The Philippines

1. Introduction
Philippine higher education is a unique system characterized by a big number of private higher education
institutions and an unusual large college population. At present there are over 1,427 higher education
institutions enrolling about to !2" million students in more than #$$$ academic programs.
%he &ommission on 'igher (ducation !&'()", a separate and independent body from the )epartment of
(ducation as mandated by la to oversee the higher education system in the country. *t is tas+ed to set
and enforce minimum standards for academic programs, supervise both private and public institutions,
direct research activities, rationalize higher education programs and develop centers of e-cellence. *t has
direct supervisory authority over private and public colleges and universities that offer higher education
degrees.
'igher education institutions !'(*s" can be categorized into public and private. .ut of the 1, 427 higher
education institutions, there are 1,2/# private schools hile 101 are public schools. 2tate universities and
colleges !23&s" are created by acts of national legislature and supported by annual government
appropriations. %hey operate as autonomous institutions in terms of developing their academic programs
and conferring degrees ith little or no attention to minimum educational standards prescribed
by &'(). %he &hairman of the &ommission is the chairman of the board as introduced in 4epublic Act
#212 or the 'igher (ducation 5odernization Act. 6urthermore, &'() is responsible for approving
annual budget of state universities and colleges to the congress.
Private higher education institutions in the country are broadly categorized into private sectarian and non7
sectarian. Private sectarian institutions refer to those operated by various congregations hile non7
sectarian schools are those, hich are oned by private corporations. 6or private schools, &'()
approves request for academic programs, tuition fees, faculty qualifications and student services. Almost
e-clusively, tuition fees and donations fund all private schools.
%he &'() charts the direction of Philippine tertiary education though significant reforms, proper
resource allocation and international lin+ages. %here has been a considerable activity underta+en by
&'() to enhance cooperation and e-change of students and staff. %hese activities are under the AP(&
5utual 4ecognition and 5obility Program, A2(A8 3niversity 8etor+, 38(2&., 9*5P7(A:A and
the A2(5 )uo 6elloship Programs.
2. Key Players in the Assessment of Academic Qualifications.
%here are to main players in the assessment of overseas qualifications for either academic mobility
programs or for purposes of e-aminations in the country.
2.1 The Commission on Higher Education. %he authority to conduct educational programs is applied for
and granted by the &ommission on 'igher (ducation through the recognition of educational programs
and operation of the '(*. %he grant of authority to operate consists of to parts !a" Permit Phase and the
!b" 4ecognition Phase. Permit refers to a document issued by &'() to a higher educational institution,
authorizing it to offer tertiary education programs or courses of study on a temporary basis. 4ecognition
refers to authorization granted or status conferred by the &ommission on 'igher (ducation or any of
its 4egional offices to a program or course of study such that the same becomes a continuing
authorization to operate said programs until revo+ed or ithdran. %he process is &'();s primary
means of ensuing that ne and on7going degree programs meets its minimum requirements and
standards.
%he &ommission on 'igher (ducation has the authority to provide !1" recognition of a foreign certificate,
diploma or degree and !2" recognition that the holder thereof has received the academic training required
to practice a profession. &'() loo+s closely at the evidences completely submitted and ascertains that
the applicant has satisfactorily observed the requirements as stipulated in various &'() .rders, Policies,
standards and guidelines.
%he academic degree units of all colleges and universities are eighed according to a system of
instructional units based on class hours comparable ith the credit system of the 3nited 2tates. .ne unit
of instruction equals one hour of lecture and recitation or three hours of laboratory or+. %he standard
load for full7time students is generally 1# to 24 units per semester. 'oever for student;s request of
overload units, &'() regional offices still need to approve such request.
2.2 Higher Education Institutions. %he right of an educational institution to carry on the education
activity arises from the moment it gets its permit to operate the educational program. :enerally, higher
education institutions en<oy academic freedom. %hey have the freedom to admit students, to determine
ho may teach, hat may be taught and ho it shall be taught. 'oever, they abide by the folloing
policies and guidelines by the &'().
5inimum unit requirements for specific academic programs,
:eneral education distribution requirements,
2pecific professional sub<ects as stipulated by &'() and the Professional 4egulations &ommission
!P4&".
5ost Private schools require &'() assessment of overseas credits. %here are hoever state universities,
colleges and private autonomous and deregulated institutions ho have been given more fle-ibility in
handling their assessment and academic programs.
