"CAS faculty members are impressive." 

This was the feedback to Dean Reynaldo Imperial by Dr. Herminia Torres, Vice President,  Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU), during his meeting when PAASCU held its preliminary visit last 30-31 January 2012.

Activist student organizations, led by the CAS Student Council, on the other hand, welcomed the PAASCU delegation with with posters and flyers criticizing their credibility to evaluate a public educational institution and labeling the accreditation process as "threat to academic freedom."

The preliminary survey is the first in a series of observations and assessments to be done by PAASCU for the accreditation of the degree programs which volunteered to be accredited, namely, BA Behavioral Sciences, BS Biology, BS Biochemistry and BS Computer Science.

Undergoing PAASCU accreditation did not come from a hasty decision among CAS administrators. Quite the contrary, it was a slow and careful decision-making process borne out of the desire to improve the capability of the College to excel in its three functions (teaching, research and public service).

It started when the Office of the Dean conducted a seminar workshop on knowledge management on 19 September 2008.

The workshop was the first time the college realized the need for an overall assessment, not just of the faculty and their capabilities, but also of the support systems required to enhance the learning process. This led to the creation of the Institutional Strategic Planning Committee and series of round-table discussions (RTDs) on a number of topics affecting all departments.

Based on the outputs of the RTDs, the ISPC organized the faculty conference on 8 to 9 April 2009 which discussed organizational issues affecting teaching and centered around the theme of knowledge sharing. Among the resolutions of the conference was the need for a general assessment of the College, including the learning environment and support structures.

This resulted to a consultation meeting with then Chancellor Ramon Arcadio on 9 September 2009 to survey various evaluation methods available to the College, including internal or self-assessment, external accreditation and benchmarking.

Internal assessment means the institution itself will conduct its own assessment. The College utilized the tool given by PAASCU as a guide for conducting the self-assessment prior to the preliminary survey.

Benchmarking, on the other hand, means an institution will get another institution which offers the same program to compare best practices. Dr. Arcadio, however, is concerned with its difficulty because the evaluating institution may not have the tools for review yet. Also, the two institutions have yet to agree on what areas will be assessed. This may lead to biased results as the institution needing evaluation may only agree to be assessed on areas that they perceive they are good at while ignoring areas that need improvement.

The Department of Social Sciences expressed intent to pursue this method for its own programs during the meeting of the faculty with Dr Arcadio in 2009. He expressed support for this method via financial support as soon as the proposal was submitted by the Department.

External accreditation, to which PAASCU belongs, means an accrediting body will do the assessment, based on the institution’s stated vision, mission and functions, using an internationally accepted assessment tool.

PAASCU is accredited by CHED and a member of the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE). It also has linkages with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), which is a private, nonprofit national organization that coordinates accreditation activity in the United States.

Ten accreditors and representatives from PAASCU did the preliminary survey, which included documentary inspection, interviews with college administrators, students and faculty discussions and direct observation.

Their survey was divided into three areas: Common Areas, College of Arts and Sciences, and Computer Science.

Common Areas, which consist of university community involvement, physical plan, and student services, were observed by Mr. Albert Oasan (Faculty, San Beda College), Mr. Don Amorsolo (Professor, University of the East) and Mrs. Chloe Ramos (Grants Officer, St. Scholastica's College).

College of Arts and Sciences, which included Faculty, Instruction and Laboratories, was observed by Dr Rebecca Torres (Vice President for Academics, Ateneo de Naga University), Dr. Ma. Lourdes Bautista (Professor Emeritus, DLSU), and Mr. Don Amorsolo.

Computer Science, also consisting of faculty, instruction and laboratories, was observed by Mr. Vicente Antonio Pijano III (Senior Consultant, Center for International Cooperation, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands) and Dr. Nelson Marcos (Faculty, DLSU-Taft).

Dr. Herminia Torres, PAASCU Vice President, interviewed Dean Imperial on administration and the College MVG.

The accreditors will submit their feedback to CAS to work on the areas that need improvement.

While students of  the four degree programs were consulted prior to the decision to undergo PAASCU accreditation, activist student organizations, such as Anakbayan, League of Filipino Students, and the CAS Student Council, view PAASCU accreditation as a threat to academic freedom.

CAS-SC officers, in particular, charge the CAS administration of deciding to undergo PAASCU accreditation without student consultation. 

The Department of Social Sciences also expressed their dissent through a Facebook note.

The note points out that the accreditation process runs against academic autonomy and integrity of the University as a public university and that it will make the College subordinate to standards of quality used for private universities.

Aside from displaying posters, the College Student Council staged a brief program right outside the Little LT (RH 303), where the student and faculty consultation meetings were held on the second day (see left).