DLSU was recently conferred the Association of Southeast Asian Nations University Network (AUN) Quality Mark at institutional level following the visit of six AUN Quality Assurance (AUN-QA) assessors at the University last March 13 to 17. DLSU is the first University in the ASEAN to achieve the certification.
In a Help Desk Announcement by DLSU President Br. Raymundo Suplido FSC last May 30, he explains that the visit culminated a year’s preparation that required DLSU to submit a self-assessment report along with hundreds of other documents.
“During the validation visit, six of AUN’s most experienced assessors from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand toured the Taft and Laguna campuses, reviewed documents, and interviewed over 300 respondents, from the Brothers, Board of Trustees, President and Chancellor, administrators, to faculty, staff, students, alumni, and employers,” the statement adds.
What is the AUN-QA?
The AUN-QA is a group of Chief Quality Officers appointed by AUN member universities, which DLSU is a part of. The group aims to uphold the mission of “harmonizing educational standards” and “seeking continuous improvement of academic quality” of ASEAN universities. To accomplish this, they make use of a quality assurance system for maintaining, improving, and enhancing teaching, research, and overall academic standards of AUN member universities.
At the moment, the AUN-QA conducts assessments at the program level and institutional level. The assessment at program level focuses on the quality of educational activities in terms of inputs, processes, and outputs. On the other hand, the assessment at institutional level is designed as a holistic framework, which encompasses a university’s strategic, systemic, and functional quality assurance.
On DLSU’s performance
Using the AUN’s framework for quality assurance at the institutional level, the University was assessed on the following key areas: strategic (overall governance), systemic (quality assurance systems), functional (teaching, research, and service), and results (outcomes and financial performance). These four areas were further divided into 25 criteria and 111 sub-criteria. To earn the AUN Quality Mark, DLSU had to score at least 4 out of 7 across all four key areas.
As per the deliberations of the AUN-QA assessors, DLSU was rated five or “more than adequate” in strategic, systemic, and functional areas, while four or “adequate” in results.
Br. Suplido concludes, “The certificate marks another quality milestone for DLSU. It has announced our standing as a regional-quality university. Congratulations to our entire Lasallian community. Let us continue improving, not merely to validate our past achievements or enhance our reputation, but to seek to serve God faithfully in our acts of faith, service, and communion.”
