The Quality Assurance Office (QAO) of the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), in coordination with the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA), organized a Self-Assessment Report (SAR) Orientation on 30 August 2023 via Zoom. This online event served a dual purpose, providing support to the new members of the SAR Writing Teams by acquainting them with the SAR process, while also providing the existing members with a refresher to prepare for the continuous self-evaluation and external review processes of their respective programs.
Assistant Professor Mari Anjeli L. Crisanto, Director of UPOU QAO, served as the resource speaker and facilitator of the event. She discussed and presented the key components and overall plan for the SAR at the programme level and its relation to the External Quality Assurance (EQA) endeavor of the University of the Philippines (UP) System.
In the first part of the program, she provided an overview of the SAR and EQA initiatives of UPOU and presented the function and components of the iAADS+ Portal, a data gathering tool and repository developed by the UP System. During the discussion on the iAADS+ portal, Ms. Ma. Gian Rose Cerdeña, the QA support staff of the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS), shared a walkthrough of the SAR Evidence Module of the iAADS+ portal, emphasizing the important features in the website and demonstrating how to navigate the portal efficiently through uploading data sets and downloading the reports.
Significant QA initiatives at UPOU level were also discussed by Director Crisanto, including the resources featured in the Quality Assurance through Self-Assessment Report (QASAR) Course accessible through MyPortal, the learning management system of UPOU. The administrative matters and processes for the newly revised SAR Writing Team appointments were also communicated to the participants at the end of the seminar.
In the Q&A portions of the orientation, the participants were able to raise their concerns, seek clarifications on their appointment, and gain insights on how to streamline the writing of the SAR, fostering a productive and collaborative environment among the programs and committees.
Participants of the UPOU SAR Orientation 2023 held online via Zoom
A total of 48 participants consisted of members from the Faculty QA Teams, the Center for Open and Digital Teaching and Learning (CODTL), and the SAR Writing Teams of the degree programs of the Faculty of Education (FEd), FICS, and Faculty of Management and Developments Studies (FMDS). Selected CODTL members were invited to provide an introduction to the quality assurance initiative and criteria for evaluating teaching and learning through the AUN-QA assessment.
As the UPOU SAR Writing Teams proceed with their SARs, engaging in data gathering or writing activities and collaborating with stakeholders, they actively contribute to the quality culture envisioned and pursued by UPOU as the university of the future.
This initiative is part of QAOs mandate to assist the university in implementing QA initiatives through capacity-building activities and meetings, faculty and CU-level, aligned with UP System’s QA thrust.
Written by Ammanessi Lapitan ♦ Edited by Dr. Myra C. Almodiel ♦ Contributed by the UPOU Quality Assurance Office
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