Revised Policies and Guidelines on Voluntary Accreditation in Aid of Quality and Excellence in Higher Education

February 15, 2005

CHED MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 001-05

 

In accordance with the pertinent provisions of Republic Act (RA) No. 7722, otherwise known as the "Higher Education Act of 1994" the Commission on Higher Education hereby promulgates the Revised Policies and Guidelines on Voluntary Accreditation in Aid of Quality and Excellence in Higher Education for the information and guidance of all concerned:

ARTICLE I

Statement of Policies

1. It is the declared policy of the State to encourage and assist, through the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), higher education institutions (HEIs) which desire to attain standards of quality over and above the minimum required by the State.

2. For this purpose, the CHED encourages the use of voluntary non-governmental accreditation systems in aid of the exercise of its regulatory functions. The CHED will promote a policy environment which supports the accreditation's non-governmental and voluntary character and protects the integrity of the accreditation process.

3. The CHED acknowledges the pioneering work and efforts of the accrediting agencies now federated under the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP), namely the Association of Christian Schools, Colleges and Universities Accrediting Agency, Inc. (ACSCU-AAI), the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU), and the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACU-COA).

4. Further, the CHED acknowledges the existence of the National Network of Quality Accrediting Agencies (NNQAA), now made up of Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities of the Philippines (AACCUP) and the Association of Local Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (ALCUCOA). AICTcE

5. The CHED shall authorize federations/networks of accrediting agencies which shall certify to CHED the accredited status of programs/institutions granted by their member accrediting agencies and in accordance with their own standards, as accepted by the CHED, for granting benefits to institutions/programs at various accredited levels, and as contained in Article No. V of this CHED Memorandum Order (CMO).

6. The CHED shall recognize one federation/network largely serving the public sector educational institutions and one for the private sector educational institutions, without restricting the freedom of any educational institution, public or private, to choose an accrediting agency for various educational programs which may belong to either federation/network.

7. The CHED demands responsibility and accountability from federations/or networks for their certification of the quality of education offered in accredited programs/institutions.

ARTICLE II

Institutional and Program Accreditation

1. Accreditation is a process for assessing and upgrading the educational quality of higher education institutions and programs through self-evaluation and peer judgment. It leads to the grant of accredited status by an accrediting agency and provides public recognition and information on educational quality.

2. Program Accreditation refers to the evaluation of individual programs of a higher education institution.

3. Institutional Accreditation refers to the evaluation of a whole educational institution of which the guidelines and standards shall be formulated in collaboration with the existing federations/networks of accrediting agencies to be approved by CHED.

ARTICLE III

Federations/Networks of Accrediting Agencies

1. Accrediting agencies shall join either of the above-mentioned federations/networks; the federation/network must have procedures and guidelines in accepting accrediting agencies as members, following this CMO.

2. Federations/networks of accrediting agencies shall have the following functions:

a. Accept and recognize its member accrediting agencies. The applicant accrediting agency must be required to have the following:

• standards for accreditation which are adequately rigorous, competitive and reflect current acceptable practice;

• appropriate survey and assessment instruments and processes;

• effective mechanism for assessing compliance of programs/institutions with its own standards;

• policies and procedures for the grant, suspension or revocation of accredited status of programs/institutions, in accordance with the federation/network policies and procedures;

 Furthermore, the accrediting agency shall submit required annual reports and documents to the federation/network.

b. Monitor the operations of member agencies, including their processes and procedures, and training and selection of accreditors; TCHEDA

c. Certify to CHED the accreditation status of programs/institutions accredited by its member agencies;

d. Assure the comparability of standards of member accrediting agencies;

e. Upgrade and update standards, procedures and criteria for accreditation;

f. Contribute to quality education through the enhancement and development of the accreditation movement;

g. Establish procedures for addressing complaints by higher education institutions regarding procedures and processes of accrediting agencies;

h. Maintain a valid and reliable data management and analysis system relating to their member accrediting agencies;

i. Submit annual reports to CHED on its operations, especially programs/institutions accredited.

