THE UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas once again emerged as the top institution in the country in terms of programs accredited by the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (Pacucoa).
Eight awards were conferred to UST on Dec. 1 last year during the commission’s 50th anniversary celebration and 34th General Assembly at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Cebu City.
A total of 61 UST programs have been accredited by Pacucoa, according to its 2023 data.
The University also had the most number of Level 4 accredited programs, the highest possible rating given by Pacucoa in its five-level accreditation system. Programs with this status are deemed to have “prestige and authority comparable to similar programs in excellent foreign universities.”
In an email to The Flame, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Prof. Cheryl Peralta said the awards prove that the University remains committed to providing “academic excellence and continuous quality improvement.”
“The University puts a lot of premium on internal and external quality assurance efforts to continuously and collaboratively harness its strengths and address points of improvement to serve its stakeholders in the best possible way,” Peralta said.
UST was hailed for producing topnotchers in the Professional Regulation Commission’s latest licensure exams for BS Accountancy, BS Medical Technology, BS Nutrition and Dietetics, and BS Architecture.
The College of Science won second prize for its outreach/extension contest entitled “CHEERS to Laudato si: Care for our common home through environmental expedition integrating the role of service-learning.”
Apart from institutional-level awards, Thomasian professors also received citations for their outstanding service.
Graduate School academic staff Lucila Bance, PhD was named “Outstanding Accreditor,” while Faculty of Pharmacy officials Prof. Aleth Therese Dacanay, PhD, Prof Frieda Hapan, PhD, Prof. Edilberto Manahan, PhD, and Graduate School academic staff Belen Tangco, PhD were accorded service awards.
The late dean Emerita Carmen Kanapi, who served as the first female dean of the College of Science from 1982 to 1996, was also given a posthumous award for service. Kanapi was also known as the first Filipina to have a doctorate degree in genetics.
The University of Mindanao was the second institution with the highest number of Pacucoa-accredited programs at 45. Also in the top five are the University of Perpetual Help System-Laguna (42), University of Perpetual Help System DALTA-Las Piñas (39), and both the Lyceum of the Philippines-Batangas and University of Batangas (38).
Pacucoa’s accreditation criteria covers excellent teaching and learning outcomes, research productivity for institutional effectiveness, community service, linkages and consortia, students’ career planning and development and planning process.
Since 2013, UST has been commended for having the highest Pacucoa-accredited programs in the Philippines. F
