The dreadful subject called Mathematics took centerstage when mentors from all over the country gathered during the MTAP – Tertiary Level Chapter 2009 Annual Convention at the University of Mindanao-Matina campus, Davao from Aug. 3 to 4.

            This year’s theme Responding to Global Challenges in Mathematics Education aims to find means to stimulate student interest and enhance teaching skills in the subject.          

            The gathering is set against the various opportunities and challenges Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has posed in the development of Math education in the country especially in enhancing interests in the subject.

The two-day event came out with critical recommendations including the need to expose teachers to different types of approaches in teaching mathematics. Participants also dissected the need to apply teaching methods based on the topic being discussed. They also echoed the need to exploit new technology in devising teaching modules as effective tools of the math programs. The need to hold consultations and remedial classes were also emphasized.

Prof. Hadji Alegre, MDC Math Chair, shared his thoughts in a lecture he delivered entitled Evaluation of the Readability of Selected Fourth Year High School Mathematics Textbook.

The College of Arts and Sciences held a series of teaching   demonstrations aimed at   enhancing the skills of classroom mentors on Sept. 17 at the MDC   Lecture Hall A.

The mentoring techniques updated the faculty  members with both classic and the latest         approaches in learning and delivery of quality nstruction.

Mr. Maximino Villahermosa and Dr. Sigfredo  Solano  of   the Chemistry and LifeSciences Department, Ms. Honora Bathan and Mr. Gerardo Aquino of the Language Department, and Ms. Emervic Gargoles of the Mathematics Department carried out the demontrations.

Dr. Ronaldo Tan, Registrar, joined a delegation of Filipino educators who toured and attended a Vietnam educational exposition from October 28 to 31 in a bid to attract enrolees from that country to consider Philippines for their studies especially in Nursing, Hotel and Restaurant Management and other allied courses.

            The group visited a total of six universities namely University of Economics, Hong Bang University, Ton Duc Thang University, University of Technology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy and HCMC National University.

At the Educational Exposition in Hotel Ho Chi Minh, 100 parents and students from various secondary schools and colleges signified their interest to pursue their education in the Philippines. Queries coming from them were mostly concerning tuition fees and the availability of school dormitories. Most of them come from middle-class families with some from upper-class ones who are scouting for schools in the Philippines. The incoming Vietnamese envoy to the Philippines who is due for reassignment soon led the group of Vietnamese parents who hinted of sending their children to Philippine schools after graduation from high school.

The Institute for Educational Technology (ETECH), INCOMEX SAIGON GROUP – Recruitment and Investment Agency, the Center for Raising the Intellectual Standard of People (CRISOP), and  Philippine Airlines (PAL) office in Vietnam promised to promote the Manila Doctors College. CRIOSOP wants an exclusive arrangement and promised to send 100 students on the 1st year and more on the following year. ETECH is interested in MDC’s English and Caregiver programs and promised to send 50 students. All except PAL raised the idea of forging partnership in sending students to MDC. Dr. Tan took the opportunity and gave the agencies draft Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) for approval.

The Registrar sums up the visit as success as far as opening MDC’s door to Vietnamese students. He prodded the community to brace up for this and called on the School to prop up its programs in anticipation of the influx of students from that country.

As a means of extending the network of Manila Doctors College for enhanced cooperation, Dr. Ronaldo Tan, School Registrar, attended a gathering of Registrars all over the country on August 25. The day-long event tackled alternative learning system accreditation and equivalency program of the Department of Education (Deped).

                The forum discussed the issues confronting the full recognition of graduates under the alternative learning system (ALS). They called on colleges and universities to start recognizing and accepting graduates from the program like they do for those coming from regular academic programs.

                Presidential Assistant for Education Antonio Inocentes welcomed the delegates while Dr. Carolino S. Guerrero, Director IV of the Bureau of Alternative Learning Education (BALS) of the Deped, gave valuable insights on what her office has been doing to push the program strongly.

                Dr. Tan noted the importance of ALS especially in MDC’s corporate social responsibility program where funds could be infused to help poor families especially in the School’s adopted barangays.

                The School Registrar also took the opportunity to link up with his colleagues to discuss their cross-enrolment and grading systems. He then raised the idea of a Memorandum of Agreement among them to ensure smooth inter-school transaction regarding the matter. Future meeting will be scheduled to explore the idea, according to Dr. Tan.

The Academic Directorate and the Research and Publications Department sponsored a series of seminars dubbed “Research Capability Training Program” from June 22 to June 26 in a move designed to imbibe a culture of excellence through research.

            The five-day event saw 5 speakers respectively sharing their expertise each day before a crowd of administrators and faculty members from the College of Nursing and College of Arts and Sciences.

            Prof. Edilberta Bala, Consultant of the Research and Publication Department started the event on day 1 with an introduction to research that touches on theories, format, bibliographic entries, significance of the study, scope and delimitation, definition of terms, and topic formulation.         UP professor Ms. Sheila Bonito followed the second day and shared her insights on the conceptual phase of research writing. She touched on the topics Research Paradigm, Conceptual and Theoretical Framework, Statement of the Problem and Hypothesis.

Dr. Richard Pulmones of De La Salle University graced the third day of session. He lectured on Designing and Planning Phase of Research Writing. He provided ideas on Population and Sample gathering, Sampling Technique, Treatment, Data Gathering and instrumentation. During the 4^th day, Dr. Epistacio Palispis enlightened participants about Qualitative Research Approaches especially in Phenomenology and Case Studies. He narrated personal tales of how some authors were able to produce great research works based on their own experiences alone.

