The governing body of public and private higher educational institutions once again recognized USJ-R as one of the leading providers of the teacher education program in the country.
This after the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) renewed the Center of Excellence status of the University’s College of Education (COE) in a memorandum order signed by Commissioner Patricia Licuanan released last March 31.
“Of course I’m very happy with this CHED recognition,” said COE dean Dr. Julieta Catipay. “We have done a lot to retain this Center of Excellence status and now we are reaping the fruits of our labor.”
COE was first declared Center of Excellence in 2007, a designation which expired last year but was swiftly renewed by CHED. The renewed designation is valid from April 1, 2016 to December 31, 2018.
Being a Center of Excellence in Teacher Education in Central Visayas, USJ-R serves as “potent catalyst for world-class scholarships, best practices, innovative curriculum, research and extension and professional development in Teacher Education program,” the CHED memorandum states.
It also enables USJ-R to avail of financial assistance from CHED on project proposals geared towards the development or improvement of the program in the region, particularly cutting-edge technology in teacher education.
As such, Dr. Catipay said USJ-R is expected to be at the forefront of providing teacher training and development for schools in the region that offer the program. The university is also expected to empower neighboring schools to improve teaching-learning processes in classrooms and help them design research-based methodologies.
“The Excellence status mandates that USJ-R become the leader in developing good quality teacher education not just for USJ-R but for the whole region,” she said. She admitted the task is daunting, “but the university is ready for the challenge,” she added.
Mr. Jestoni Babia, chairperson of the Department of Teacher Education, revealed that in conferring the designation, CHED looks at the entire aspect of a college like faculty qualification, research and instruction, licensure exams performance, linkages and community outreach, among others.
“Our strength is more on research and linkages,” Mr. Babia said. He added that for its linkages, COE has forged partnerships with institutions like the Department of Education, Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Globe, and Smart among others for projects geared toward teacher education.
USJ-R partnered with DepEd and RAFI for a series of province-wide projects that directly addressed the challenges posted by the implementation of K to 12 law and the use of mother tongue in grade school instruction.
The department chair also said that aside from working hard to retain the Excellence status, the university would also design other activities geared toward internationalization as the ASEA integration takes full effect.
Text by IPA; photos by Yoland Yap
