In the effort to follow the steps of Isabela State University’s 3 biggest campuses – Echague, Ilagan, and Cabagan, ISU-AC has taken a significant step towards developing its application by attending the 5-day Philippine Quality Award Application Development Course Batch 5 from December 4-8, 2023 at the Development Academy of the Philippines, Pasig City.

Though Dr. Ronie G. Torres, Director of the Polytechnic School, attended DAP’s PQA online training last year, Dr. Oscar G. Bangayan, Campus Administrator, deemed it beneficial for the campus to participate in face-to-face training, further solidifying the campus’ commitment to the endeavor whilst embodying the ideals of SDG 17 – Partnership for Goals.

After necessary preparations, ISU-AC’s chosen representatives, Asst. Prof. Mary Grace C. Buraga, Campus Internal Quality Audit Team Leader and Bachelor of Technical Vocational Teacher Education Chairperson, and Ms. Deanne Angel M. Luis, Campus Secretary/ Executive Assistant, journeyed to Pasig City on December 3, 2023.

The batch 5 training was attended by 20 participants from ISU-AC, University of Makati, Batanes State University, Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite, LGU Kidapawan, Benguet State University, Nueva Vizcaya State University, Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. and Mariano Marcos State University.

The first day was dedicated to delving into the fundamentals of a PQA Application, criteria, general tips in writing categories 1 to 6, as well as the components of a PQA workforce. Facilitated by Ma’am Ma. Theresa A. Agustin and Ma’am Melani Garcia-Mercader, these discussions laid the groundwork for subsequent sessions.

On the second and third days, Engr. Joel C. Amante led the discussion of the Organizational Profile, Category 1 – Leadership, Category 2- Strategy, and Category 3 – Customers. After the discussion of each topic, a workshop is conducted followed by the presentation of outputs.  All institutions were encouraged to present their work fostering an environment for constructive feedback from resource speakers.

On days four and five, Engr. Angelica C. Fraginal discussed Category 4 – Measurement, Analysis and Knowledge Management, Category 5- Workforce, and Category 6- Operations, following the same pattern of discussion-workshop-presentation during the sessions.

At the culmination of day 5, Ma’am Garcia-Mercader provided additional insights on application development, expressing gratitude to all participants for their dedication before bidding goodbye to the participants.

Prof. Dr. Bangayan explains that the next step will be the organization of the working group/PQA champions per area followed by an echo seminar. He shared that a timeline will be made based on the recommendation of the main campus after undergoing a series of workshops/consultations.

Under the guidance of Dr. Bangayan and Dr. Torres, Asst. Prof. Buraga and Ms. Luis plan to conduct benchmarking at ISU Echague, Ilagan, and Cabagan in January of the upcoming year.

“The PQA is the highest and most prestigious award given by the Malacañang in terms of quality management or services for both public and private organizations or institutions in the Philippines. Achieving such an endeavor will have a massive impact on the ISU system and on the entire country.  Knowing what we know now, I admit that ISU-AC has a long way to go. Developing an application is a meticulous and grueling process, but I believe that through camaraderie and by upholding ISU’s tagline, ONE ISU, anything is possible.” said Prof. Dr. Bangayan.