The culminating lecture came from Dr. Lino Reynoso, Academic Director, who detailed steps needed in the Empirical Phase of Research Writing. Specifically, he gave tips on choosing the appropriate tool for the study and the Statistical Analysis using either the parametric and non-parametric tests.

Mrs. Theresita O. Turla, MDC President, attended and keenly observed all the proceedings in all of the sessions.

In an effort to fast track its bid to become more competitive as a learning institution, the Manila Doctors College (MDC) invited two officials of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA) for an orientation in preparation for the accreditation of the School’s Psychology program last July 15.

                Dr. Rosita L. Navarro, PACUCOA Chairman, and Dr. Zenaida Austria, PACUCOA Accreditor, went on a campus tour of the College to assess the chances of MDC’s BS Psychology course passing the stringent requirements of the accrediting body

                In the ensuing program, Dr. Navarro and Dr. Austria took turns enlightening the 46 participants including Mrs. Theresita O.Turla, MDC President, and key school officials on the technicalities of accreditation. Primarily, they define the process including its basic principles, processes, levels, values and benefits of being accredited.

                The visitors also familiarized the audience with the structure of PACUCOA and its objectives, its member-schools, the programs it accredits, and the areas of program it surveys.  They also presented the criteria for accreditations that also consist of the steps required in institutional self-survey, the timetable that must be set and, ultimately, the values that accreditation is putting forward to an applying institution.

                During the workshop, a format of survey instrument and their respective criteria and standard was also presented. As a result, 9 PACUCOA areas were identified and their respective chairmen named. Accreditation criteria and standards were then identified. Dr. Navarro emphasized the importance of documentation and exhibits in each area. On her part, Dr. Austria elaborated more on the needed evidences especially in the area of laboratory and community development.

                Dr. Armand Laguimun, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, will lead the Accreditation program as Overall Chairman while Ms. Naomi N. Rosales, Program Head of Psychology, will act as Co-Chairman.  They will draw support from 9 chairmen who will be responsible for an equal number of key result areas such as Purposes and Objectives, Faculty, Instruction, Library, Laboratory, Physical Plant and Facilities, Student Personnel Services, Social Orientation and Community Development, and Organization and Administration.

                During the afternoon workshop, the participants were grouped into 9 representing the key result areas. They were tasked to discuss their respective concerns and to identify at least 2 strength and weaknesses in them. The area chairmen then reported their findings.

                An ocular inspection of the school campus and its facilities capped the day-long affair.

                Accreditation is a formal recognition of an educational program as possessing standards of quality or excellence based on the analysis of its operation in the context of its purposes and objectives. It is both a process and a result.

The preparations for Institutional Monitoring and Evaluation for Quality Assurance of Higher Education Institutions IQUAME) in MDC  geared off to a warm start when an orientation was held last July 9 at the Speech Laboratory formally ushering the School’s readiness to undergo with its procedures.

                Ms. Ruby Andrion, Assistant Director of Quality Management Office of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), lengthily discussed the process in the presence of Mrs. Theresita O. Turla, MDC President, and a crowd of administrators, faculty members, and students.

                During her talk, Ms. Andrion pointed out that IQUAME is a qualitative evaluation of the effectiveness of the arrangement between the Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and the government to manage the quality and standards of the former’s programs. Specifically, it considers all the
HEI’s pertinent matters relating to governance, management, student support, relations with the community and resource allocation. She also reminded that it is outcomes-based and developmental in its approach.

The CHED official repeatedly emphasized that the government’s role in this aspect is more collaborative than regulatory adding “CHED works with institutions to assist them in strengthening their management of academic and administrative processes so that they (HEI) are better able to achieve their educational objectives.”

                Various working committees were created to prepare for IQUAME with Dr. Gloria Ascano, Consultant of the Quality Assurance Office, and Ms. Ritchel B. Bernardo, Chair of the Foreign Languages Department, acting as Overall Chairman and Co-Chairman, respectively.

The Manila Doctors College recently sent Dr. Ronald Tan, College Registrar, to attend the Organizational Meeting of the Regional Association of Higher Educational Institutions (RAHEI) in the National Capital Region at SEAMEO-INNOTECH, Diliman, Quezon City last July 29.

                The gathering has laid the groundwork for the establishment of a group comprising both and public and private schools in Metro Manila to bring them together “for a more meaningful and fruitful dialogue, representation, coordination and cooperation.”

                The event is the first step towards the creation of a national body according to Dr. Antonio L. Tamayo, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Perpetual Help System, who initiated the move to bring about the large number of schools who are not affiliated with any of the known associations.

In a move to familiarize themselves with the procedures involved in the Institutional Monitoring and Evaluation for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (IQUAME) accreditation, 21 key School Administrators visited the University of the East last to gain firsthand knowledge of the Recto-based school’s own experience with the whole procedure.

            Mrs. Theresita O. Turla, MDC President, and 20 others were cordially received with no less than Dr. Esther Garcia, UE President, welcoming them.

            After a warm exchange of pleasantries, officials from both schools shared reports about the different key result areas (KRA) being evaluated in IQUAME. The chair of each KRA enumerated to the group the required exhibits and the approach they used in answering self-evaluation documents. 

            An open forum was also held enabling the MDC officials to get better perspective of the UE experience.  They also visited the Accreditation Room where exhibits are kept.

            Notable among the knowledge that their UE counterparts imparted included the need to adhere to the guideline in the implementation of the project and programs. Also, proper lines of communication must be established that includes the presence of organizational charts and flow charts of procedures.  The proper dissemination of information must be also ensured so the right target is reached.