CHED: MPSPC has no compliance on university status requirements

Behind the Scenes

Alfred P. Dizon

 (Erlindo Ocay Agwilang writes this week’s column)

BONTOC, Mountain Province – Rep.Maximo B. Dalog is being worried once again after learning that up to now, the Mountain Province State Polytechnic College (MPSPC) has not complied with even one of the requirements for it to become a state university.

In the latest status report on the evaluation of state colleges for the establishment or conversion into state universities by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), MPSPC is among the state colleges that has no compliance yet on the following areas of evaluation: Program Accreditation, Faculty requirement, Library and Laboratory, Research and Development, Linkages and Outreach Programs, Academic Policies, Systems and Processes.

Dalog who was principal author of RA 10583 converting the college into a state university had been pushing and encouraging the school authorities to work harder if only to comply with the requirements and realize its university status as the college is given until January 1, 2016 to fulfil such conditions.

Among the deficiencies cited by CHED as reasons for non-compliance include: Under program accreditation, there are no undergraduate and graduate programs with level III accreditation status and no written policies and curriculum review under academic policies.

On library and laboratory requirement, CHED emphasized the inadequacy of library facilities due to the following: no separate Head Librarian for Tadian Campus, lacks professional books in terms of number of titles, quantity and recently, and lacks updated subscription to professional journals.

The report by CHED also cited: “Inadequate laboratories due to the following, (1) no dedicated laboratory rooms with required equipment for wood, science, forest biological sciences, soils, forest resource management, professional civil engineering courses and specialized criminology courses; (2) the computer laboratories lacks computer units; (3) computer units do not have internet connectivity and licensed softwares and (4) research facility/laboratory in Bauko campus is not functional/operational because it lacks computer units, research softwares, internet access, landline, and other supplies to fully support research work of faculty, staff and students.”

 On research development, CHED says there were no patents, research recommendations were not appropriately translated into extension activities and no college policies emanated from research outputs/recommendations.

 The report also noted that MPSPC has no linkages with SUCs within Cordillera Administrative Region, no international linkages and no alumni linkages.

Extension activities were not sustained over time in target communities or with target beneficiaries and all were one shot activities. “Although extension activities were anchored on EHELPING, there is no holistic approach to the extension program resulting to disconnect between/among activities.

 According to Dan Evert Sokoken, MPSPC faculty professor and member to the school’s Board of Trustees (BOT), the committee handling the university status will immediately convene to discuss on how to address the important concerns raised by the CHED.

 The college is currently being headed by an officer-in-charge in the person of Dr. Josephine M. Ngodcho who took over the administrative affairs of MPSPC after the death of then president Eufemia C. Lamen.

 According to an insider of the college, one reason why the institution is having a hard time in complying with the requirements is the lack of a resilient leader to command his subordinates.

“MPSPC needs the commanding influence of a leader so that everyone will be forced to do their respective tasks as assigned,” the source said.

He added, “If only resources are pulled together and the services of college employees who have the aptitude to work for university-hood are tapped, then we will be sailing smoothly in the compliance.”

 The BOT has yet to elect a new college president after the presentation of the four candidates who have been short listed by the search committee by June this year.

 CHED Chairperson Patricia B. Licuanan in her letter to the Committee on Higher and Technical Education said that with the above findings, the college should exert greater and sustained efforts to comply with all the stated requirements within the time frame.