3. Purposes for which Academic Credentials are evaluated
*t is the policy of the state to adopt measures to broaden access to education. A problem related to this is
the uneven quality of basic education. %herefore, local high school seniors ta+e the 8ational 2econdary
Achievement %est !82A%" to ascertain academic readiness for admission to college. At this time, 82A%
is already integrated in the 2econdary 2chool =eaving %est !22=%". 'oever, the &olleges or universities
may or may not use it as a basis for student admission.
Assessment of overseas educational qualifications is required for the folloing reasons>
For the recognition of courses or units earned abroad for entry into higher education institutions. A
student ho see+s admission to Philippine '(* needs recognition of his?her courses or units earned
abroad. *n this case, there are to levels of recognition done here. 6irst, the &ommission determines
hether the learning institution is recognized and or accredited by the 5inistry of (ducation or similar
organization from here the degree as obtained. 2econd, the &'() determines the comparability of
sub<ects and the number of credits equivalent to e-isting policies, standards and guidelines of the
&ommission.
For Licensure Examination. A higher education graduate from overseas as+s for assessment of his?her
academic credentials in order to ta+e professional board e-amination and practice his ?her profession. *n
this case, the applicant ill need certification of equivalency of the degree earned abroad from the
&ommission on 'igher (ducation. %he Professional 4egulation &ommission !P4&", an agency
responsible for giving professional board e-amination requires &'();s endorsement or attestation on the
degree obtained overseas. An applicant submits to P4& &'();s attestation !certificate" including other
required documents to allo overseas graduate to ta+e professional e-amination.
&urrently, a trend of deregulation is being introduced by the &'(). Around fifty7four !/4" performing
and accredited private universities and colleges are given autonomous and deregulated status. %hey no
en<oy more freedom than they ever had previously. %he fifty7four !/4" designated private autonomous
universities and colleges by &'() in 2$$2 are empoered to be fle-ible in the design of their curriculum
and in the assessment of educational qualifications, including foreign students. %he nationide
implementation of higher education academic reforms, an increase in the number of deregulated
institutions offers greater opportunity (Appendix 1-List of CHED Dereguated and Autonomous
uni!ersities"
4. ist of Approved Institutions of !i"her earnin" #sed in the Philippines
%he &ommission maintains list of accredited and recognized higher education institutions all over the
orld. 5inistries or )epartments of (ducation overseas normally provide the lists. As typically done, the
&'() consults embassies and the 5inistries of (ducation as regards recognition and accreditation of
foreign higher education institutions.
2tudents coming from universities and colleges found in the list of accredited and recognized institutions
are not automatically granted entry to higher education institutions. %hey need to meet other requirements
as specified for a particular course or profession.
*n most cases, students from other countries ho finished secondary education overseas are eligible for
entry to bachelor;s degree in the country. *n some universities, they require passing their admission test,
(nglish proficiency e-amination and psychology test. %here are additional requirements such as passing
the intervie and submission of recommendation letters from the school here the senior year in high
school as obtained.
$. Key factors on Admission of %verseas &tudents'(raduates
Admission to a bachelor;s degree usually is predicated on the passage of e-aminations designed or
adopted by a universities and colleges. 'oever, there are other factors employed to determine
appropriateness of degrees obtained by overseas students for full acceptance to our universities and other
organizations.
5.1. Length of Study and Comparability of the Secondary Curriculum 7 'igher (ducation institutions
generally accept students ho finished ten, eleven or 12 years of basic education. &onsidering that the
number of years in secondary schools varies from country to country, high school leavers are assessed
according to the sub<ects obtained in secondary school. 8ormally a student ho finished ten years of
e-tensive basic education is admitted for entry to college. %here are students from private schools ho
finished eleven years of basic education and get admission to first @ear &ollege. %here are those ho
finished telve years of basic education and are given eligibility for second @ear &ollege. A demonstrated
high aptitude for study and completion of advanced units in college are ma<or consideration in admission
to study in the Philippines.
$.2. Standard dmission Eligibility Credentials. Ahen it comes to student;s admission to higher
education, '(*s require a ide variety of application and assessment procedures. 8evertheless, many
institutions determine their entry7level requirements based on sound internal admission policies the
folloing requirements>
Acceptability of prior education and institution here the basic education as obtained !done in
consultation ith &'()". A certified copy of the high school transcript !6orm 1B77a" is evaluated
for local students.
Acceptable scores in the &ollege Admission %est. Passage on the entrance test provided by the
testing center. 6or 5edicine and )entistry a private testing center gives standard admission test.
