THE UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas Manila campus will apply for deputization for the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP), an initiative that will allow working professionals to finish their college degrees without going through traditional schooling methods.
Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Prof. Cheryl Peralta said UST would seek deputization for the ETEEAP through the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) this year.
The University is eyeing to offer the alternative learning program in the academic year 2026-2027.
“We hope to apply [for deputization] within this year so we can hopefully offer it (ETEEAP) next year,” Peralta told The Flame.
“The ETEEAP has an application process, but yes. We are threshing out the details.”
Details of UST’s application for the ETEEAP would be discussed in coordination with the heads of concerned academic units during the upcoming school year, Peralta said.
Among the branches of UST, only the Legazpi campus has been deputized to carry out the program as of Jan. 30, according to a CHED document. The Albay-based campus offers the ETEEAP for bachelor programs in Education, Commerce, Business Administration and Management Education.
The program was first introduced by CHED in 1996 as an operating procedure to recognize working Filipinos who have gained training, knowledge and expertise beyond the traditional school setting.
Applicants for equivalency must be Filipino citizens, at least 23 years old, have finished high school or have acquired alternative certification and have five years or more of aggregate work experience in the industry related to their desired degree.
CHED is mandated to ensure the effective implementation of the ETEEAP and to place centers in areas that lack deputized institutions.
Higher educational institutions are required to comply with certain criteria for the acquisition and retention of their deputization, such as diverse assessment methods and institutional infrastructures.
An institution must be a center of excellence or development in the program it wishes to offer under the ETEEAP. Private schools have to be granted an autonomous or deregulated status by the CHED, while state universities have to be at a level II category or possess a certificate of program compliance from the commission.
UST has been granted autonomous status from September 2024 until Sept. 15, 2027, allowing the Dominican-run institution to offer new undergraduate programs and to raise tuition without approval from CHED. F
I am a thomasian however I did not complete my college since I got married in an early age, if there is a way in which I can continue my studies , through this program, to be honest I’m working in a bpo industry now, I want to ask how is it possible, ?, I m almost 59, this Dec, thank you