A TEAM of 17 accreditors from the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (AACCUP) visited CAFSD on Aug. 18-22 to evaluate two undergraduate and four graduate programs for Level IV status.

The programs were BS Agriculture, BS Forestry, MS Agriculture major in Animal Science, MS Crop Science, MS Rural Development, and PhD Rural Development.

Level IV is the highest accreditation standing that can be awarded to a program/institution.

Accreditation is a process by which an institution at the tertiary level evaluates its educational activities, in whole or in part, and seeks an independent judgment to confirm that it substantially achieves its objectives, and is generally equal in quality to comparable institutions.

AACCUP is one of four accrediting agencies in the country tasked to conduct evaluation of programs and institutions. It is composed of 111 member-SUCs.

Programs that pass AACCUP standards and are awarded accreditation status lend prestige to member-institutions as justified by their possession of quality standards. These also help parents know which program they may send their children to for quality education.

During the opening program on Aug. 18, Dr. Wilma C. Natividad, VP for academic affairs, said the activity is a very important process “in our quest for relevance and excellence which translate to the fulfillment of our vision to be a world-class university and our mandate as a higher education institution.”

“While we have adopted excellence as a way of life, we recognize this visit by the AACCUP because it will provide us more opportunities for growth, and enable us to discern our strengths and weakness that would guide us to improve our capabilities,” she added.

Ten criteria were used to assess CAFSD’s programs:  1) vision, mission, goals, and objectives; 2) faculty; 3) curriculum and instruction; 4) students; 5) research; 6) extension and community involvement; 7) library; 8) physical facilities; 9) laboratories; and 10) administration.

Accredited programs or institutions may be a rational basis for budgetary requests, normative financing, and SUCs levelling; and a factor in future selection as Center of Development/Excellence; among other potential incentives.

During the closing program, President Miriam E. Pascua thanked the university constituents for their all-out support to the accreditation process which proved “our strong cohesiveness towards this worthy endeavor.”  She, too, promised to follow the recommendations of the AACCUP team for the improvement of the university programs for the benefit of the university’s clientele.

“We will take our recommendations objectively so that we can improve these degree programs in our quest for global recognition in the near future,” she assured.

The AACCUP team was led by Dr. Manuel K. Palomar, professor emeritus of the Visayas State University, who served as overall coordinator. He also led the team that assessed the BS Agriculture program.

Other team leaders were: Dr. Emerson V. Barcellano, campus director of Kalinga Apayao State College – BS Forestry; Dr. Richard C. Ramirez, executive officer of the Isabela State University (Cabagan) – MS/M Crop Science; Dr. Marlene B. Atinyao, chair of the Animal Science Department of Benguet State University – MS/M Animal Science; Dr. Marivel S. Villorente, head of the Teacher Education Center of Aklan State University – MS Rural Development; and Dr. Jose G. Daniels, campus director of  Ifugao State University – PhD Rural Development.