UP’s Strategic Plan 2023-2029

Flagship Program 1: Academic Excellence

Flagship Program 2: Inclusive Admissions
Flagship Program 3: Research and Innovation
Flagship Program 4: Open and Distance e-Learning (ODeL)
Flagship Program 5: Archipelagic and Oceanic Virtual University (AOVU)
Flagship Program 6: Active and Collaborative Partnerships
Flagship Program 7: Arts and Culture
Flagship Program 8: Expansion of Public Service Offices
Flagship Program 9: Quality Management System (QMS) and Quality Assurance (QA)
Flagship Program 10: Digital Transformation

Flagship Program 1: Academic Excellence

UP’s Push for Transformative Education:
Academic excellence as a priority program
The University of the Philippines (UP) is cognizant of its vital role in shaping society.
Hence, UP’s strategic vision aims to address pressing social issues and effect
meaningful change through the collective expertise of its faculty, staff and researchers.
UP’s initiatives to generate innovative solutions resonate with the needs and aspirations
of diverse communities; serve as a catalyst for societal transformation; and promote
social justice and progress.
UP’s flagship program on academic excellence is a testament to the university’s
commitment to advancing teaching, research, innovation, and creative work for the
betterment of society. By embracing a holistic approach to education and fostering
interdisciplinary collaboration, UP cultivates a community of lifelong learners poised to
address the complex challenges of the 21st century. Through its unwavering dedication
to excellence and inclusivity, UP stands as a beacon of hope and opportunity,
promoting progress and social justice within our communities and beyond.
UP’s transformative learning programs aim to respond to present needs while
inculcating civic virtues essential for nurturing inclusive, just, and sustainable
communities. The following three interventions were designed to catalyze

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transformation and promote equitable access to educational opportunities: Revision of
Core Curriculum, Academic Program Expansion and Enhancement, and Lifelong
Learning Initiatives.

Revision of Core Curriculum

The Revision of Core Curriculum is a cornerstone initiative within UP’s efforts to

enhance curricular relevance in line with contemporary societal imperatives. It seeks to
instill critical thinking skills and foster civic engagement among UP students. The
university, at regular intervals, conducts a rigorous review process of both general
education and major courses to better align with the evolving needs of learners and
society at large. UP endeavors to streamline and optimize its curricular offerings,
facilitating timely degree completion and equipping students with the competencies
essential for success in the workforce.
UP President Angelo Jimenez proposed to the Commission on Higher Education
(CHED) that the General Education (GE) curriculum integrate modules on artificial
intelligence, social media algorithms, computational skills and others. The GE
curriculum may be customized by stacking 6 to 9 units from different GE courses that
align with students’ interests and needs, and validating courses taken from approved
educational platforms.

Academic Program Expansion and Enhancement

The Academic Program Expansion and Enhancement initiative represents a

multifaceted endeavor aimed at enriching UP’s academic portfolio across its constituent
universities. This encourages the development of new programs, reinvigorating existing
ones, and fostering collaborative ventures, for UP to cultivate a dynamic educational
ecosystem. Central to this initiative is the promotion of interdisciplinary collaboration,
which serves as a catalyst for innovation and equips students with the multifaceted skill
sets necessary to navigate an increasingly interconnected global landscape. The
establishment of joint and dual-degree programs broaden horizons and expand
opportunities for internationalization, cross-cultural exchange and collaboration.
Recent efforts to expand and enhance UP’s academic programs include: UP
Mindanao’s Doctor of Medicine programs that will begin next Academic Year 2025-
2026, in cooperation with the College of Medicine of UP Manila. Jimenez also said that
the constituent university (CU) will also launch a program in Civil Engineering in
cooperation with the UP Diliman Institute of Civil Engineering; an Associate in
Entrepreneurship, under the CU’s School of Management; and two new Master of
Science offerings (MS in Quantitative Methods in Modeling and MS Biology).

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Some of UP Diliman’s new programs being finalized are: Department of Speech
Communication and Theatre Arts (DSCTA) Minor Programs in Applied Theatre and
Performance and in Theatre and Performance Praxes, and Minor Program in Rhetoric
and Interpersonal Communication which would let non-DSCTA students have the
opportunity to take part in DSCTA offerings, and the degree will become part of their
credentials.
Meanwhile, the UP Resilience Institute (UPRI), the UP Open University (UPOU), and
the UP Los Baños Graduate School (UPLB GS) are developing graduate programs
focused on building resilience: Master of Climate and Disaster Resilience and Master in
Resilience Studies.
Prior to Jimenez’ presidency, programs were already developed in three frontier areas:
Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, and the Omics sciences, which serve as pillars of
the Center for Intelligent Systems and the Masters and PhD programs in Data Science
Analytics, Informatics, Bioinformatics, and Artificial Intelligence.

Internationalization

UP’s thrust for internationalization, meanwhile, are delegated to the university’s Office of
International Linkages (UP OIL). The office is tasked with promoting international
academic and research collaboration with partner universities through student and
faculty exchange, joint research, network participation, sharing of educational
resources, and other international academic and research activities.
UP has international linkages with 350 higher education and research institutions in 43
countries: 49 in North America, 55 in Europe, 3 in Africa, 7 in the Middle East, 22 in
Australia and Oceania, and 214 in Asia.
Throughout the years, UP has remained as an active member of and has academic
agreements with the: Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), ASEAN-
European Academic University Network (ASEA-UNINET), ASEAN University Network
(AUN), Korean Studies Association of Southeast Asia (KoSASA), Southeast and South
Asia and Taiwan Universities (SATU), and Erasmus Mundus Program Network. Such
agreements also allow member institutions to collaborate in improving and facilitating
their undergraduate, postgraduate, master and doctoral programs and students.
UP Diliman currently has over 140 active agreements with over 140 institutions all over
the world covering student, faculty and staff exchange, and other academic activities.
Some of the examples of joint and dual-degree programs are: MS in Regional
Development Planning and PhD in Chemistry.
The MS in Regional Development Planning program is jointly offered by the UP
Diliman’s School of Urban and Regional Planning and the Spring Center, Faculty of
Spatial Planning, University of Dortmund, Germany. The two-year program is aimed at
regional and district development planning, with emphasis on rural areas.

