Commission On Higher Education Research Articles

Tracer study of Bachelor of Science in Mathematics

This research aimed to determine the employability of its graduates as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the Bachelor of Science in Mathematics (BSM) program of a Philippine Higher Educational Institution. Adapting the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Graduate Tracer Survey Questionnaire, the study provided data that were used as basis in the review and revision of the said program. Results of this research may be used to answer the needs of society by adjusting the curriculum to meet the needs of the 21<sup>st</sup> century learners, help prepare the students not only for the world of work and land relevant employment but also to innovate in the future. Results of the study were utilized to document the employment characteristics, transition to employment and the level of satisfaction of the fifty (50) BSM graduates in terms of the level of satisfaction of the school’s services, learning environment and facilities. The findings revealed that the graduates claimed their pre-service training under the BSM program helped them acquire 21<sup>st</sup> Century skills and competencies which were not only effective and adequate but also relevant in responding to the demands of their chosen occupations. Providing soft training on applied computer software, forming partnership with software developers, offering foreign language and major courses that merge machine learning and data science were some of the recommendations suggested by the graduates to further improve the BS Mathematics program.

Teachers’ Perception in Writing Action Research in a Public Elementary School in the Philippines

Action research plays an important role in education. It enables teachers to discover what went wrong and what could be done to address classroom problems and issues. Consequently, it has now become one of the major professional development concerns for public school teachers in the Philippines. Teachers are encouraged by the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to conduct a school-based action research as part of their performance appraisal and evaluation. In addition, it helps the teachers to explore innovative teaching strategies that will suit the needs of the learners. Although, there are promising benefits brought by research, it still remains a challenge among educators due to tight teaching work loads and ancillary roles performed by teachers.
 To address this issue, the study aimed to assess the teachers’ perception in writing research based on their level of agreement. Its end goal is to help school administrators and education planners to develop capacity building that will help teachers to appreciate more the value of research. It utilized a quantitative-descriptive design. Fifteen (15) teachers were involved in the study that represented the 100% of the total population of the teaching force in the school. The main data-gathering instrument used was questionnaire. Computation of the weighted mean and ranking were employed in the statistical treatment of data. The results revealed that teachers strongly agreed on the basic principles of action research which signifies their knowledge and understanding of what research is all about. Continuous professional development is suggested to upgrade and strengthen teachers’ skills in writing educational research.

Outcomes – Based Science Instruction (OBSI) in Teacher Education Institutions

In the Philippines, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) requires all higher education institutions to adopt the Outcomes-Based Education(OBE) through its CHED Memorandum 46, s. 2012. This is to cope with the qualifications and standards of 21st -century learners and to produce globally competitive professionals. The focus of this study was to assess the implementation of OutcomesBased Science Instruction (OBSI) for Bachelor of Secondary Education major in Science students of the Teacher Education Institutions(TEI) in Batangas province. It delved into OBSI implementation which refers to learning outcomes, authentic tasks, student-centered approach, and competencies and skills. The study also determined the extent to which OBSI develop students’ competencies relative to laboratory activities, portfolio, project making, research, and investigatory project. The problems encountered in the implementation of OBSI also identified. The descriptive method of research applied in the study with the questionnaire as the data gathering instrument. The OBSI in TEI was evident with refers to learning outcomes, authentic tasks, student-centered approach, and competencies and skills. It developed students' competencies in laboratory activities and investigatory project to a great extent. On the other hand, it developed students’ competencies in the portfolio, project making, and research to a moderate extent. There was a significant relationship between the implementation of OBSI and the development of students’ science competencies. Some problems encountered in OBSI were seldom met, primary of which is the unavailability and insufficiency of equipment, materials, and supplies needed in the laboratory. Proposed outcomes-based activities in science shall further enhance the quality of science instruction. It recommended that the OBSI in the TEI might be strengthened to maximize the students’ competencies and the development of an assessment tool to measure the development of students’ science competencies may be undertaken. Furthermore, future researchers may conduct studies that may be related to the current research in another research locale.

