Superior Licensure Exam Performance

Teacher Education. Ms. Stefanie Salcedo Vargas, a BEEd-HP graduate last March 2008 led the ADNU passers by ranking 7th among the top 10 national placers in the September 2008 Licensure Examinations for Teachers (LET) in the elementary level. As the only national topnotcher from Region V, Ms. Vargas also topped the regional rankings for elementary teachers while 4 other Ateneans complete the top four places – namely: Patricia Marie R. Ursua (2nd), Ma. Rosario B. Guidote (3rd), Junelyn L. Tresvalles (4th) and Francia O. Nobleza (4th).

In the LET for secondary teachers, Ateneans also swept the top 3 places in the regional rankings and 5 others also made it to the top 10. These achievers are Wessa B. Arca (1st), Roxanne Aquino (2nd), Michelle Thelma Ayo (3rd), Manuel Tuazon, Jr. and Ronilyn V. Golpe (5th), Jad Andrew A. Borromeo (8th), Karen S. Bigay (10th) and Rachelle Ann A. Abad (10th).

The College of Education produced a total of 35 elementary and 84 secondary teachers – all passers in the September 2008 LET.  It posted overall passing rates of 85.37% (91.89% for first timers) and 80.77% (93.90% for first timers) at the elementary and secondary levels, respectively, which are way above the national marks of 30.47% and 35.34%.  Based on the passing rates of schools and the regional rankings of examinees released by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), ADNU is undoubtedly the top performing teacher education institution (TEI) in Region V, befitting its designation as a Center of Excellence in Teacher Education by CHED.

Accountancy.  ADNU produced 36 new certified public accountants (CPAs) and had an overall (combined May and October 2008) passing rate of 39.56% against the overall national mark of 32.79%.  Based on the performance of schools in the May 2008 exams, ADNU was the 4th top performing school among schools with 51-99 examinees.

Electronics Engineering. ADNU produced 19 new electronics engineers in the March and October 2008 licensure examinations, led by Engr. Kristoffer S. Laiz who ranked 2nd among the examinees who obtained the ten highest places in the October 2008 ECE board exams.  Overall (combined March and October 2008 ECE board exams), the school posted a passing rate of 38.78% against the national mark of 36.09%.

Civil Engineering. With a passing rate of 82.35% (14 of 17), ADNU was cited by PRC as 2nd top performing school in the January 2008 board exam.  More recently, ADNU was again cited by PRC as the 3rd top performing school in the November 2008 board exams with a passing rate of 81.81% (9 of 11).  Overall (for the 3 CE board exams in 2008), ADNU posted a passing rate of 72.97% which is way above the national mark of only 37.08%. Engr. Ma. Theresa Y. Ojeda led the ADNU passers by placing 5th among the examinees who got the ten highest places in the January 2008 CE board exams. ADNU produced 27 new civil engineers in 2008.

Nursing. ADNU graduated its first batch of BS in Nursing students last March 2008 of which 92 took the licensure exams later in June 2008. The pioneer batch posted a passing rate of 69.56% (64 of 92), a performance that ranked ADNU as second best performing school in Region V, well ahead of “more established”  or accredited nursing programs in Southern Luzon. The national passing rate was 43.07%.

Outstanding Student and Faculty Achievements

After making it among the Jose Rizal Model Students of the Philippines (JRMP) in 2007, Ira Sheena Cadano Howard won as one of the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines (TOSP) in 2008.  This year, Ms. Marjorie Joy P. Alcozar continues the winning tradition in the JRMP.

In Entrepreneurship, Roger G. Abarico’s business plan for Soya Fudge was adjudged 3rd Runner-Up in the Food Category in a national competition for student entrepreneurs. The award was presented during the 34th Philippine Business Conference and Expo last 20-22 October 2008 at the  Manila Hotel.

