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The accreditation of curricular programs in the Philippines, particularly for state universities and colleges, is the main function of the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (AACCUP), Inc. Organized in 1987, though officially registered and recognized under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 4, 1989, it is the youngest of the four (4) accrediting agencies in the country until late 2003. Under its charter, one of the functions, if not the main purpose of AACCUP, is "to develop a mechanism of, and conduct the evaluation of programs and institutions."

AACCUP is now closely allied with the Association of Local Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation, Inc. (ALCUCOA), organized only in the later part of year 2003.

The AACCUP is a member of the:

 

VISION:

To develop a mechanism for, and conduct the evaluation of programs and institutions.

 

MISSION:

To make the attainment of quality in education an integral part of the higher education systems more particularly among chartered state colleges and universities in the Philippines, through a sustained program of internal and external assessment.

 

Dr Myrna Q MallariDR. MYRNA Q. MALLARI is the newly elected President and Chairperson of AACCUP. She brings her valuable experience and exposure in the field of business, finance and administration to her position as the current President of the Tarlac State University and with more than 35 years of service at the University. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a University Professor. She has held a number of key positions at the Tarlac State University such as Vice President for Administration and Finance, Director of Graduate Studies, Dean ofthe College of Business and Accountancy and Chairperson of the Institute of Business Administration.

Her strong leadership and stern management style were established through the various memberships and major positions she held for several organizations. She was President of the National Association of Certified Public Accountants in Education from June 2013-2014. During her term as the President of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) – Tarlac Chapter in 1996, the chapter has received its first ever major national awards. She was also a Board Member of the National Association of Government Internal Auditors for six (6) years. Pres. Mallari received her Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.) degree from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in 1994 and Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) at Tarlac State University in 1985. Her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration - Major in Accounting was obtained from the University of the East in 1979 where she graduated with cum laude honors. She received various awards from Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) as Outstanding Certified Public Accountants in Education, Honorary Life Member Award in 2017, Outstanding PICPA Member for Central Luzon in 1999. In her more than just three (3) years as President, the Tarlac State University, the University has been awarded the Integrated Management System which includes the tripartite awards of the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System, ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System, and OHSAS 18011:2007 Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series. The Tarlac State University was also Institutionally Accredited by the AACCUP and Top in terms of the number of accredited programs nationwide.

What is Accreditation?

Accreditation is viewed as 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.

Program As the Unit of Assessment

Currently, accreditation in state colleges and universities is by program. A program is defined as a course or a group of related courses packaged in a curriculum and leading to a graduate or undergraduate degree. Examples of programs are elementary teacher education, civil engineering, agriculture, etc.

AACCUP is now considering other models, like, accrediting by institution as alternatives to, or to complement program accreditation.

Other Attributes

Aside from being program-focused, accreditation is:

  1. based on standards of the accrediting agency, which are normally higher than those set by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and other appropriate agencies, e.g. Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).;
  2. voluntary on the part of the higher education institution that may want to be accredited;
  3. an evaluation by peers, i. e. the external accreditors are mostly faculty members from other higher education institutions; and
  4. non-governmental.

  1. To us in AACCUP, the current strongest factor to harmonize QA practices, and the best means to promote a level playing field, is the CHED-initiated Outcomes-Based Quality Assurance System (CMO 46).
  1. Upon the invitation of CHED, and as accepted by the AACCUP Board of Trustees, a one-year CHED-AACCUP contract was crafted in 2014, with CHED providing funding assistance amounting to P2 Million for AACCUP to revise its instruments of program and institutional accreditation “in line with outcomes-based quality assurance…” (AACCUP completed the one-year contract on time on September 30, 2015.

The long-range vision of AACCUP is to develop among SUCs a “culture of quality” such that quality assurance is then rested inside the school system, that SUCs shall maintain a certified roster of quality programs and processes.