Predicting Employability Skills among Information Technology Graduates of Philippine State University in their On-the-Job Training using J48 Algorithm

Objectives: This study predicts the employability skills acquired by the BS Information Technology graduates of Leyte Normal University, Tacloban City. Work skills or employability skills were identified based on the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum Order 53, series of 2006, which categorizes as personal, interpersonal, and technical understanding skills. Methods: Using data mining to predict employability skills of the graduates particularly on the J48 algorithm a C4.5 decision tree model. The 10-Folds Cross-validation and Receiving Operating Characteristics Curve (ROC) was deployed to create a model and test the result based on the attributes. The collected datasets of this study are from the graduates from S.Y. 2015-2016 to 2017-2018. There are 138 datasets with six variables (Systems Development, Research, Business Operations, Technical Support, Interpersonal Skills, and Remarks). Findings: Decision tree model and decision rule for classification were created. There were 85.50% correctly classified with an AUC weighted mean of 85.10%. Hence, classified students who possess Expert (82.8%), Advanced (95%), and Intermediate (57.10%) OJT performance. The model has high acceptability to predict that Business Operations is the most important attribute in the On-the-Job Training. Wherein, students are trained to be productive, responsible and cooperative and have the initiative to act. Application/Improvements: The result of this study can be a basis for policy measures for effective OJT program. Further, for more improvement of this paper and model, additional parameters should be considered to have more factors involved in predicting employability skills. Keywords: Decision Tree, Employability Skills, Machine Learning, On-the-Job Training, J48 Algorithm, BSIT, LNU

Assessment of research faculty development program efficacy in writing research proposals

The dearth in research in Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs) had driven the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to provide policies and mandates that are largely geared towards the improvement of research productivity. Saint Mary’s University responded through Faculty Research Development Program, a scheme borne of the plans of the University Research Center (IDP Year 2013-2014) that aims to strengthen and enhance the research skills of faculty members. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of the research faculty development program workshop in writing full-blown research proposals. It involved the quantitative type of research using the posttest-only control group experimental design since the subjects were evaluated after the intervention. Evaluative in nature, it was conducted at Saint Mary’s University, located at Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya in Cagayan Valley. There were 25 subjects of the study who were all participants in the seminar-workshop. Researcher-made questionnaires and evaluated research proposals were the primary sources of the data in the study. Findings revealed that the research faculty development program workshop on writing research proposals was efficient. Hence, faculty members are highly recommended to continue participating in research capability training to become part of the tri-fold function of the university - the instruction, community extension, and research.

Outcome–Based Program Quality Assurance Accreditation Survey Instrument: Its Development and Validation

In the Philippines, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has recognized the need to realign the academic program offerings of 112 state colleges and universities thereby raising the standards of quality assurance. The Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (AACCUP), aimed to develop a new outcomes-based quality assurance (OBQA) instrument using both quantitative and qualitative approaches of a multi-method design. There are three phases of this study: 1) consideration of benchmark data; 2) development and validation of instrument; and 3) pilot testing. The first phase generated ten areas of the instrument with 700 Likert-type benchmark statements. The second phase led to the trimming of the item pool to 672. The last phase revealed that all 672 item pool identified benchmark indicators passed both the content validationas well as reliability test. It is recommended that the instrument be used and revalidated for further improvement.

Elevating the research and publication culture of the University of the Immaculate Conception Graduate School: A practical action research

Aim: In this action research, a plan is developed in answer to the need to maximize the involvement of University of the Immaculate Conception Graduate School (UIC) Graduate School (GS) faculty and students in the intensification of the research and publication culture of UIC to parallel the international level of recognition in the field.Methodology: By qualitative descriptive research design specifically Practical Action Research (PAR) approach, we purposively selected 30 participants who represent the different stakeholders of the UIC GS for brainstorming and exploratory sessions designed to answer our research objectives including a) maximization of the research productivity of the graduate school faculty and students; b) establishment of the mentor-mentee publication authorship; c) integration of new research pedagogy approaches into the graduate qualitative and quantitative research process; and d) establishment of an independent journal in preparation for Commission on Higher Education (CHED) journal incentive program recognition.Findings: Our findings revealed recurring issues affecting all levels and which can overlap in terms of effect and solution. Notable recurring issues include lack of well-articulated policies, research experts, research class directions, as well as membersâA Z confidence. Implications/Novelty: We formulated several recommendations as the outset for the development of a strategic plan with the main goal of elevating the UIC GS research and publication culture.

