FOUR undergraduate programs of the University received the coveted Asean University Network (AUN) Quality Assurance (QA) seal last Aug. 18, placing them at par with the best universities in the region.
UST’s accountancy, biology, chemistry and psychology programs were granted certifications effective until March 2022 after an institutional assessment last February by the AUN-QA, an organization of Southeast Asian universities.
Christopher German, assistant dean of the UST-Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy, said the college’s preparation for the assessment included training and self-assessment reports.
The elementary and secondary education, medical technology, and pharmacy programs of the University were also assessed by the AUN-QA last June.
UST joined the three other top Philippine universities in January 2016 when it became an associate member of AUN.
Membership allows the University to join the network’s exchange programs and other projects, as well as initiatives with partner-organizations like the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the European Union.
AUN was founded by Asean member-countries in November 1995. The network now has 30 universities across the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
In the Philippines, the University of the Philippines (UP), Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle University are AUN members. UST, along with UP, Ateneo and La Salle, synchronized its academic calendar with Asean universities in 2014 ahead of the 2015 Asean integration plan.
The AUN-QA provides guidelines for overall academic standards of member-universities, with criteria such as expected learning outcomes, program specification, program structure and content, teaching and learning strategy, facilities and infrastructure, and quality assurance of teaching and learning.