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The doctorate degree in Chemistry may be taken as a dual-degree program at the
University of Houston. The program aims to provide advanced graduate training in
chemistry which would allow successful students to carry out independent research,
and pursue careers in academic, government, research and industrial institutions.

Lifelong Learning Initiatives

The Lifelong Learning Initiatives spearheaded by UP underscore the university’s
commitment to democratizing access to education and fostering a culture of continuous
skill development. Provision of micro-credentials and stackable courses empowers
learners to pursue personalized learning pathways tailored to their professional
aspirations and personal interests. Leveraging digital platforms and online learning
modalities democratizes access to education, transcending traditional barriers of time
and space. Through initiatives such as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and
Open Distance e-Learning (MODeL), UP fosters a culture of lifelong learning,
empowering individuals to pursue continuous competency development and credential
attainment.
The UP Open University’s MOOCs are short, self-paced and free online courses in
categories such as DE Readiness Module, ODeL Teacher Accreditation, Technology for
Teaching and Learning, Sustainable Development, Child Rights Protection and
Promotion, Business Analytics, Gender Responsive Education, Multimedia Production,
and Crisis Management and Foresight Planning. Completers of MODeL MOOC’s gain
extra learning credits and certifications.

Flagship Program 2: Inclusive Admissions

Opening up UP: Lingap Iskolar, Test
Centers, and the Roads Less Traveled
Imagine a bright young person from a poor family living in a rural barrio—a young
person with big dreams and an even bigger desire to create a better life for their family
and community. They decide to aim for college, and not just any college. The University
of the Philippines (UP), where the quality of education is the best in the country and
where, if one manages to graduate, a future paved with opportunities is guaranteed. No
one else in this young person’s family nor their barrio has ever gone to UP. Imagine
what a difference they could make if they became the first.
But before that, there is the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) to hurdle. Over the
past 55 years, the UPCAT has earned a nationwide reputation as the most competitive
college entrance exam in the country. In 2023 alone, the first time the UPCAT was
administered after being suspended for the three years of the pandemic, over 104,000
high school students applied to take the UPCAT, but only around 15% were accepted.

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And the odds aren’t looking any better for the UPCAT for SY 2025-2026, scheduled for
August 10 and 11, 2024.
Passing the UPCAT, though, is only one of the challenges our bright but poor young
hopeful must face. From making the long journey to the test center to deciding if their
family can actually afford to put them through years of college, each step forces the
student to make difficult choices that could alter futures for better or for worse, and not
just for one individual and their family but for their community and the country as well.
For UP President Angelo Jimenez, addressing this situation is a top priority. “UP is the
national university, and the national university should be accessible to the broadest
sector of our population, especially in the geographically isolated and disadvantaged
areas,” he told members of the media during a May 7 press conference at UP
Mindanao.

Excellence with equity

Democratic access, like academic excellence, is one of UP’s mandates under its
Charter. “Ang policy talaga natin is, intertwined ang excellence at ang equity. So nagpo-
provide tayo ng paraan para mabigyan ng consideration ang mga aplikanteng ito,” said
Dr. Francisco M. De Los Reyes, Director of the UP Office of Admissions (OAdms). “Ang
belief ko talaga, merong statistically normal distribution ng talino sa mga batang ito.
Pero ‘yung opportunity, hindi ito normally distributed,” he added, showing off his street
cred as an associate professor at the UP School of Statistics.
The stats do paint a grim picture. Current UP admissions data reveals a chronic
underrepresentation of students from public schools, particularly those in rural and
underserved communities. In the recently released UPCAT 2024 results, 44% of the
UPCAT qualifiers come from private schools, and 27% come from the different science
high schools around the country. Only a measly 29% came from public high schools.
And among the qualifiers, a vast majority—around 70%—come from urban centers,
mostly from Luzon.
Democratic access—“opening up UP without lowering our standards,” as President
Jimenez described it—is one of the UP System’s ten flagship programs under the UP
Strategic Plan 2023-2029. Under the flagship program on “A More Inclusive University
Admissions Policy,” the UP administration is taking on the task of righting a decades-old
systemic imbalance in the University’s admissions process by implementing a suite of
interventions that would enhance the quality of education and promote equitable access
to higher learning across the country.

The Lingap-Iskolar Program

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One of these interventions is the establishment of the “Lingap-Iskolar Program:
Assistance for UPCAT Qualifiers from Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged
Areas (GIDA),” which was approved by the BOR during its 1390th meeting on May 31.
“We noticed that after every UPCAT, there are 1,500 qualifiers from GIDAs who don’t
proceed to UP,” Jimenez said. This represents around 40% of the total number of
UPCAT qualifiers per year whose families still cannot afford to support their education in
UP despite the free tuition under RA 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary
Education Act.
This is because it’s not just about tuition. It’s about being able to afford to live on or near
campus, to buy decent meals, to take public transportation, and to buy books and
needed educational materials, which in this day and age include laptops, tablets,
smartphones, and Internet access. And it’s being able to afford all this for the four years
it takes to complete one’s education.
Enter the Lingap-Iskolar Program, which provides benefits and assistance to UPCAT
qualifiers from remote, disadvantaged areas, thus addressing many of their concerns
about enrolling in UP. Program beneficiaries are qualifiers who come from low income-
bracket families earning PhP135,000 gross annual income; and who are not currently
on any other financial assistance or scholarship program.
The Lingap-Iskolar Program aims to support 300 to 500 UPCAT qualifiers per year, but
for this first year of implementation, the number is set at 300. PhP50M in funds has
been allotted to support these 300 beneficiaries for this first year, and PhP200M for the
next four years. The benefits and assistance will come in the form of vouchers for
housing/dorm accommodations in the UP constituent university (CU) they qualified in;
food allowance; communication allowance; books, school supplies, and educational
materials; and even relocation transportation from their homes to their CU and during
year-end breaks. Additional support will come in the form of a mentoring program to
help these qualifiers adjust to life in UP.
The Lingap-Iskolar Program is being implemented and managed by the respective
Offices of Student Affairs of the different UP CUs and the Office of Student
Development Services at the UP System level.

Democratizing the UPCAT

Another intervention is for UP to reach out to more high schools in remote and
marginalized areas so as to encourage more students to take the UPCAT. One way to
do this is by increasing the number of UPCAT test centers nationwide to reduce the
distances would-be iskolar ng bayan have to travel just to take the UPCAT. The target is
to have a test center in all Philippine provinces by 2025, and De Los Reyes is happy to
report that this has been met ahead of schedule.

