Following the “mock” accreditation last November 12-13, professors, student and administrators gathered on the fifth floor of the newly blessed Henry Sy. Sr. Hall to discuss the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAASCU) processes last January 25.
PAASCU accredits individual programs as well as entire institutions. The last visit of PAASCU in 2010 saw the re-accreditation of the University’s academic programs at level III, as well as DLSU’s institutional re-accreditation at level IV, the highest-level accreditation that PAASCU offers.
Albeit the first university to be accredited by PAASCU at level IV, DLSU’s institutional credit as a level IV University is no longer unique. The Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) has been re-accredited as a level IV institution, with 21 of its programs re-accredited not at level III but at level IV.
Concern
The orientation also served as a venue to air concerns to the different administrators. Br. Joseph Scheiter FSC expressed concern over the dwindling number of Physics professors and high school teachers who study at DLSU over the summer to improve their curriculum. He adds that the program now attracts around 30 teachers when it used to attract 700.
In assessing a university, PAASCU evaluates the college/school’s community involvement, the faculty, instruction, library, laboratories, physical plant, student service and the administration.
Visitors from PAASCU will visit the University on February 18-19.