Structured Shipboard Training Program and Performance of Maritime Cadets

This study utilized the descriptive survey method of research which tried to assess the shipboard training profile and performance of maritime cadets of Palompon Institute of Technology, Palompon, Leyte as inputs to improve the maritime education program of the Institute. The subjects were the deck and engine cadets who completed their 3-year curricular academic requirements who were qualified to take their 1-year shipboard apprenticeship on board Dutch ships from 2014-2015. The main instrument used in this study was the standardized survey questionnaire taken from the International Shipping Federation (ISF) logbook contained in the Quality Management System Manual of PIT College of Maritime Education (COMEd) which was approved and accepted by the Det Norske Veritas (DNV), an International consulting firm and Commission on Higher Education ( CHED). Findings showed that the cadets were above average when it came to their personal qualities and their professional knowledge and skills. Most of them were assigned in a general cargo including Ro-ro (roll on- roll off) and big lift. Moreover, both deck and engine cadets were only average when it came to their task performance at the operational level. When each of the profile indicators of the cadets was related to their task performance, only the personal qualities and professional knowledge and skills revealed a significant relationship to their task performance. Likewise, the safety of onboard practices of the engine cadets in terms of marine engineering and controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board was significantly related to the profile in terms of personal qualities and professional knowledge and skills so as their task performance. Thus, it is recommended that the apprenticeship program should be treated seriously and with sincerity, since this is the only form of a training program that the school can offer that will help them enhance their knowledge and skills thereby making them more effective and productive seafarers. It is also recommended to adopt the training model and identify its loopholes to pave the way for further improvements.

A Benchmark on the Alternative Education System for Engineering Courses

Offered by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) under the Republic of the Philippines, the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation (ETEEAP) is an alternative method of earning a college degree. There are 96 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) that offer ETEEAP in the country, 21 of which offer engineering programs. The study aimed to obtain the best practices being implemented by deputized HEIs offering college degree programs under ETEEAP, particularly, in the field of engineering and check its correlation to the number of graduates. Visitations, observations, and interviews were performed in two selected universities. Information about the enrolled and graduated students were collected. Data gathered were analyzed and tabulated. As an analysis, the policies of the two universities are in accordance of the CHED and, therefore, are similar. A significant increase in the number of engineering graduates under ETEEAP has been recorded. However, some students were not able to finish a program on time. The results of the study can be used as a guiding tool for schools aiming to offer ETEEAP or a reference for continuous improvement of the ETEEAP programs in sustaining the educational needs of the student-clienteles.

I Am Where I Think I Will Work: Higher Education and Labor Migration Regime in the Philippines

The Philippine government has received praises from international organizations for its exemplary management of labor migration. The country has one of the most sophisticated institutionalized mechanisms for out-migration of workers, and it serves as a model of government-led labor migration management. It is, therefore, no surprise that research on labor migration policy of the Philippine government is plentiful. However, there is paucity of research on the role of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in the Philippine's labor migration industry. In this article, I examine the role of CHED and the Technical Panels (TPs) in the production of the globally competitive Filipina/o worker. For this article, I draw on relevant literature on the topic and take nurse education, which is rooted in the colonial system established during the US-American occupation, as an example of how CHED and the TPs could be more linked to labor migration. By using the colonial difference as a space that offers critical insights and interpretation, this article illustrates how coloniality remains hidden under the cloak of modernity, particularly in the Philippine higher education system.

Competencies Learned and Relevance of the Business Administration Curriculum to the Graduates’ Job

The necessity for higher education is considered as an essential vehicle to alleviate a person’s productivity and employability. Many graduates find difficulty looking for suitable jobs nowadays. Any job opportunity even if not in line with the educational training is grabbed. This study gathered inputs on the competencies that the graduates of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration learned and the relevance of the program to their job. Furthermore, the result of the study aimed to improve the school’s quality education through the formulation of an intervention scheme that primarily focused on the transformation of the course syllabi to outcomes-based system. The study made use of descriptive-survey research design, adopting the standardized tool Graduate Tracer Study by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Utilizing purposive sampling, 52 graduates served as respondents. Findings showed that graduates were employable across various lines of businesses. The skills and competencies learned in college were relevant in their current jobs. However, relevant skills and competencies like communication skill and practical knowledge need to be enhanced so that future graduates of this program will have a competitive advantage in the labor market both locally and internationally. This issue can be addressed by improving the curriculum and the teaching-learning activities in the classroom that must be reflected in the course syllabi.