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“We have completed arrangements with test centers in previously UPCAT-unserved
areas, and 100% of the provinces in the country will have an UPCAT test center on
August 10 and 11,” he reported. “Achievement natin ito kasi first time ‘yan na lahat ng
probinsya sa Pilipinas merong test center.”
And not just in the provinces. Applicants residing in the Middle East, such as OFWs and
children of OFWs, may also take the UPCAT at test centers to be designated in Oman,
Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Jeddah, Riyadh, and Al Khobar. For areas with limited Internet
access, UPCAT application forms can be accomplished and submitted manually.
Moreover, no application fee is required to take the UPCAT.
To cast a wider net for iskolar ng bayan, UP is heading out to remote, underserved
communities to reach these would-be applicants. This initiative is a collaboration
between the OAdms, the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod at the UP System and UP CU-level,
the Learning Resource Centers of the different UP CUs, local governments, and the
Department of Education (DepEd) School Division Office in the region.
Why does this matter? A study done by the OAdms found that each UP CU has some
serious draw in their respective regions, attracting prospective students from nearby
communities. UP Los Baños, for example, draws applicants from Calabarzon, UP Cebu
from Central Visayas, UP Visayas from Western Visayas, and so on. (Except UP
Diliman, which attracts applicants from all over.)
This regional draw can be enhanced by having each CU reach out to the communities
and actively campaign for more UPCAT takers. These affirmative action campaigns are
meant to inform prospective applicants and their families and encourage them to apply
to UP, and to implement bridging programs to prepare them for the UPCAT. Lessons
include basics such as the proper way to shade the test form, which can spell the
difference between a passing or failing score. Such campaigns are now being
undertaken by UPLB, UP Mindanao, UP Tacloban, and recently, by UP Visayas.
“Tinutulungan nitong mga campaigns ang confidence-building ng mga nag-aapply,” De
Los Reyes explained. While the kids are undeniably promising, their socioeconomic
situations often lead them to doubt their capacity to succeed in UP or to survive in the
big city far away from home. “Tapang talaga ang kailangan [sa kanila] kaya dapat i-build
natin ang confidence nila. And it is good na meron talagang kumakausap sa kanila
during application pa lang.”

Alternatives to UPCAT

The third initiative to democratize access to UP is the promotion of non-traditional

routes to admission that does not require taking or passing the UPCAT.
“We’re also encouraging non-UPCAT routes because we know the UPCAT can be
biased for the elite schools,” said President Jimenez. But intelligence and talent
manifest in different forms, and UP intends to include as many as it can. “We can spot

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the potentials of these students through data science, and we can assist them so that
their potentials can be further developed so that ma-equalize natin ang disadvantages
sa certain high schools.”
One of these non-UPCAT routes into UP is through the different Associate Programs in
the different CUs. These two-year pre-baccalaureate degree programs often ladderize
to Baccalaureate degrees if the student does well enough. The UP administration is
currently encouraging the CUs to offer more slots to existing Associate programs. The
UP CUs offering Associate Programs are as follows:

UP Diliman

 Associate in Arts (Malikhaing Pagsulat sa Filipino)

 Associate in Arts (Theatre)
 Associate in Arts (Industrial Design)
 Associate in Arts (Visual Communication)
 Associate in Arts (Studio Arts)
 Associate in Arts (Sports Studies)
 Associate in Arts (Music)

UPLB

 Associate in Arts in Entrepreneurship

 Associate of Science in Development Communication
 Associate of Science in Forestry

UP Open University

 Associate in Arts
 Associate of Science in Instructional Design and Technology
 Associate of Arts in Digital Design and Art
 Associate of Science in Information Technology
 Associate of Arts in Digital Entrepreneurship

UP Mindanao

 Associate in Arts in Sports Studies

Students gifted in athletics or dance can be admitted to UP through the Varsity Athletics
Admission System (VAAS), currently being offered in UP Diliman and UP Cebu. The
VAAS program takes in young individuals with exemplary skills or strong potential in
athletics and dance, among others, to become members of the UP varsity sport teams
or performing arts groups, without having to take or pass the UPCAT. Applicants must
undergo a stringent system of tryouts, and VAAS students are required to represent UP
in national or international sports competitions to maintain their status as UP students.

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Finally, UP plans to strengthen policy to accommodate non-traditional learners such as
those under the Alternative Learning System (ALS) or those who took the Philippine
Educational Placement Test (PEPT) as well as UPCAT applicants enrolled in a
homeschooling program accredited by the DepEd.
For all young Filipinos dreaming of entering the national university, UP is opening its
doors wide. Of course, as any graduate knows, entering UP is just the beginning.
Making it through UP and after is where the real challenge lies.
As De Los Reyes said, “Ang tunay na sukatan ng kahusayan ay makatapos ka sa UP at
maglingkod sa Pilipinas.”

Flagship Program 3: Research and Innovation

Building UP’s Innovation Ecosystems for
Progress
The University of the Philippines (UP) leads the nation in high-level, homegrown
innovation. This kind of innovation stands the test of time and is done by equally high-
level scientists, engineers, and creative artists. However, the question is, what is all this
innovation for? The National Innovation Agenda and Strategy Document (2023) lays out
the goal of transforming the country into a smart and innovative Philippines that is
productive, resilient, sustainable, and inclusive. The next questions are: how do we get
there as a nation and what is the role of the University in bridging that gap?
According to Dr. Gisela Concepcion, Academician of the National Academy of Science
and Technology (NAST), former UP Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) and
currently the Special Adviser on Research and Innovation (R&I) to UP President Angelo
A. Jimenez (PAJ), universities around the world serve as the “fountainhead and hotbed
of innovation and development”. As these universities did and continue to do, UP is also
taking up the challenge of forging strong synergistic links with government and industry
to produce products and deliver services that benefit society. A key component for
achieving this is the PAJ administration’s Flagship Program for Research and
Innovation (R&I).

