The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) reminded state universities and colleges (SUCs) on Thursday, March 20, that quality assurance in education must be properly documented and not merely assumed.
In a statement, CHED emphasized the importance of verifiable processes, accreditation, and continuous assessment to ensure that academic programs meet national and international standards.
CHED noted that this initiative is part of the government’s push to improve the quality of higher education, urging institutions to adopt transparent and data-driven approaches in evaluating their performance.
Highlighting the importance of a strong quality assurance mechanism, CHED commended two campuses of the University of the Philippines—UP Manila and UP Los Baños—for their “strong and active efforts to ensure that their academic programs are quality assured.”
“UP Manila and UP Los Baños have demonstrated leadership as a national university by ensuring that their programs are quality assured, with proper documentation, based on national and international standards,” CHED Chairperson Popoy De Vera said.
“They now serve as an example for other state universities and colleges to subject their degree programs to quality assurance processes and ensure proper documentation because quality assurance should be documented, not assumed,” he added.
CHED-PRC joint circular
Last week, CHED and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) signed a joint circular to ensure quality assurance among board programs in Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs).
CHED noted that UP Manila and UP Los Baños “have strengthened their initiatives to secure national, regional, and international quality assurance certifications to demonstrate that their degree programs will continue to produce world-class professionals.”
The CHED-PRC joint circular establishes a stricter framework requiring SUCs and local universities and colleges (LUCs) to obtain a Certificate of Program Compliance (COPC) or an equivalent CHED-recognized national or international quality assurance certification.
In recognition of the strong quality assurance mechanisms at UP Manila and UP Los Baños, CHED exempted these institutions from the COPC requirement, which is jointly set by the PRC and CHED to determine whether graduates are eligible to take licensure examinations.
“We pursue quality assurance from local and international accrediting bodies to ensure that, as the national health sciences center, UP Manila can serve the Filipino people through our world-class programs and alumni,” Chancellor Michael Tee said.
CHED noted that 11 board programs at UP Manila are now exempt from the COPC requirement and are assured of admission to their respective licensure examinations.
The 11 board programs that were granted exemptions from the COPC are:
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Dental Medicine
Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy
Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences
Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy
Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy
Bachelor of Science in Public Health
Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology
Diploma in Midwifery
CHED said that a non-extendable deadline for COPC compliance has been set for September 2025, with priority given to board programs.