3. Federations/networks seeking CHED recognition should show evidence acceptable to CHED that they are able to undertake the functions as indicated in Article III, Section 2 of this CMO;

a. Federations/networks seeking recognition shall submit application to CHED and should include the following:

1. SEC Registration, Articles of Incorporation and approved By-Laws

2. Listing of officers and members of the governing board

3. Board resolution authorizing the submission of application for CHED recognition

4. Short history of the organization and its works

5. Listing of the member accrediting agencies

6. Description of accreditation process as done by member agencies

7. Full set of accreditation instruments used by its member agencies

8. Sample self-evaluation reports and sample of Chairman's report of actual survey

9. Description of training processes and procedures of accreditors of its member agencies

10. If a network/federation is new and has not functioned yet, it should submit documentations to show CHED that it is able to do functions specified in Article III, Section 2. CTIDcA

b. Within two (2) months from application and submission of all the required documents, CHED for valid reasons may grant provisional recognition to federation/network subject to annual review.

c. The federations/networks recognized by CHED shall be subject to periodic review every five years after recognition or as the need arises;

d. Federations/networks found not conforming with the policies and guidelines of this CMO shall be required by CHED to comply within six (6) months after notification;

e. After due process is observed, CHED may limit, suspend or withdraw recognition of a federation/network.

ARTICLE IV

Accreditation Levels for Program Accreditation

1. For purposes of receiving benefits, educational programs are classified as candidate and one of four (4) accredited levels.

a. Candidate status: for programs which have undergone a preliminary survey visit and are certified by the federation/network as being capable of acquiring accredited status within two years;

b. Level I accredited status: for programs which have been granted initial accreditation after a formal survey by the accrediting agency and duly certified by the accreditation federation/network, effective for a period of three years;

c. Level II re-accredited status: for programs which have been re-accredited by the accrediting agency and duly certified by the accreditation federation/network, effective for a period of three or five years based on the appraisal of the accrediting agency;

d. Level III re-accredited status: for programs which have been re-accredited and have met the additional criteria/guidelines set by the federation/network for this level.

 Level III re-accredited undergraduate programs must satisfy the first two of the following criteria and two others of the succeeding ones:

i. A reasonably high standard of instruction;

ii. A highly visible community extension program. A description of the programs, the nature and extent of student, faculty and staff involvement, and other details shall be required documentation for this indicator;

iii. A highly visible research tradition. The following must be observable over a reasonable period of time:

• provision for a reasonable budget

• quality of completed outputs

• measurable result such as publication, etc.

• involvement of a significant number of faculty members SEcTHA

• visible, tangible and measurable impact on the community

iv. A strong faculty development tradition evidenced by an appropriate budget allocation and/or systematic plan for faculty development programs.

v. A highly creditable performance of its graduates in licensure examinations over the last three years. (will apply only to those programs where such examinations are required)

vi. Existence of working consortia or linkages with other schools and/or agencies. Documentary evidence shall include a description of the nature, mechanism, working agreements and other details of consortia.

vii. Extensive and functional library and other learning resource facilities.

 Level III accredited graduate programs must satisfy i and iii and any two (2) of ii, iv, v, vi and vii above.

 The institutions should submit pictorial and documentary evidence to support its claims.

 Only programs that have been granted "clean" re-accreditation, meaning that no progress report or interim visit is required within the five-year accreditation period, may apply for Level III status. 

e. Level IV accredited status: accredited programs which are highly respected as very high quality academic programs in the Philippines and with prestige and authority comparable to similar programs in excellent foreign universities.

 These programs must have met the following additional criteria/guidelines:

 Excellent outcomes in —

• Research as seen in the number, scope and impact of scholarly publications in referred national and international journals;

• Teaching and learning as proven in excellent performance of graduates and continuing assessment of student achievement;

• Community service and the impact of contributions to the economic and social upliftment, on both regional and national levels;

• Evidence of international linkages and consortia;

• Well developed planning processes which support quality assurance mechanisms.