United in Purpose

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UP’s current R&I team is made up of Concepcion together with Dr. Luis Sison, Director
of the Technology Transfer and Business Development Office (TTBDO), and Mr. Jimbo
Reverente, Innovation Consultant to the UP System and Senior Lecturer at the UP
Diliman Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business. Together with the UP President, the
team continues to formulate guidelines and propose implementable actions to improve
lives in different regions across the country. “We want to try to strengthen what already
exists, build on what’s been built before, but then we want to improve it by a whole lot,”
Concepcion said.
The current plan revolves around a couple of key agenda points. With the country beset
by the challenges of climate change and the looming threat of socioeconomic and
geopolitical conflict, the team will recommend policies for natural and social science-
informed innovative governance, growth and development. UP’s innovations will be
showcased in initiatives to improve the following: a) improving the delivery of basic
goods and services to communities, and b) pursuing high-value productivity, growth and
development opportunities unique to each region and locale.
These two points will see UP’s expert scientists working with fellow experts from state
universities and colleges (SUCs), as well as with government; medium, small and micro
enterprises (MSMEs), and civil society to transform our rich natural resources into high-
quality products, goods, services and systems. These collaborations will uplift the
quality of life, improve productivity and livelihood, and create wealth and employment in
local communities.

Putting Knowledge to Good Use

To sum things up, the team agrees that new knowledge generated in the university
should be put to good use to benefit the various sectors of Philippine society. “How do
we operationalize this?” Concepcion asked. The answer, she said, to translating ideas,
research and creative work into useful applications is innovation.
“An example is Dr. Prospero Naval,” she said, “who together with (UP Marine Science
Institute) Director Dr. Laura David, developed a visual imaging system called Fish-i”.
Fish-i uses a smart sensor powered by AI to identify fish based on its characteristics like
size, shape, color and movement. “This has fantastic applications in ecotourism and
fisheries”. Other innovations she cited that have similar impact are VISSER (Versatile
Instrumentation System for Science Education and Research), a research-grade
laboratory system for Philippine high schools developed by UP College of Science Dean
Dr. Giovanni Tapang, and Manila HealthTek Inc (MTek), a university spinoff company
by dengue diagnostic kit developer Dr. Raul Destura of UP Manila, among others.
Concepcion also added that initiatives of this kind with funding from the University or
entities like the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) “should be made to
yield a return on investment or ROI. Otherwise, it is not a good investment.” This does
not mean all ventures should yield or even target runaway profits, however. She
explained that researchers should also look at “Social Return on Investment” or SROI,
more specifically for social innovations. “Just enough for you to continue the innovation,”

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she clarified. “And that your market won’t die off because of exorbitant prices driven by,
sorry for the term, greed and profit. It must be this way in communities. And it won’t
happen without the help of government.”
Projects involving cross-cutting investment and with a broad range of applications can
have commercial return on investment. It would be helpful to all parties involved if a
percentage of the profits went back to the University. “If these projects generate funds
and this is known by the DOST, then they will know these have ROI,” Concepcion said.
The goal is for the creators to get rewarded, while ensuring that the university can
continue to create the supportive environment that made it possible.

Science and Technology Parks and Hubs

The team is working under the direct guidance of Dr. Leo DP Cubillan, VPAA, to
formulate UP’s innovation policy, its intellectual property policy, and managing the
modes and stages of implementation of UP’s innovations under its many priority areas.
Creating the cross-cutting technologies that can be translated into innovations and train
innovators to be entrepreneurs and start-up founders, however, will require more.
Specifically, an innovation hub and/or science and technology park that can serve as
the front end of the country’s synergistic vision of innovation.
The UP President and his R&I team are committed to bring the type of facilitative
spaces found in countries like Taiwan and Korea to the University. In these spaces,
academe, industry and government can seamlessly collaborate to bring innovations
from a broad range of innovation readiness levels that are much closer to the market
and to the people.
From the team, it is Prof. Reverente who is spearheading this initiative, joining other
faculty members early this year on a trip to Germany to learn the ins and outs of the
Fraunhofer Model for Innovation that has resulted in great returns for German
universities “to learn how Bosch does it or Siemens does it, or how universities there
are like,” Concepcion said.
These hubs will be surrounded by spaces for independent setups, where budding
entrepreneurs and innovators can set up their businesses and labs, just like in Korea
and Taiwan. The goal, according to Concepcion, is to have a bustling S&T park and
PEZA zone for innovation to become products and services that uplift the nation.
Overseeing all of this is President Jimenez, Concepcion said, who is doing everything
possible to get things done. “I will take it on. I will speak out. This has to happen,” she
remembers him saying.

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 Flagship Program 4: Open and Distance e-
Learning (ODeL)
ODeL sets sail in UP, bridging global distances
Since its beginnings, ODeL has been aiming to navigate the virtual seas worldwide.
ODeL, or open distance and e-learning, has emerged as a potent equalizer and a
transformative solution to the problem of providing all Filipinos access and opportunity
to quality education. Through ODeL, the University of the Philippines (UP) can
showcase its commitment to fostering a culture of lifelong learning and excellence,
contributing to the advancement of sustainable development goals on a global scale.

History of open and distance learning

While the term “e-learning” was coined in 1999 by educational technology expert Elliott
Masie, open and distance learning (ODL) has been around for much longer, with some
form of it going back to the early 20th century and evolving alongside the technology.
On February 23, 1995, the UP Open University (UPOU) was established as the
country’s pioneer in online teaching and learning and as the leader in open learning and
distance education in the country.
As UP Professor Emeritus and former UPOU Chancellor Felix Librero wrote in his 2015
Special Report to the IJODeL, the UPOU was established to address the “perennial
challenge of providing quality higher education to a growing population.” Moreover, the
UPOU, through distance education, could allow the University to “‘respond to growing
demand for quality graduate and undergraduate education’ even in areas that are
traditionally underserved by the tertiary education sector.”
Over the years, this vision for the UPOU has come true, and ODL—now ODeL as
technology made quantum leaps in development—has demonstrated the ability to
swiftly and purposefully mobilize social responsiveness to uplift individuals from the
confines of geographic limitations and to mitigate academic setbacks caused by
uncontrollable factors. The marginalization of certain groups creates greater disparities
in access to opportunities, but ODeL has been found to be a powerful equalizer in
addressing these issues by facilitating educational access and outreach.
With such a history behind it, what are the new developments in ODeL and the UPOU?

