CHED ACCREDITATION IN THE PHILIPPINES The CHED has its scheme of quality assurance when colleges and universities

submit themselves to voluntary accreditation through the four accrediting agencies: the Philippine Association of Accrediting Agencies of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU), the Philippine Association of Colleges and UniversitiesCommission on Accreditation (PACU-COA), the Association of Christian Schools and Colleges (ACSC), the Accrediting Association of Chartered Colleges and Universities of the Philippines (AACCUP), all under the umbrella of the Federation of Accrediting Agency of the Philippines (FAAP). The CHED recognizes only the FAAP-certified accreditation of the four accrediting agencies-without necessarily encroaching on the academic autonomy of the latter. The individual higher education institution in the Philippines confers the degrees. State universities and colleges are authorized to confer degrees by virtue of their respective charter. Similarly, the CHED-supervised institutions and local universities and colleges, classified as public institutions, are allowed to confer degrees. The private higher education institutions are authorized to confer degrees if their programme offerings have government recognition issued by CHED. The CHED is mandated to set and enforce minimum standards for programmes and institutions of higher learning and at the same time, monitor and evaluate their performance for appropriate incentives as well as imposition of sanctions such as diminution or withdrawal of subsidy, recommendation on the downgrading or withdrawal of accreditation, programme termination or school closure. The CHED is also tasked to set standards, policies and guidelines for the creation of new institutions as well as conversion or elevation of schools to a college or university status. On the whole, there are two types of accreditation in the Philippines, namely, government accreditation and private accreditation. Government accreditation is done by CHED which involves the process of issuance of government authorization to offer programs to the private HEIs in the form of permit or recognition. The SUCs do not secure government authority from CHED in offering programs while the CSIs and LCUs in some instances secure authority when they do not have legal basis for the programs to be offered. In the case of the private HEIs, permit or recognition is granted to them upon compliance to the minimum requirements prescribed by CHED for the various programmes. For this purpose, the CHED has Regional Offices in the different regions of the country assisted by the Regional Quality Assessment Teams (RQATs) in the different disciplines which are tasked to evaluate the extent of compliance of the HEIs to the minimum standards. On the other hand, private accreditation which is voluntary in nature pertains to the accreditation being done by the private accrediting bodies. Accreditation standards are beyond the minimum requirements prescribed by CHED for the various programmes. CHED encourages accreditation by giving HEIs incentives and greater autonomy. Because of the recognition and benefits which CHED has been extending

to HEIs with accredited programmes, accreditation is now viewed as a means of promoting educational excellence through self-regulation and peer evaluation. The Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP) is the umbrella organization which is authorized to certify the accredited status of programs granted by the different accrediting agencies, namely: the Association of Christian Schools and Colleges Accrediting Agency, Inc. (ACSC-AAI), the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU), the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACU-COA), and the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities of the Philippines (AACUP). The major steps in the accreditation process are as follows: (1) institutional selfsurvey or self-evaluation; (2) preliminary visit (four to six months after the start of self-survey); (3) formal survey visit (a minimum of six months after preliminary visit); and (4) decision by governing board of accrediting agency. The levels of accreditation are as follows:

Level I applicant status: for programmes which have undergone a preliminary survey visit and are certified by the FAAP as being capable of acquiring an accredited status within two years; Level II accredited status: for programmes which have been granted accredited status by any of the member agencies of the FAAP and whose status is certified by the latter; Level III accredited status: for programmes which have at least been reaccredited and have met additional requirements based on criteria/guidelines set by FAAP; and Level IV accredited status: institutions which have distinguished themselves in a broad area of academic disciplines and enjoy prestige and authority comparable to that of international universities.

The benefits for the different accreditation levels are as follows:

Level I - partial administrative deregulation. Level II full administrative deregulation, financial deregulation in terms of setting tuition and other fees, partial curricular autonomy, authority to graduate students without prior approval of CHED and without need for Special Orders, priority funding assistance, priority for government subsidy for faculty development, right to use on its publications or advertisements the word ACCREDITED, and limited visitation/inspection and/or supervision by CHED. Level III all the benefits for Level II and full curricular deregulation. Level IV all the benefits for Levels II and III, award of grants/subsidies from the CHEDs Higher Education Development Fund (HEDF), and grant of charter or full autonomy