The Commission on Higher Education (CHED), through CHED Memorandum Order No. 7, Series of 2024, renewed the AUTONOMOUS STATUS given to UST for a three-year period, from September 16, 2024 to September 15, 2027.
In an interview with the Communications Bureau, Rector Fr. Richard G. Ang, O.P., PhD said that UST, with this recognition, “we can only be inspired and grateful as well.” The Rector also said that the UST must “not just…maintain quality and excellence but to elevate these to a higher level. We owe it to all our stakeholders, most especially our students.” The Rector acknowledged the hard work of the community, who together “have done very well during the period covering 2019 to 2023.” Fr. Ang, who laid out his six-point agenda for the next four years in his installation, expressed hope that the achievement will “encourage everyone to continue contributing to the fulfillment of our mission as a Catholic educational institution.”
Meanwhile, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Cheryl R. Peralta, DrPH stressed the importance of quality assurance practices in UST’s continued pursuit of excellence: “We need to focus our efforts on strengthening our quality assurance mechanisms at the institutional, unit, and program levels as we improve our existing programs and develop new and innovative programs and services.” Peralta assured the community of UST’s continued efforts to “realign our approaches and redesign our academic programs so they effectively respond to the needs of society and prepare our graduates for the future of work.”
Autonomous institutions are exempted from CHED’s regular monitoring and evaluation and are prioritized in the grant of subsidies and other financial incentives or assistance. New programs may also be offered by the given PHEI, which is also authorized to “determine and prescribe their curricular programs to achieve global competence.” Autonomous institutions, meanwhile, are expected to help in quality assurance development and mentoring programs for non-Autonomous and non-Deregulated PHEIs to help increase the number of recognized institutions.
CHED assessed UST and other private higher education institutions using the instrument laid out in CHED Memorandum Order No. 6, Series of 2023. The criteria look into “Commitment to Program Excellence” (30 points), “Excellence in Instruction, Scholarly Works, and Community Engagements” (40 points), and “Institutional Quality and Excellence” (30 points). Institutions with scores of 80 and above are granted Autonomous Status, which has been conferred to 77 private higher education institutions this cycle.
Among the evidence required of universities are evidence of program accreditation/assessment from international and local agencies, such as ASEAN University Network Quality Assurance (AUNQA) and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, and the Centers of Excellence and Development awarded by CHED itself. To date, UST has 18 bachelor’s programs certified by AUNQA, 13 Centers of Excellence, and 13 Centers of Development. UST programs also enjoy accreditation from local agencies like the Philippine Accrediting Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA) and the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAASCU).
Programs with above-national-passing-rate performance in licensure exams, average graduation rate, and percentage of employed graduates were also assessed for the period, along with the presence of academic staff with doctoral degrees and/or industry experience. The engagement of academic staff in research was also assessed through patents, indexed publications, and creative works, along with their recognitions received from local and international agencies. A university’s partnerships with communities and other institutions were also assessed, including mobility and quality assurance engagements.
Institutional recognitions by both local and institutional bodies, such as AUNQA and ISO, also help in determining the status given to an institution, while recognitions from international rankings bodies like Times Higher Education (THE) and Quacquarelli-Symonds (QS) were also counted. During the period of 2019-2023, UST earned its Institutional Certification from AUNQA, becoming the second Philippine university to enjoy the recognition. Meanwhile, it remains one of the top-ranked universities according to metrics used by THE and QS. UST, which has enjoyed ISO certification, is also transitioning to the ISO 21001:2018 certification soon, following successful certifications under 9001:2008 and 9001:2015.