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UPOU reaches out to OFWs through VINTA

March 22, 2024, saw a significant development in the field of borderless education with
the maiden launch of the UP VINTA Project in Japan, with a second launch held in
Thailand on May 18 and the Program’s diplomatic introductions held in the United
Arab Emirates (UAE), Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and
Qatar.
The UP VINTA Project, which stands for Ventures for International and Transformative
Academia, aims to facilitate seamless cross-border educational opportunities and
promote global collaboration. As one of the UP System’s key projects under its Flagship
Program on “ODeL for National and Global Reach,” the UP VINTA Project underscores
the University’s commitment to transnational and global education through strategic
partnerships and cultural exchanges.
Aimed at Filipino learners abroad, as well as those residing within the Philippines, the
UP VINTA Program opens new avenues of education through the UPOU’s micro-
credentialing programs. The UP VINTA is anchored on the principles of inclusivity,
quality instruction, innovation, and public service, and prioritizes engagement with
stakeholders across, initially, the aforementioned seven countries, thereby fostering
global academic standards and collaborative knowledge creation. As each country’s
OFWs work in unique labor environments and sociocultural realities, the UP VINTA
comes with it a more focused framework for accessing these OFWs unique demands
and requirements, enabling the Program to tailor the micro-credentialing programs
UPOU will offer to the OFWS according to their needs.
“We are hoping that we can have more courses and more of this micro-credentialing [in]
response to the immediate needs of the industries. We are also intensifying the reach of
UPOU courses to OFWs,” UPOU Chancellor Melinda Bandalaria shared during
an interview with ANC Philippines on May 2, 2024.

The VINTA DNA of quality instruction

“We have two full baccalaureate programs now, a Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia
Studies and a Bachelor of Education Studies,” Bandalaria said in the same interview. “In
addition, we have five Associate Programs that can also lead to a full Baccalaureate
program. There should be no reason anyone who is working cannot get a full Bachelor’s
degree.”
There is also UPOU’s Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs. In the span of over 10
years, UPOU has developed and offered about 100 MOOCs and has reached more
than 230,000 learners. MOOCs has been the mechanism anchored on the open
learning philosophy to facilitate access and inclusion to the learning opportunity.

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Starting 2024, UPOU’s array of MOOCs will take on a new configuration. The MOOCs
will be integrated into UPOU”s microcredentialing program. As such, they will be
developed in partnership with the major industries in the country to ensure the
alignment of the learning outcomes with the competencies identified as priorities by
these industries. Moreover, new courses or degree programs will be introduced that
align with emerging industries and the global job market’s demands. The MOOCs will
take the form of microcourses or microcredentials, which can be stacked towards a
macrocredential.
Additionally, access to UP’s extensive digital library and online support services further
enriches the learning experience for UPOU’s ODeL students. Additionally, UP has
implemented improved support systems for students, including more comprehensive
online resources, virtual counseling, and academic advising services.
“Many academic institutions, also see it as another business model for sustainability in
which they can be more agile and more flexible for whatever disruptions even after the
pandemic,” Bandalaria said. “And the thing is, we have typhoons, floods, and these
natural calamities that disrupt the learning process.”

Openness, inclusion, access, and life-long learning

The ODeL programs at UPOU utilize a blend of online resources, multimedia content,
and interactive online platforms to deliver course materials and foster a virtual learning
environment. The courses offered through the ODeL platform cover a wide spectacle of
interest from different fields of discipline and can benefit from this learning mode.
To strengthen ODeL’s impact, UPOU’s microcredentialing initiative aims to offer short
and focused courses that will immediately provide learners with the competencies
required by the major industries. The microcredentials can be combined or stacked
towards a macrocredential, which can be a required course in a degree program or a
certification addressing a specific learning outcome. Access and inclusion to
microcredentialing opportunities can be facilitated by offering the microcourses as
MOOCs.
“Right now, what we are integrating into that MOOCs framework is the micro-
credentialing—that each course that you will take will have an equivalent credit, which
can be stackable towards a micro-certification., a micro-diploma, or a full masters’
degree but you can stock these credits into a macro-certification. “
This means that time constraints due to work are not an issue. With micro-credentialing,
you have enough time to enroll at the most convenient and efficient time for you.
“We are advocating for openness, inclusion, access, and life-long learning for all as our
UN Sustainable Development Goal number four,” said Bandalaria. “Wherever you are in
the world, you can enroll.”

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Flagship Program 5: Archipelagic and Oceanic
Virtual University (AOVU)

UP and the Blue Frontier: A virtual

university for archipelagic and marine
development studies

In the late ‘90s, the University of the Philippines (UP) held the first-ever conference on
archipelagic studies. Scholars and practitioners gathered to discuss the pressing issues
of the Philippine waters, and one of the most significant raised concerns was the lack of
foresight by the public and private sector in utilizing the country’s marine resources.
This conference led to the creation of the UP Archipelagic and Ocean Studies
(ARCOAST) Network, a project by the UP Center for Integrative and Development
Studies (UP CIDS). The system-wide network played a significant role in promoting
archipelagic consciousness among the Filipino people, especially in the academe and
government agencies. Its policy recommendations on the management and
development of the country’s coastal and marine environment were then adopted by
government agencies, such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA).
The end of the CIDS project led to the realization that such initiatives must be pursued.
As the Philippines boasts the fifth longest coastline in the world, research on its coastal
and marine environment should be continued. There is a need to institutionalize
archipelagic and oceanic studies in view of the recent global manifold ocean activities
and issues.
Twenty-five years later, UP now lays the groundwork for creating the UP Archipelagic
and Ocean Virtual University (AOVU), as a valuable and long overdue addition to UP’s
eight constituent universities and one autonomous college.

Developing the Blue Economy

For decades, the focus of the Philippine government has been on the utilization of the
country’s land and land-based resources. Government agencies—including the
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Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), and the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)—were created for this
purpose. However, no specific department-level agency has been established to lead
the development and management of the country’s coastal and marine resources.
These concerns are divided into the two departments – DENR and DA-Burea of
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources – which have to manage them harmoniously as
closely integrated and interacting ecosystems, explained UP Professor Emeritus
Rhodora Azanza of the Marine Science Institute (MSI), who co-chairs the AOVU
technical working group.
“This gap often results in blindness to the role of [the] marine environment and the
ocean,” said Atty. Jay Batongbacal, chairperson of the AOVU technical working group.
He notes that the lack of directed management of the country’s natural marine
resources is something that the creation of AOVU intends to help address.
“Magkano ang potential ng ating marine territory?” said Dr. Rhodora Azanza, co-chair of
the AOVU technical working group. “Trillions of dollars per year ang value ng
[resources] na hindi pa natin nagagamit. For goods and services, [we have around] 6
billion per year.”
Dr. Azanza added that the amount of untapped marine goods and services is enough to
sustain the next generation.