 HEIs should provide adequate documentation in support of application for Level IV accredited status. ADSTCa

ARTICLE V

Benefits for Program Accreditation

The following benefits for the different accreditation levels shall be provided:

A. For Private Sector Institutions:

a. Level I/Level II

i. Full administrative deregulation, provided that reports of promotion of students and lists of graduates are available for review by CHED at all times.

ii. Financial deregulation in terms of setting of tuition and other school fees and charges.

iii. Authority to revise the curriculum without CHED approval provided that CHED and Professional Regulation Commission minimum requirements and guidelines, where applicable, are complied with and the revised curriculum is submitted to CHED Regional Offices.

iv. Authority to graduate students from accredited courses or programs of study in the levels accredited without prior approval of the CHED and without need for Special Orders.

v. Priority in the awards of grants/subsidies or funding assistance from CHED-Higher Education Development Fund (HEDF) for scholarships and faculty development, facilities improvement and other development programs.

vi. Right to use on its publications or advertisements the word "ACCREDITED" pursuant to CHED policies and rules.

vii. Limited visitation, inspection and/or supervision by CHED supervisory personnel or representatives.

b. Level III

i. All the benefits for Level I/II.

ii. Authority to offer new courses allied to existing Level III courses without need for prior approval, provided that the concerned CHED Regional Office (CHEDRO), is duly informed.

iii. Privilege to apply for authority to offer new graduate programs, open learning/distance education, extension classes and to participate in the transnational education.

c. Level IV

i. All the benefits for Levels I, II and III.

ii. Grant of full autonomy for the program for the duration of its Level IV accredited status.

iii. Authority to offer new graduate programs allied to existing Level IV courses, open learning/distance education and extension classes without need for prior approval by CHED provided that the concerned CHEDRO is duly informed.

B. For Public Sector Institutions:

a. Though public sectors institutions already possess most if not all of the benefits related to curricular and administrative deregulation granted to private sector institutions at various accreditation levels, accreditation level will be used by the CHED and Department of Budget and Management in recommending budgetary allocation for public sector institutions.

b. As for accredited private sector institutions, accredited public sector institutions shall also enjoy priority in terms of available funding assistance from CHED for scholarships and faculty development, facilities improvement and other development programs. SIHCDA

c. Right to use on its publications or advertisements the word "ACCREDITED" pursuant to CHED policies and rules.

ARTICLE VI

Transitory Provisions

1. Pursuant to the Article III, Section 3, FAAP, a recognized federation by CHED, shall submit to CHED documents on their existence, membership, procedures, accredited programs and summary on how the federation/network is able to do Article III, Section 2, Parts d, e, f, g and h within three (3) months of the effectivity of this CMO for re-certification by CHED.

2. Likewise, pursuant to the Article III, Section 3, NNQAA, a network that has not been recognized by CHED, shall submit to CHED documents on their existence, membership, procedures, accredited programs and summary on how the federation/network is able to do Article III, Section 2, Parts d, e, f, g, and h within three (3) months of the effectivity of this CMO for certification by CHED.

3. Accreditation levels recognized by CHED on the basis of certifications by federations/networks under the previous CHED Order No. 31, s. 1995 shall remain in effect until their defined/prescribed expiration period.

4. All programs accredited by AACCUP as of the date of issuance of this CMO shall be deemed recognized by CHED upon submission of a list of such programs by AACCUP within thirty (30) days upon issuance of this CMO.

5. Programs accredited by AACCUP after the date of issuance of this CMO shall be recognized by CHED only after all requirements shall have been fulfilled as required by this CMO. AACCUP should therefore seek recognition from a recognized federation/network.

ARTICLE VII

Effectivity

This CMO supercedes CHED Order No. 31, s. 1995 and shall take effect immediately.

Pasig City, Philippines, February 15, 2005.

(SGD.) FR. ROLANDO V. DELA ROSA, OPChairmanCommission on Higher Education