THE COMMISSION on Higher Education (CHED) has opened its nationwide applications for tertiary-level schools to acquire the Center of Excellence (COE) designation, a title conferred to departments or degree programs within institutions that consistently excel in instruction and research.
In a memorandum dated Sept. 18, CHED called on universities and colleges across the country to create more COEs that serve as “potent catalysts” in fields vital to world-class scholarship, nation-building and national development.
“All qualified higher education institutions (HEIs) are invited to submit their applications for COE designation in various disciplines except Teacher Education,” it read.
The directive was issued in line with the Higher Education Act of 1994, which mandates the development of potential centers of excellence through various selection, recognition and implementation standards.
The schools are required to assess their own departments based on the commission’s pre-selection criteria before submitting their notarized application.
Academic units must satisfy two criteria: they should have received a valid government recognition or certificate of program compliance for private and public institutions, respectively, and have attained a level II accreditation from any CHED-reorganized agency or equivalent award.
Institutions have until Oct. 31 to prepare their submissions.
The memo said shortlisted schools would also be subject to in-person inspections for verification of their documents.
COEs are determined by six markers based on CHED’s framework. These are innovation culture, culture of research and creativity, international outlook, staff development tradition, learner and graduate quality and service orientation.
A department or academic unit is deemed a Center of Development (COD) if it demonstrates potential to become a COE.
According to a list from CHED, a total of 12 UST programs are COEs, three of which are from the College of Science (Biology, Chemistry and Psychology), while two are from the College of Tourism and Hospitality Management (Hotel and Restaurant Management and Tourism).
Other UST programs that are COEs are Chemical Engineering, Medical Technology, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Philosophy and Teacher Education.
Meanwhile, 11 academic units in UST have been designated as CODs, including the Communication, Journalism and Literature departments of the Faculty of Arts and Letters. Also part of the list are the remaining five departments in the Faculty of Engineering namely Civil, Electrical, Electronics, Industrial and Mechanical Engineering.
The University’s other CODs are Information Technology, Library and Information Sciences and Physical Therapy. F