“Kung gagamitin natin ‘yong rights natin sa Blue Economy, mas magiging profitable
tayo,” said Dr. Azanza. “Maa-achieve natin ang prosperity and sustainability if we
achieve the Blue Economy.”
The “Blue Economy” refers to the sustainable use of coastal and marine resources to
boost the country’s economy, as well as utilizing the natural resources for the common
good while preserving the environment. UP, in its role as the national university, can
provide the manpower, support, and knowledge for all activities aimed at advancing the
Blue Economy, strengthening maritime law, and enhancing the security and
sustainability of the country’s marine territories.
Aside from working with the Senate for the passage of the Philippine Blue Economy Act,
UP—through the UP Marine Science Institute (UP MSI) and the UP College of Law’s
Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea (IMLOS)—has also been actively
deploying experts to give lectures and seminars to the Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast
Guard, and other related government agencies.

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Institutionalizing archipelagic and oceanic studies

What is needed the most, according to Dr. Azanza, is a unified and systematized front
for archipelagic and marine research and studies. UP’s AOVU initiative will contribute to
such institutionalization, through the training of experts, the formulation of policy, and
the provision of support to the government and the public on relevant concerns.
“Maraming dapat gawin ang UP to help organize and lead this archipelagic and oceanic
program. We can have a meta-network of networks to involve other Higher Educational
Institutions (HEIs) and relevant organizations for a comprehensive and harmonized
archipelagic and oceanic knowledge generation and training under this university,” said
Dr. Azanza.
AOVU, as currently envisioned, will institutionally provide continuing and postgraduate
education not only to government agencies focused on the country’s marine
environment and national security but also to other constituents and stakeholders.
“If we want to have [a] direct, immediate impact [on] the Blue Economy, then the
university should have direct contact over the government officials and personnel who
are implementing the flagship program,” added Atty. Batongbacal. Thus, the Philippine
Navy, the Philippine Coastguard, the national government officials, regional offices, and
the local government units are the initial target clientele of the AOVU. The AOVU will
provide continuing professional education in National Security, Environmental
Management, and Maritime Diplomacy.
The AOVU will also serve as a centralized hub for graduate degree programs and
research initiatives for other interested students.

Creating a collaborative constituent university

“Bakit kailangan pa ng new [constituent university], [gayong] may archipelagic studies

na?” recalled Dr. Azanza on the common reaction to the AOVU. Such is the recurring
feedback on the proposed university, as UP Visayas and UP Diliman have been offering
degree programs in marine sciences and laws on maritime affairs.
Dr. Azanza clarified that the AOVU “will [harmonize] the UP System’s efforts in
[advancing] archipelagic and marine studies and research.” One way of doing so is
creating a centralized database featuring all existing research on archipelagic studies
produced by UP constituent universities and the UP CIDS. The database will be hosted
at the UP Data Commons.
In addition to the database, the AOVU itself, according to Atty. Batongbacal, “will be a
collection of potentially different courses from different campuses.” Affiliate professors
across the UP System will facilitate these courses. Initially, the proposed degree

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programs are as follows: Blue Economy Studies, which focuses on maritime industries
and the environment; Archipelagic Integrity Studies, maritime security and governance;
Archipelagic Environment Studies, marine environment research; and Maritime Culture
Studies.
“We’re not here to compete,” emphasized Atty. Batongbacal. “What we want to do is to
fill in existing gaps, to create an innovative approach of problem-solving with [an]
archipelagic perspective.
“Hopefully, we can create a collaborative and synergistic type of constituent university,”
he added.

Flagship Program 6: Active and Collaborative

Partnerships

Synergy in Public Service: Active and

collaborative partnerships with UP
UP’s responsibility as a leader in the education sector is mandated by its Charter, with
RA 9500 explicitly stating that the university must “perform its unique and distinctive
leadership in higher education and development” and as “public service university”.
Other higher education institutions (HEI), particularly state universities and colleges
(SUCs), must be able to rely on UP for resources, best practices, and other modes of
support.
UP, however, recognizes that developing the country’s tertiary education sector to meet
the challenges of the 21st century involves not only guiding other HEIs, but also
learning from them, ensuring that all stakeholders benefit from cooperation and
engagement with each other. There is a need for HEIs to develop approaches to
education that grounds its practices in the needs of Filipino people. UP must therefore
expand active and collaborative partnerships not only with state or local government-
funded universities and colleges (SUCs/LUCs), but also with national government
agencies (NGAs), local government units (LGUs), the private sector, and civil society.

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Partnerships for public service

Over the past decades, UP has entered into formal and informal partnerships with
various institutions based on the strengths and needs of the involved parties. The
current UP administration under President Angelo Jimenez is looking at gearing
partnerships to go beyond mutual needs and individual academic gaps, and more
towards collaborations directly aimed at public service or larger social goods.
Partnerships will aim at strategic intervention to effect social transformation.
One urgent goal flagged by the current UP administration is the democratization of UP-
quality education. As Jimenez explains, with UP given the biggest share of the SUC
budget pie, it will be a great service of UP if it could contribute to the elevation of the
quality of undergraduate education that SUCs provide.
With quality higher education accessible through the network of SUCs, UP can focus on
fulfilling its mandate as graduate and research university, with able graduate enrollees
coming from and some going back to the SUCs with their postgraduate degrees
upgrading the profile of their respective faculties.

UP-SUCs Summit

UP initially broached the idea of more directed active and collaborative partnerships
(ACPs) during the UP-SUC summit held on September 15, 2023 in Davao City. The
initiative, organized by UP, was one of the first major priorities of Jimenez following his
investiture as UP president. The summit resulted in a Mindanao Declaration on
Excellence and Equity in Public Higher Education [“Pagtutulay, Pagtutuloy”], which
called for a “sharing of expertise, resources, and opportunities” among all public higher
education institutions. This was signed by 58 of the 69 SUCs that attended.
In line with this, on October 13, Jimenez established a task force to conceptualize and
operationalize the UP State Universities and Colleges Collaboration Office (UP
SUCCO).
The task force has conceptualized projects implementable in the next three years that
can be carried out by UP in partnership with other organizations that will not only raise
the quality of public higher education, but will support the Philippine Development Plan
2023-2028:

 The creation of a UP hub to promote social enterprises together with the SUCs. The BALAY
Pagtinabangay: Sustainable Collaborative Social Enterprise can be a “community store” of
social entrepreneurs from all over the country.
 The establishment of the National Institute of Engineering, a nationwide network for graduate
education, research, and innovation in Engineering for sustainable industrialization.

