandalaria.

Cascading Best Practices Program is one component of UPOU's project on Institutional Innovation. This project aims to strengthen UPOU's programs and manpower. This development is expected to eventually help the university in capacitating other HEIs and enabling them to offer their programs from technology-enhanced to fully-online mode of instruction.

Other HEIs identified for this project are Benguet State University (BSU), St. Paul University Philippines – Tuguegarao, and Southern Leyte State University. (CABaurile)

📢 NOW OPENThe MOOC "𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗲𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 (𝗢𝗗𝗲𝗟)" is being offered for the second time, running from 7 July to 1 August 2025.Ready to lead and innovate in ODeL? This free online course will discuss the recent global developments and their implications to higher education, and ODeL as a system.🗓️ Start learning today—at your own pace, anytime, anywhere!✅ Existing MODeL users can self-enroll today!✅ New to MODeL? Here's how to join:1. Go to model.upou.edu.ph/ 2. Click “LOG IN” to create a new account.3. Fill out the form with your details. (𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴.)4. Check your email account to see your confirmation link. (𝘋𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 3 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴.)5. Confirm and log in.6. Browse through our website homepage, and select the course you want to enroll in. (𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦.)⚠️ Important reminder that we no longer use Google Forms for registration. Please be guided accordingly and follow the steps above for self-registration. Need help? Chat with "Openg" on model.upou.edu.ph.Don’t miss this opportunity to learn anytime, anywhere—enroll today and be part of the future of education!#UPOUMODeL #UPOpenUniversity #MOOCs #elearning #UniversityOfTheFuture #SDG4 #SDG9 #UPOUSDG4 #UPOUSDG9 #upoupublicservice📢 NOW OPENThe MOOC "𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗲𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 (𝗢𝗗𝗲𝗟)" is being offered for the second time, running from 7 July to 1 August 2025.Ready to lead and innovate in ODeL? This free online course will discuss the recent global developments and their implications to higher education, and ODeL as a system.🗓️ Start learning today—at your own pace, anytime, anywhere!✅ Existing MODeL users can self-enroll today!✅ New to MODeL? Here's how to join:1. Go to model.upou.edu.ph/ 2. Click “LOG IN” to create a new account.3. Fill out the form with your details. (𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴.)4. Check your email account to see your confirmation link. (𝘋𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 3 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴.)5. Confirm and log in.6. Browse through our website homepage, and select the course you want to enroll in. (𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦.)⚠️ Important reminder that we no longer use Google Forms for registration. Please be guided accordingly and follow the steps above for self-registration. Need help? Chat with "Openg" on model.upou.edu.ph.Don’t miss this opportunity to learn anytime, anywhere—enroll today and be part of the future of education!#UPOUMODeL #UPOpenUniversity #MOOCs #elearning #UniversityOfTheFuture #SDG4 #SDG9 #UPOUSDG4 #UPOUSDG9 #upoupublicservice ... See MoreSee Less
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