To highlight 2024 milestones and set forth directions for the future work of Linking Standards and Quality Practice (LiSQuP) program, the PNU-LiSQuP team, led by the University President, Dr. Bert J. Tuga and Vice President for Academics (VPA), Dr. Marilyn U. Balagtas presented important year-end updates of the program on December 13, 2024, at NEAP-NCR Training Facility in Marikina City.  In attendance were officials from the National Educators Academy of the Philippines namely, Dr. Jennifer E. Lopez, Director IV; Dr. Leah B. Apao, Director III, and from Office of the Undersecretary for Human Resource and Organizational Development, Dir. Margarita C. Ballesteros, Director IV.

The PNU team was also joined by the Vice President for Finance and Administration (VPFA), Dr. Lordinio A. Vergara; Dean of the College of Alternative and Lifelong Learning (CALL), Dr. Celia M. Ilanan; University Registrar, Dr. Rosario M. Belmi; and LiSQuP’s Research Officers. Staff from the National Educators Academy of the Philippines were also present in the reporting.

The reporting, structured in three parts, centered on detailing the following : (1) Current Status of the Scholars, (2) Support Mechanisms, and (3) Project’s Next Steps. NEAP officials were invited to respond to areas of concern raised after all the presentations of the team. Data were shown to better understand the current situation of the program and to arrive at evidence-based recommendations.

In Presentation I, President Tuga, Project Overall Lead, presented the status of the scholars as they progress in the program. This presentation relied predominantly on the numbers based on aggregated scholars’ data.  Highlighted in this portion of the report is the status of the MA and PhD scholars with regards to the comprehensive examinations. President Tuga also showed the data on the scholars taking their thesis writing courses.  Another major highlight in this presentation is the number of completers of certificates and diplomas at graduate and post-graduate levels as indicated in the Multipathways Ladderized Graduate Teacher Education Curriculum also known as OBGTEC 3.0 .

In Presentation II, President Tuga described the types of support that were provided among the scholars who took the comprehensive examinations and those who are currently in the process of finalizing the first two chapters of their theses.  President Tuga enumerated the support given to the scholars such as “Learning Buddies” and counseling sessions which were made available before and after the comprehensive examinations. For those scholars writing their theses, support systems were extended such as research clinics with advisers, language experts, and data analysis experts to help in the timely completion of manuscripts.

In Presentation III, VPA Balagtas, Project Co-Director, provided the overview of the next steps of the project based on the timeline of activities. The need for support in terms of lightening the workload among scholars in thesis writing was also reiterated. The process of completion and clearance from the scholarship were likewise raised for NEAP’s decision.

After hearing through the reports, the NEAP team, led by Director Lopez, led in responding to the questions that warranted decisions from NEAP as posed by the team. NEAP, signified commitment to supporting scholars through various forms of assistance in data collection, and forms of institutional support arrangements. These support mechanisms are geared in bolstering the conduct of research and shall be finalized with NEAP and the Undersecretary of Human Resource and Organizational Development (HROD). After all the discussions, VPFA Vergara delivered a synthesis of the key points of the presentations and a review of the agreements that had been made.

The LiSQuP reporting activities are regularly scheduled not only to provide updates with DepEd counterparts but also to arrive at critical project management decisions. The reportings are attended by project leaders from PNU and key officials from DepEd. These activities are part of the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms of the LiSQuP project.