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  An information and communications technology (ICT) technical capability building program,
primarily involved in the sharing of home-grown and open-source software systems and
applications invented to help Filipino students and faculty more easily learn, teach, and
conduct research.
 Partnerships for Digital Education Technology, providing for joint academic programs,
technical consulting, mutual capacity building for information infrastructure, and curriculum
co-development.

UP Resilience Institute

Another priority of the UP administration is the roll-out of technical assistance on climate

change action and disaster risk reduction and management (CCA-DRRM), as led by the
UP Resilience Institute (UPRI) and its Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards
(Project NOAH).
On May 29, 2024, the Provincial Government of Tarlac (PGT) and UP launched the
PGT-UP Resilience Hub at the UP Manila School of Health Sciences (UPM-SHS)
Building in Tarlac City. The facility will be a center for the local and nearby communities,
including public universities and colleges in central and northern Luzon, to avail of and
localize UP knowledge and technology on CCA-DRRM for their own development plans.
Located in a UPM-SHS facility, the Resilience Hub features telehealth technology
developed by UP Manila and its partners. Aside from making health services accessible
on remote, telehealth offers another means of communication with remote areas.
UP supported Green Philippines in organizing the National Youth Environmental
Summit, held this year on April 22-24 in Baguio City in collaboration with different
NGAs, LGUs, academic institutions, and civil society and youth organizations. UP,
through UPRI-NOAH, provided information for formulating DRRM–climate change
adaptation and mitigation (CCAM) frameworks to the youth participants, who are
expected to lead environmental projects in their respective schools and localities.
Partner S/LUCs can benefit from the expansion of the UP School of Urban and
Regional Planning and the Commission on Higher Education’s project of training SUCs
to craft their own Land Use Development and Infrastructure Plan (LUDIP), as they have
been required by RA 11396.

A partner for people-driven development

In solidarity with the Bangsamoro, the University, led by its first Mindanawon president,
is actively expanding relations with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao with an opening salvo of consultations and meetings geared toward
institutionalizing a UP Bangsamoro Development Institute (UP BDI). Grounded on
principles of inclusivity and participatory development, UP BDI will present UP’s

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technical capacities as System to the BARMM government for whatever aspects of
development they can be of use.
“We are pursuing the dream of building a future where every individual in the
Bangsamoro region has access to quality education, economic opportunities, and an
enabling environment in which to thrive,” Jimenez emphasized during his investiture, a
major UP event held for the first time in Mindanao.
UP’s partnership with BARMM has consisted of capacitating the BARMM education
system through in-service training of teachers, deployment of UP Gurong Pahinungod,
and a junior scientist project. Building on trust that the Pahinungod has developed in the
region since deploying volunteers to teach in the area since 1998, UP BDI is envisioned
to extend UP services to the rest of the Bangsamoro government on its quest for
autonomy, “enduring peace and sustained socio-economic development suitable to the
systems of life, needs, and aspirations of its people”.
The task force to conceptualize and operationalize the UP BDI, led by UP Mindanao
Chancellor Lyre Anni Murao, met with the top officials of the BARMM Ministry of Basic,
Higher and Technical Education in May 10, 2024 at the BARMM Government Center in
Cotabato City. The UP representation formally relayed to the BARMM government the
University’s sincerity and revitalized public service thrust, which, through the “active and
collaborative partnerships” approach, will hopefully result in greater acceptance and
impact.

Flagship Program 7: Arts and Culture

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 Flagship Program 8: Expansion of Public
Service Offices

A University for the People: Strengthening

the public service orientation of UP
Volunteerism was how the University answered a recurring concern during the early
post-dictatorship era. At that time, a survey of its students revealed that, after the
overthrow of the Marcos regime, they seemed to have become complacent.[1]
It appeared that UP’s public service mandate—primarily in the form of “nationalization of
knowledge” and “scholarship to benefit fellow Filipinos,” as called for by UP President
Carlos Romulo in 1966—had concretized outreach and community-oriented activities as
merely an extension of teaching and research functions. Questions started to be raised
regarding the need for a more meaningful and comprehensive approach to public
service.
UP responded to the concern, not by a statement, but through action. Members of the
UP community proved that they were still willing to give an arm and a leg, not just
scholarship, in the service of the marginalized and the underserved. The Ugnayan ng
Pahinungód was instituted in 1993 as the volunteer service program of UP, becoming
the office for coordinating volunteerism throughout the UP system. The Gurong
Pahinungod, implemented in 1998, went full-blast in AY 1998-1999 with 47 teacher-
volunteers deployed to 24 schools in 13 provinces, from the landlocked province of Abra
in Northern Luzon down to the southernmost part of the country, Tawi-Tawi.
This was how the in-road to the Bangsamoro region was laid. A Gurong Pahinungod
pioneer would end up becoming an official of the Ministry of Basic, Higher and
Technical Education (MBHTE) in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (BARMM).

In 2022, a Memorandum of Understanding and a Memorandum of Agreement between

UP and the MBHTE would be signed, with the Pahinungód partnering with MBHTE in
training teachers, deploying volunteer teachers, and implementing a junior scientist
program. This partnership would ultimately inspire the University to seek partnership
with the rest of the BARMM government to help its development.
In this case, it was clear scholarship still was the defining character of UP’s public
service. But as the case also showed, scholarship needed to be more impactful and
geared to the needs of the nation. This meant scholarly activities should be more

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coordinated and strategically directed toward responding to the country’s most pressing
needs.