In literature, Mr. Jerome Hipolito of the College of Education emerged as one of the winners in the Poetry Category of the 5th Premio Tomas Arejola Para sa Literaturang Bikolnon. His winning entry was a collection of poems entitled “Pagbunag nin Paroy” The award was given last September 13, 2008 in a formal ceremony at the Holy Rosary Minor Seminary.  Mr. Kristian S. Cordero and Mr. Victor Dennis T. Nierva, faculty members of the Social Science and Media Studies Departments, respectively, also won major national literary awards. Mr. Cordero won the 2008 National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Prize for Poetry for his project dubbed “Segunda Mano”.  Mr. Nierva won in the poetry category of the 27th National Book Awards with his book of poems entitled “Antisipasyon asin iba pang Rawitdawit sa Bikol asin Ingles.”

Ateneans also continued the tradition of excellence in Computer Science and Digital Animation. Two programming teams from ADNU competed in the 2nd Philippine ACM ICPC held in Cebu City last 22 November 2008.  Overall, ADNU ranked 4th nationwide and its Xavier Team composed of Salvador Tapel, Fermin Agomaa III and Jelly Pantoja and ably coached by Mr. Joshua Martinez emerged as the Best Team from Luzon (excluding NCR). The AdNU Ignatius Team, composed of Angelo Macaraig, Mitchell Zachary and Mario antonio Cape and coached by Mrs. Cecilbeth Ibañez was the Runner-Up.

In Animahenasyon 2008, a digital animation festival organized by the Animation Council of the Philippines, BS Digital Illustration and Animation students of ADNU won the Grand Prizes in the Animated Short Film and Animated Music Video Categories (Student/Amateur Division). Rjay Morada, Christopher Etane, Anthony Contreras and Emmanuel Abawag won for their animated short film entitled “Lupang Hinirang” while Ruark Tapel won for his music video entitled “Some Say”.  Rhodius N. Daduya was also given a Special Citation for his short film entitled “Hermano”.

A faculty of the Accountancy Program of  the College of Commerce, Mr. Christopher Abelinde consistently performed excellently in two professional exams.  He passed the international certification for Certified Internal Auditors (CIA) and was awarded a Certificate of Honor for being one of the top 25 global topnotchers. He is also the national 2nd placer in the recently conducted examinations for Certified Information Systems Auditors (CISA). 

Dr. Arnulfo Aaron R. Reganit, the Dean of the College of Education participated in 2008 APERA International Conference at the National Institute of Education in Singapore last November 26-28, 2008. He presented a research paper on graduates’ perceptions of study conditions and provisions while still in school, their transition from student to professional teacher, their utilization of knowledge, skills and attitudes in their profession, and their present job status.

Dr. Rufino Ll. Ramos III participated in the Young Scientists Program (YSP) of the XXIX International Congress of Psychology (ICP 2008) held in Berlin, Germany last July 20-25, 2008..  He presented his two research outputs entitled: “Predictors of Subjective Well-Being Among Filipino Adolescents” and “In the Eye of the Beholder: Implicit Theories of Happiness Among Filipino Adolescents” during the event. Abstracts of these scientific papers were published in the June/August 2008 issue of the International Journal of Psychology.  Dr. Ramos is the Counseling Psychology Program Director of the Graduate School and is currently the Director of the College Guidance Center.  He was the lone participant from the Philippines in the YSP where only scientists who have already earned their doctorate degrees, under 35 years of age and are very active and productive in specific areas of psychology are accepted.

Centers of Development and Excellence

Towards the enhancement of higher education, CHED has adopted the strategy of designating HEIs as its centers of development/excellence (COD/E) in priority disciplines. The selection criteria for COD/E include high quality of instruction as indicated by the curriculum, faculty and library resources, facilities and laboratories, and program accreditation; research and productivity, and community extension and services.

Currently, ADNU has four COD/E’s. Its College of Computer Studies is designated the only Center of Development in Information Technology Education (2007-10) in Region V.  Similarly, the College of Commerce has been designated as Center of Development in Business Administration and in Entrepreneurship (2007-10).  More recently, the College of Education has been included among only 14 Centers of Excellence in Teacher Education all over the country.  The Department of Education (DepEd) has also designated the College as its Center of training for public school teachers in Region V.

