2019

This is an Entry to the Government Best Practice Recognition Awards

Title

Instructional Management: The NORSU Program Standard Through Curriculum Quality Audit (NPS thru CQA)

Organization

Negros Oriental State University

Best practice Focus Area(s)

Process management and improvement

Summary

Curriculum Quality Audit (COA) is a meticulous inventory process that has been designed for both developments of new programs and the redevelopment of existing program offerings. This system exhibits the crucial features of assessment methodology characterized by being systematic; standard-based; objective; rigorous; fair; evidence-based; and documented. As a quality assurance mechanism, this features the underpinning audit process; the program, and course inputs that are developed and/ or re-developed through collaboration; and the team’s audit.

Negros Oriental State University Quality Assurance Management Center (NORSU CQA) initiated the NORSU Program Standardization (NPS) within the Competency Outcome-Based Education (COBE) framework of NORSU, assured the delivery of quality didactics and laboratory classes. in the advent of the K to 12 graduates’ complementation, all academic disciplines and programs are initially implementing the Curriculum Quality Audit as the system.

The CQA partnership between PNU RCTQ and Negros Oriental State University Quality Assurance Management Center (NORSU-QUAMC) has established this academic-research linkage.  The partnership is on confidentiality and commitment agreed by both state universities within its tenure as covered in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The implementation of this CQA system developed a quality-assured education through the programs and its courses’ curricula. The constructive alignment of the agreed standards as reflected in the Program Outcomes and Program Indicators (POPI) Matrix and cascaded down the course syllabus as Intended Learning Outcomes (lLOs) are categorized as affective Psychomotor-Knowledge (ASK). These lLOs for the didactic or laboratory session’s content and their appropriate assessment are checked in an Outcomes-Content-Assessment (OCA) constructive alignment. In an annual or semestral term, an adult is done for Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) to enhance the syllabus or curriculum of the program.

Background and Problem

The development of constructively aligned course syllabus quality—assured the educational product. This is adopted as a system that aids the program curriculum review and revision at the onset of CHED’s new Policies, Guidelines, and Standards (PSG) of program offerings. The mandate of CHED CMO 46, series of 2012 clarified the weaving and cascading of global and local standards as program outcomes and indicators. This then yielded into the realization of the CHED OBE Modelling Program for Teacher Education per CHED Resolution 546-2013 and its industry’ based/ DepEd’s Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST).

The CQA was done for the syllabi of 15 courses randomly selected from the old Teacher Education curricular program mandate of CHED across the 9 NORSU campuses The result supports the call for constructive alignment of the Vision-Mission of NORSU, CHED’s PSG, PRC and other glocal regulating standards of the program. A3—run CQA training was conducted. With the 73 programs of NORSU offered across the 9 campuses, a unified understanding of competency and/or outcome is integral to the development of class instructions’ intended learning. As a work in progress, the functionality of the CQA system has ensured appropriate implementation and traceability outcomes.

Solution and Impact

The NORSU Program Standard (NPS) through the Curriculum Quality Audit (CQA) is anchored on the principles of Spady (1991, 1994), enhanced by Biggs and Tang (2003, 2011) and aided by Atkinson (2013). In its activity timeline, NPS-CQA started in the school year 2017-2018. In its seven (7) events, its final internalization is marked by the Competency/Outcome-Based Education (COBE) framework for the nine campuses of NORSU for the accredited undergraduate programs.

  1. Initialization. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Philippine Normal University Research Center for Teacher Quality (PNU RCTQ) and NORSU through the Quality Assurance Management Center (QUAMC). The mandates of CHED Memo Order 46, s. 2012 were satisfied as to the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers through the CQA process mapped these program outcomes and indicators in Teacher Education courses.
  2. Instruction. A two-day training course as In Situ A was conducted in four (4) strategic NORSU campuses. The CQA steps of capacitation, mapping the indicators, and the collation of the indicators have been done in the 15 professional courses of Teacher Education programs. The explicitness of the PPST Standard Language challenged the faculty members on how to pack and unpack the Beginning Teachers Indicators within the 5Ps (Process+Product+Procedure/Purpose/Particularity) of the outcome statements. For the instructional run of the COA process, faculty of the TED were guided to identify gaps, misrepresentations and under-representations of the PPST Indicators.
  3. Integration. A series of multi-disciplinary training was made to encourage CQA in the accredited programs across the NORSU campus. Crafting program standards was also done through the inclusion of indicators from the Philippine Qualification Framework (PQF Descriptor 6, Baccalaureate); NORSU Vision- Mission and Core Values; CMO 46 (2012) on Typology as University and related mandates; program-specific Cl\/lO Indicators; PRC competencies (only for Board programs); and ASEAN or global best standards. These are categorized using the Atkinson Taxonomy Circle as Affective-Psychomotor-Knowledge (ASK).
  4. Immersion. The Competency/ Outcome-Based Education (COBE) framework of NORSU was made to constructively align program outcomes. The COBEdized framework considers the institutional Intended Learning Outcomes (llLO) from the crafted program standards. These llLOs were cascaded tothe Program Intended Learning Outcomes (PILO) then to the Course intended Learning Outcomes (CILO). At the class session, the CILO is cascaded to the Intended Learning Outcome of a topic that eventually pointed out the Teaching and Learning Activity (TLA). The faculty members are now immersed in the COBE framework for their instructional practices.
  5. Institutionalization. The crafted program standard is finalized in the Program Outcomes and Program Indicators (POPl) Matrix of the university’s program offerings. The program indicators, called Beginning Graduate Indicators (BGIs) are refined using the 5Ps CQA Language of the Standards. These BGls are distributed appropriately to the courses in the program. The curriculum maps in the  Basic Audit Matrix (BAM indicated the distribution) and the Differentiated Audit Matrix (DAM indicated the constructive alignment from Outcome-Content—Assessment in the TLA).
  6. Implementation. The NORSU COBEdized course syllabus observed the vertical and horizontal constructive alignment of the  intended Learning Outcomes (ILO). The Outcome» Content-Assessment (OCA) relationship emphasized the cascading of IILO, PILO, and CILO. The Outcome considered the CHED mandated course description and the possible adoption, reduction, and/ or combination (ARC) of BGls mapped out in the course. The content of the course is presented by unit, chapter, or lesson. Assessment is done based on the outcome and its teaching and learning activity.
  7. Internalization. The COBEdized course syllabus is unified across the 9 campuses of NORSU and explored for the 1st  Semester, School Year 2019-2020 as a system in the ISO 9001: 2015. Other supporting documents like the Assessment Rubrics (AR) for performance tasks; Table of Specification (TOS) for major exams; and Curriculum Quality Enhancement Plan (CQEP) for continual quality improvement.

Milestones

Upon partnership with PNU RCTQ, recognition was given to NORSU and the CQA specialists. The PPST-based audit has yielded the Waterloos in the expected outcomes of the industry for Teacher Education graduates which is the Department of Education (DepEd). With the CHED-DepEd Teacher Education Council (TEC), NORSU has been recognized as the lead-SUCs for possible mentoring of other SUCs in adjacent regions.

Evident in the Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs), NORSU has partnered with Carlos Hilado Memorial State College (MSC) and the Central Philippine State University (CPSU). The NORSU Program Standard through CQA is done in a 5—day training course. As Curriculum Quality Audit: Outcome-Based pre-Service Teacher Education Program (CQA: OBSTEP), the 7l events of NORSU CQA experience encouraged the Teacher Education mentors or maybe multidisciplinary approach as preferred by the SUC partner. The first 2 days are for the basic CQA and the remaining 3 days is for the crafting of their program standards and the COBEdized course syllabus.