Chickpea (garbanzos) Its’ Nutritional and Economical Value

Chickpea locally known as garbanzos is being introduced in the Philippines to help reduce importation, improve nutritional problem and as alternative high value crop for the farmers and provide alternative health promoting food products in the market and alternative livelihood opportunities for entrepreneurs. ICCV 93952, ICCV 92311, ICCV 2, ICCV 94954, ICCV 95332, produced high yields and found to be productive under highlands conditions. Chickpea is a good source of minerals, protein and trace elements. Based on the results of the nutritional content of chickpea flour, it showed that it is high in dietary fiber, potassium, iron and sodium. Dietary fiber is essential for a healthy diet and for its ability to prevent or relieve constipation, lower risk of diabetes, heart disease, lower blood cholesterol, glucose levels and prevents colon cancer. Chickpea flour is three times higher in dietary fiber content than wheat flour and rice. Chickpea flour had low glycemic index and much lower than wheat flour and milled rice. Low glycemic index foods reduce blood sugar level thus prevent diabetes. Various products were developed with the supplementation wheat flour from chickpea flour. Thirty percent (30%) substitution showed acceptable processed chickpea based food products which includes; eggdrop, cookies, bar, tart, buns, butter cake, leche flan, waffles, polvoron, etc. Chickpea in brine, in syrup, as fingerfood, as salad, as humus or paste were acceptable. Chickpea is a versatile food and could be prepared in several ways as salad, as humus/paste, and as processed product. It could combined with vegetables such as buridibud, apritada, as soup, as a drink or tea. To commercialize the product, production cost of each item was determined based on prevailing market price. Several trainings were also conducted, techno demo plots and hands on processing. Attendance and exhibition of the products to trade fairs were also actively participated in the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Bureau of Agricultural Research-Department of Agriculture (DA-BAR), and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and in the University anniversary celebrations.

Employment Status and Academic Competencies among the Information Technology Graduates: A Tracer Study

Information technology graduates of colleges and universities have increased rapidly while continuously facing stiff employment competition. The study traced the employability of the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) graduates of a university. It also described the profile of the BSIT graduates; assessed graduates' employment conditions; and determined the academic competencies utilized by the BSIT graduates in their current jobs. Using descriptive research design, the study employed standardized tool from Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and a sample of 87 BSIT graduates as respondents. The findings revealed that majority of the respondents were dominantly male, single, and from the Visayas region. Majority of them were regular or permanent in their current job and were locally employed and worked as an IT professionals in their present occupation. The graduates found their first job through advertisement. They utilized advanced information technology competencies in their jobs. Hence, their work matched to their tertiary degrees. The study provided information that the BSIT graduates of the University of Cebu - Banilad Campus are highly employable. After months of linkages for possible employers and career mapping of graduates, the school will be able to increase graduates assistance on job placements. After two hours of seminar on career mapping, the college will be able to assess the skills of the graduates to suggest possible areas of work to engage.

Development of Authentic Information Education and Communication (IEC) Materials to Increase Public Awareness on Mt. Matutum Protected Landscape (MMPL) Conservation Initiatives in the Philippines

Environmental conservation advocacy forms an important step towards environmental preservation. It serves as a benchmark in coming up with strategies to protect and preserve species that have been marked as threatened or endangered. In the Philippine context, pressing concerns on overexploitation of biological resources and caustic harvesting techniques in Mt. Matutum have been altering the distribution and abundance of its flora and fauna. Thus, the preservation of Mt. Matutum Protected Landscape (MMPL) is considered an imperative. In response, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has recently funded a program for the biodiversity assessment of MMPL. However, provision for a more responsive initiative is needed. It is on this premise that this study was conducted to develop IEC materials to increase the biodiversity conservation awareness of the local people in the MMPL. In addition, the developed materials were validated by various experts in order to ensure that local people became more environmentally knowledgeable and dedicated to maintaining or sustaining the quality of life and biodiversity of the MMPL. Nonetheless, there were 130 randomly selected respondents from the local communities in MMPL. The research design is descriptive and utilized quantitative and qualitative methods of data gathering. The findings of the study showed that the IEC materials had a high extent of content validity (wm=4.03 for video and wm=4.14 for printed). Moreover, the evaluators considered the materials as very highly usable (wm=4.10 for video and wm=4.25 for printed materials). This indicates that IEC materials were very useful to increase the public awareness of the local people in conserving MMPL. Keywords - Information Education and Communication (IEC) Materials, public awareness, Mt Matutum Protected Landscape (MMPL), conservation in the Philippines

Alignment of Chartered SUCs Information Technology Program to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Policies and Standards

Considering the global challenge of achieving excellence in education, it is imperative that the Philippine Higher Education Institutions should align to the standards set by the accrediting bodies. The study aimed to determine the alignment of chartered SUCs IT program in the Caraga Region to CHED Policies and Standards. Employing mixed methods, the study considered three types of instruments: survey questionnaire, interview schedule, and observation/ocular visit checklist. The survey questionnaire and observation/ocular visit checklist, which was based on CMO no. 53, series 2006 for Information Technology Education Programs, were used. Data were subjected to statistical treatment as frequency, mean, standard deviation and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The results revealed that in terms of alignment percentage by geographical location, generally, the areas – curriculum outline, instructional standards, admission and residence requirements, garnered the highest alignment percentage of 100.00% in four geographical locations. The study, therefore, concludes that one geographical location is not significantly better than the other, or that one is not significantly more aligned than other geographical locations. It is recommended that chartered SUC administrations should continuously upgrade and update the school’s physical facilities and equipment in conformity to the CHED standards and other recognized accrediting agencies that require standardization to support the IT faculty in the delivery of instruction. Keywords - Technology Education, alignment, chartered SUCs, CHED policies and standards, descriptive design, Philippines

Bioactive triterpenoids, antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of Eclipta prostrata Linn.

