MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur --To sustain the missioned legacy of delivering quality education, the Mindanao State University (MSU) advocated for reformation and development to achieve academic excellence.
“I added what amounted to administrative and academic reform gearing up or attuning academic programs to the demands of the 21st century,” said MSU System President Dr. Habib Macaayong in his State of the University Address Wednesday, October 27.
He stressed that a system-wide curricular revision was initiated primarily to keep abreast of global trends and new directions in addition to streamlining and enrichment of the educational arena while new academic programs including the Master in EcoGovernance and Social Forestry, and Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy and Governance have been approved by the Board of Regents (BOR) which are now ready for implementation.
Macaayong shared that the system is currently undergoing massive accreditation by the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (AACCUP) and has applied for International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Certification while quality management through monitoring of faculty performance in terms of efficiency and effectiveness has been carried out more rigorously and methodically.
He emphasized that his administration has been aggressive in pursuing faculty development through offering scholarship programs enabling deserving faculty to undertake master’s and doctorate studies and faculty exchange programs are afforded through executing memoranda of agreement and other more partnerships between the institution and various universities in the country and abroad.
Recently, the MSU extended the geographic reach of its system by opening two extension campuses situated respectively in Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte, and in Bataraza, Palawan.
Moreover, radical changes were effected in college programs, particularly the College of Medicine and College of Law wherein a more competitive scheme of remuneration for lecturers in these two colleges was proposed and approved by the BOR.
“The rationale for this was not only equity, but for it to serve as an attraction policy to lure the most fit applicants in the field. In addition to this, applicants for faculty positions in the College of Law, given their J.D. title, are now entitled to the entry rank of Associate Professor,” said Macaayong.
He added that under his six-year tenure, nearly 900 faculty have been promoted.
Macaayong, who is the university’s 7th regular system president overseeing a total of 14 school branches, stressed that while these campuses enjoy different degrees of autonomy, specifically fiscal autonomy, everyone has to operate as a system.
“We abide by the same ideals, standards, and values, such as commitment to quality education and excellence, academic freedom, meritocracy, and work ethics. We are governed by the same set of policies, especially in matters of recruitment, ranking, promotion, and awarding of tenure to the faculty,” he said. (CRG/PIA-Lanao del Sur)
