DTI, PACUCOA ink pact to promote Quality Award in Educational Sector

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) enters into a partnership agreement with the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA) in a bid to promote the Philippine Quality Award (PQA), the highest level of national recognition for exemplary organizational performance, to higher educational institutions (HEIs).

The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), which was signed by DTI Undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba and PACUCOA Chairman Dr Conrado E. Inigo, Jr. during the 30^th General Assembly of PACUCOA members, outlines the areas of collaboration between both parties, particularly in the promotion of PQA framework to PACUCOA member institutions, training of accreditors to become PQA assessors, and alignment of PACUCOA accreditation standards to PQA Criteria, among others.

“We recognize PACUCOA as our major partner in advocating quality and performance excellence in the educational sector. Both the DTI and PACUCOA believe that continuous improvement is key to achieving high standards of education among its members. By aligning the PQA Framework with the PACUCOA Accreditation Standards, we can ensure that the gauge of performance and quality for colleges and universities is comparable with the global templates for organizational excellence.” Competitiveness and Innovation Group Undersecretary Aldaba said.

The Philippine Quality Award (PQA) framework is an integrated approach for performance management that sets the standard of excellence to help Philippine organizations achieve world-class performance. It provides an internationally comparable framework and criteria, patterned from the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program of the US, for assessing organizational performance. It is a template for competitiveness based on the principles of Total Quality Management.

“This undertaking signals a stronger collaboration between the government and academe in advancing competitiveness in the educational sector. We envision the alignment of PQA Framework and PACUCOA Accreditation Standards as a starting point to foster the culture of innovation in colleges and universities in the country. With this, we aim to attract more schools to participate in the PQA assessment process.” Competitiveness Bureau Director Lilian Salonga said.

The PQA has Education Criteria for Performance Excellence, which specifically caters to the educational sector, includes seven integrated and interconnected categories, namely: 1) Leadership; 2) Strategy; 3) Customers; 4) Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management; 5) Workforce; 6) Operations and 7) Results.  Since the establishment of PQA, there were 13 academic organizations that have been recognized for Mastery, Proficiency, and Commitment to Quality Management levels of recognition. (see list below)

PACUCOA, on the other hand, is a government-recognized accrediting organization that provides quality, relevant, effective and timely accreditation services to educational institutions through highly professional board of directors, accreditors and secretariat, and updated, accurate and clean accreditation materials, which meet local and global requirements. As of 2019, PACUCOA has 210 accredited institutions and 1,842 accredited programs nationwide.  PACUCOA was a recipient of PQA Recognition for Commitment to Quality Management in 2013.

Established through Executive Order No. 448, issued by President Fidel V. Ramos on October 3, 1997, the Philippine Quality Award is given to organizations in the private and public sectors which excel in quality and productivity. It was institutionalized through the signing of Republic Act No. 9013 on February 28, 2001, also known as the Philippine Quality Award Act. The Competitiveness Bureau is the PQA implementing agency.

List of educational institutions recognized by PQA.