Rungrot Cherdtrakulkiat, Somchai Boonpangrak, Ratchanok Pingaew, Supaluk Prachayasittikul, Somsak Ruchirawat, Virapong Prachayasittikul* Department of Clinical Microbiology and Applied Technology, Faculty of Medical Technology, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand. Center for Innovation Development and Technology Transfer, Faculty of Medical Technology,Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok 10110, Thailand. Center of Data Mining and Biomedical Informatics, Faculty of Medical Technology, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand. Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Chulabhorn Research Institute and Program in Chemical Biology, Chulabhorn Graduate Institute, Bangkok 10210, Thailand. Center of Excellence on Environmental Health and Toxicology, Commission on Higher Education (CHE), Ministry of Education, Thailand.

Sufficiency of Organizational Resources in University of Bohol

Organizational resources include financial, human, production facilities, and information technology. The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) evaluated the institutional sustainability of schools by looking into the learning resources and support structures, and management of resources. Educational institutions borrowed from business sectors the model of value enhancement through effectiveness and efficiency to produce quality graduates and programs. This study assessed the sufficiency of organizational resources in the University of Bohol (UB) in its continual quest for educational leadership being Bohol’s first university. The researcher formulated survey questions adapted from core indicators of key result areas of the CHEd Institutional Sustainability Assessment (ISA) and the Institutional Quality Assurance Monitoring Evaluation (IQuAME) Self Evaluation Documents (SED). Respondents for the study were selected through stratified random sampling from 4 distinct UB groups: administrators, faculty members, non-teaching personnel, and students. The group responses were analyzed for differences in the means through weighted means. The study revealed the sufficiency of organizational resources of UB in terms of resource utilization, faculty, physical structures, laboratories, libraries, and IT facilities. The findings warrant the conclusion that the necessary quality processes are present in UB and are sufficiently robust at the institutional level, thus, enabling the institution to deliver quality teaching-learning outcomes.

Governance in Nurse Migration

<p>The thrust of this study is anchored on the questions: “What are the underlying factors supportive of good governance and how are they pursued as growth strategy during 1999 to 2008?” “To what extent has good governance benefited the country in nurse migration during this ten-year period? In addressing this question, textual data and information were gathered from various documents and communications (memoranda, circulars, bulletins, transcripts, publications and others) of five (5) participating agencies: Commission on Filipino Overseas (CFO), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). From the research materials, relevant data about governance on nurse migration were culled, organized and stratified for an in-depth, comprehensive and systematic content analysis. With this content analytic approach, five (5) factors emerged notably supportive of good governance; they are: (1) temporary and circular labor migration; (2) employment driven strategy via regulated channels; (3) reintegration goals via modes of incentives and engagements; (4) migration vis-à-vis remittances; and (5) migratory realism on the ethics of recruitment. Theoretically, the factors could demonstrate the government’s proactive stance on good governance but much remain to be seen in terms of the ethics of recruitment, reintegration goals and migration-development nexus.</p>

On Research Integrity and Ethical Publication, Authorship and Accreditation

On Research Integrity and Ethical Publication, Authorship and Accreditation

Social Dimensions of Librarian’s Education and the Role Performance of Academic Librarians

Library and information science education is one major concerns of the higher education institution as support to the teaching learning process. The study seeks to determine the relationship between the social dimensions of librarians’ education and the role performance of librarians of academic libraries. The social dimensions of librarians’ education consist of intercultural communication, cultural changes, social institutions and globalization. The role performance of librarians includes librarians as instructional partners, information specialists, program administrators and teachers. Using descriptive-correlational method, validated questionnaires, mean and Pearson (r), it can be concluded that the level of social dimensions of education of librarians in Davao City is moderate; the level of the role performance of librarians in Davao City is high and there was a significant relationship between the social dimensions of education and the role performance of librarians. Recommendations include a proposal for the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to design a program to enrich librarians’ social dimensions and competencies that comply with the global educational standards and address current needs and their future library user aspirations, considering individual and cultural contexts and present-day technologies.Keywords: library and information science education, social dimensions of education,librarians, descriptive-correlational technique, Davao City, Philippines