Grant of Autonomous Status

At present, there are over 1500 private higher education institutions (PHEIs) nationwide offering some 978 academic programs. CHED has the mandate, among others, to supervise these institutions while ensuring that their contribution to national development is enhanced and sustained.  In view of this enormous task, CHED rationalized its supervisory role over these PHEIs through the strategy of progressive deregulation, the high point of which is full deregulation or grant of autonomous status. CHED initially implemented this in 2001.

The latest criteria for the selection and identification of autonomous and deregulated schools (CMO 52, series of 2006) include long tradition of integrity and untarnished reputation, sustainability and viability of operations, and commitment to excellence (as indicated by presence of accredited programs, COD/Es, and other evidence of academic excellence). ADNU successfully met these criteria and was consequently granted autonomous status for a period of five years (valid until June 2, 2013).  The special status was officially granted with the issuance of CMO 33, series of 2008.

As an autonomous school, ADNU shall enjoy the following benefits:

• Exemption from issuance of Special Order (S.O.) for all graduates;
• Freedom from regular monitoring and evaluation by CHED;
• Priority in the grant of subsidies and other financial incentives/assistance from CHED whenever funds are available;
• Privilege to determine and prescribe curricular programs to achieve global competence;
• Privilege to offer new courses or programs in the undergraduate or graduate levels without securing permit or authority from CHED except in disciplines that are under moratorium;
• Privilege to establish branches or satellite campuses without securing government authority from CHED;
  Privilege to offer extension classes and distance education courses or programs to expand access to higher education and to establish affiliation with foreign higher education institutions in pursuit of international standards of education; and
• Authority to grant Honoris Causa to those deserving, per pertinent provisions of existing CHED issuance on conferment of honorary degrees.

Program Accreditation

ADNU submitted its tertiary programs for multi-level accreditation by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) last August 20 –22, 2008.  On December 3, 2008, the feast day of its patron saint – St. Francis Xavier, the school received the fax message from the PAASCU Board of Directors announcing the highly satisfactory results of the accreditation exercises, to wit:

• The Arts and Sciences, Commerce and Education (AS/COM/ED) programs are granted re-accreditation for a period of 5 years, valid until November 2013.
• The Computer Science, Information Systems (formerly Information Management) and Information Technology (CS/IS/IT) programs are granted re-accreditation for a period of 5 years, valid until November 2013.
• The Computer Engineering and Electronics and Communications Engineering (CoE/ECE) programs are granted initial accreditation for a period of 3 years, valid until November 2011.
• The Civil Engineering (CE) program is granted eligibility to apply for formal survey 6 months to one year after receipt of the report.

Previously, the AS/COM/ED and the CS/IS/IT programs had Level III (valid until November 2008) and Level II (valid until May 2008) accreditation status respectively from PAASCU, duly certified by the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP). 

Towards Institutional Accreditation    

Recently, PAASCU approved its guidelines for institutional accreditation.   The criteria include, among others, the ff.:

• The  AS/COM/ED programs should have been granted Level III status;
• 75% of (degree) program offerings should be accredited;
• Majority of student population should be enrolled in the accredited programs.

With the recent multi-level (re)accreditation of most tertiary programs and the current Level I accreditation of the Accountancy Program (valid until May 2010), 94% of ADNU’s tertiary programs are accredited to date. Moreover, a significant majority (78.24%) of college students is enrolled in these accredited programs.  Thus, ADNU is set to be eligible for institutional accreditation by PAASCU in 2009.

Greater Service to Bikol   

In a press statement, ADNU President Fr. Joel E. Tabora, S.J. dedicated the autonomous status to the university’s constituents and supporters “with much gratitude and deep resolve to continue serving the Bicolano people through quality education – both in basic as well as in higher education.”