%his is the &enter for (ducational 5easurement !&(5".
Authenticated 9irth &ertificate.
=etter of 4eference? 4ecommendation.
(nglish Proficiency as indicated in the %est of (nglish as a 6oreign =anguage !%.(6="?:&(.
&ertificate of :ood 5oral &haracter?Personal 'istory 2tatement signed by Principal or :uidance
&ounselor.
%he registrar of a higher education institution assesses credentials of overseas students. %he identity of the
person requesting assessment is also closely studied through validation and intervie. Admission for first7
degree applicants is stricter than those applying for Csecond degreeD. 'olders of first degree are e-pected
to have earned a passing grade, normally 2.$ :rade Point Average !:PA" of appro-imately #$ E.
*t should be noted that in the Philippines, foreign students are given limited slots in every '(*. *t should
not e-ceed ten !1$" percent of the total enrolment in the institution. Ahen more foreign students apply
for a particular course, ran+ing of applicants is done. %he results of entrance test and availability of slot in
the choice course by the student are additional factors considered.
5.! "ode of Study. &onventional on7campus credits are easily accepted. *t is assessed in comparison
ith &'();s Policies and guidelines on curriculum content and learning outcomes. *nstitutions ma+e
decisions on qualifications gained overseas and grants credit once assured of the comparability of
program content and umber of instructional units earned.
'oever, for academic degrees or units obtained under distance and on7line education, the &'()
maintains that it ill only recognize those coming from fully accredited and recognized distance
education providers.
). Philippine Participation in the *utual +eco"nition Pro,ects
%he Philippines is a signatory to the various academic cooperation agreements concerning mobility of
people and recognition of degrees.
).1 -he #./&C% Convention on the +eco"nition of !i"her /ducation &tudies0 1e"rees0 1iplomas
and Qualifications in Asia and the Pacific. %he Philippines became a signatory to the 38(2&.
convention in 11#B. 9ecause of the changes in political system, senate ratification is required to enforce
fully the commitments in that convention. %he &ommission on 'igher (ducation ta+es a lead role in the
ratification of the 38(2&. &onvention. *t is the current chair of the 38(2&. ()3&A%*.8
&.55*%%((. *t is targeted that the Philippine congress ould be able to ratify the agreement this year.
%he ratification of the agreement is in support of ma+ing higher education institutions as idely
accessible as possible to students and researchers from the contracting states through recognizing their
studies, certificates, diplomas and degrees.
).2 AP/C *utual +eco"nition for the /n"ineerin" Profession. %he Philippines promotes people to
people e-change and mobility pro<ects under the auspices of AP(& (ngineer 4egister Program. *t has
been admitted to assess its professional engineers for registration as AP(& (ngineers. %he assessment
covers revie of acceptable academic engineering degree, advanced professional practice and continuing
professional education. %he &ommission on 'igher (ducation together ith the Professional 4egulation
&ommission and the Philippine %echnological &ouncil served as the 8ational 5onitoring &ommittee for
the pro<ect.
2. Conclusion
6rom the foregoing account of the procedures for assessment of overseas qualifications in the Philippines,
it is clear that the &ommission on 'igher (ducation carry out its responsibilities by formulating
regulations that set minimum academic, operational, physical and administrative standards for the
establishment of schools, for recognizing overseas qualifications and providing regional information for
mobility programs. %he Philippines support reforms related to deregulation, academic freedom and
people to people e-changes. *t is eager to participate in the e-change of information and systems to better
promote regional cooperation and understanding among countries in the Asia Pacific region.
#seful Contacts for Assessment of Qualifications in the Philippines
%he folloing persons, organizations and ebsites may be visited for further information on the topic>
%he &ommission on 'igher (ducation
)evelopment Academy of the Philippines 9ldg
2an 5iguel Avenue, .rtigas &enter, Pasig &ity, Philippines
%el> !0B2" 0#771B717, !0B2" 0B77B/71
(7mail> iasFched.gov.ph
Aebsite> http>??.ched.gov.ph
&enter for (ducational 5easurement
&oncorde &ondominium
&orner 2alcedo and 9enavidez 2t.
=egaspi Gillage, 5a+ati
Aebsite> http>??.fapenet.org?cem
%el> !0B2" #1#7$4$B
Professional 4egulation &ommission
P... 9o- 2$B#
P. Paredes 2t. 2ampaloc, 5anila
%el > !$2"B147$$24
6a-> !$2"7B/47$B
Aebsite> http>??.prc.gov.ph