Expansion of Public Service Offices

In 2012, the UP Padayon Public Service Office under the Office of the Vice President
for Public Affairs was established by President Alfredo Pascual. It has a “much broader
parameter for public service [than Pahinungod]”, which meant it included initiatives of
both volunteer and non-volunteer in nature. Non-volunteer initiatives cover research
extension, secondment to state agencies, medical internships, training projects”, among
others. Padayon’s central goal was to “generate and mobilize expertise in the service of
the nation”, considered part of what is known in Asia as a “scholarship of engagement.”
It is now in charge of monitoring and collecting data for public service activities of all UP
CUs for policy recommendations. The office is also in charge of disseminating the public
service information in various platforms, capacitating faculty members, staff, and REPS
in terms of public service activities, including merit promotions and grants, and raising
public service funds in collaboration with other offices.

Before the administration of President Angelo Jimenez, the Ugnayan ng Pahinungód

and the Padayon Public Service Office worked separately. With the prioritization of
public service as a strategic thrust of the administration, the two UP System offices–
Pahinungod under the Office of the President and Padayon under the Office of the Vice
President for Public Affairs agree to work together. Padayon creates an enabling
environment for Pahinungod to push for their activities and for the UP community to
take part in all public service and volunteer-related activities.
Through the collaboration of the two offices, UP seeks to amplify its brand as a public
service university. They are launching a System-wide calendar of public service and
volunteering initiatives in both their websites and social media platforms. To consolidate
all public service information in the University, they are promoting the facility already
provided by University Information System (UIS) for reporting of all public service
initiatives across CUs.
They are currently pursuing incentivization of public service and volunteerism, and
assisting in democratizing access to UP education. Incentivization includes the
establishment of a public service productivity award, and a System-based public service
project grant and mobilization fund. They are currently in consultation with UP
constituents in a push for higher percentage or weight for public service activities in
merit promotions. Also up for System-wide implementation is giving extension load
credits for public service.
Pahinungod activities will also be integrated to Padayon initiatives such as the Public
Service Writing Fellowship (PSWF) and the Colleges and Universities Public Service

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Conference (CUPSCON), which capacitate University constituents in transforming their
public service activities into research projects.

To help democratize access to UP education, the two will collaborate with other UP
System offices such as the Office of Admissions, the Office of Alumni Relations, and the
Office of Student Development Services in implementing the proposed Hatid Iskolar
Program. The program will assist UPCAT passers whose enrollment in UP is
jeopardized by their economic and geographic situation.
They will also embark on an active campaign to promote the Kaibigan ng Pahinungod
Donation Portal, a way of supporting the cost of sending Gurong Pahinungod volunteers
to far-flung areas and underserved areas in need of teachers.

Flagship Program 9: Quality Management

System (QMS) and Quality Assurance (QA)

UP’s quest for continuous quality

For UP—guided by its time-honored traditions of honor, excellence, and service—the
pursuit of quality education, research, and extension work has been front and center.
And rightly so. It is, after all, the country’s national university.
In its 116 years of existence, the University has gained a reputation for academic
leadership among Philippine institutions of higher learning. But to sustain this as UP
expands and grows nationwide, there has also been an increasing emphasis on the
importance of management: the whole range of processes and procedures that make
an organization run efficiently like a well-oiled machine.
The UP System administration under President Angelo Jimenez intends to ensure that
excellent education is complemented by equally excellent operations. This mission falls
under the administration’s strategic theme, “Consultative and Accountable Governance
for the Well-being of University Constituents,” and specifically captured in Flagship
Program (FP) 9: the institutionalization of the University’s Quality Management System
(QMS) and the enhancement of Quality Assurance (QA) of degree programs.

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“We cannot be academically excellent if we are struggling administratively. [These] are
intertwined that [one] cannot be left behind if we want UP to succeed holistically,”
Jimenez declared during the first QMS Forum for UP System administrative employees
in May 2024.
“When we have clear, consistent, and strategic policies; efficient systems and
processes; well-documented process flows; and seamless operations that support
teaching, research, innovation, and creative works, then we are close to designing and
delivering QA in our academic offerings.”

A QMS by 2025

Based specifically on ISO 9001:2015, the global standard for quality management, UP’s
QMS is expected to improve the intricate processes that keep the University going.
“[Our] goal is not to put rigid, unfamiliar systems in place, but rather updated and well-
informed systems that will make our processes easier and more transparent,” Jimenez
explained. “Through a properly-executed QMS, we ensure accountability on all sides for
our stakeholders” as well as “effective stewardship of resources.”
A formalized system that documents processes, procedures, and responsibilities for
achieving quality policies and objectives, a QMS for UP can help direct its activities to
meet legal requirements and stakeholders’ needs, and consistently improve the
effectiveness and efficiency of operations.
UP’s QMS will be its mode of compliance with the Government Quality Management
Program—the aim of which is to advance public sector performance by ensuring
consistency in its delivery of products and services through the implementation of an
effective QMS. On the world stage—as the University is mandated by its Charter to
“serve as a regional and global university”—UP’s adherence to international standards
and its acquisition of certifications signifying such, boosts its reliability and credibility as
a potential partner institution.
The QMS half of FP 9 also includes other key activities of the University administration.
UP is working on getting Level III certification in the Philippine Civil Service
Commission’s Program to Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human
Resource Management or PRIME-HRM—where the University’s HRM aims to become
competency-based and its HR Information System well-integrated and connected to the
four HR key areas: (1) recruitment, selection, placement; (2) learning and development;
(3) performance management; and (4) rewards and recognition.
The Finance Transformation Program is expected to enhance budget planning and
utilization—maximizing the financial resources of the University while maintaining the
highest regard for accountability and transparency in accordance with the accounting

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and auditing rules and policies of the government. The Program was launched through
the UP System-wide Finance Summit held from April 17-19, 2024.
Other programs include the Assets and Resource Utilization Management Program,
which contains four sub-programs on assets and infrastructure management, property
management, supply management, and procurement enhancements. Another is the
Total Rewards, Wellness, and Benefits Program, which is currently conducting a
comprehensive review of existing wellness and benefits programs that will guide
proposals for enhancements or creation of new initiatives. Also in the pipeline is the
consolidation of all updated policies and regulations in handbooks and manuals in one
University Handbook and Digital Library.
UP is already one-fifth along its journey to ISO 9001:2015 QMS certification by 2025. It
has already taken four of the 20 roadmap steps since April 2024. The most recent of
which was the initial quality performance assessment by assessors from the
Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) on June 10-11, 2024.
The fifth step will be on June 18, the University’s 116th anniversary, when two
orientation sessions on ISO 9001:2015 QMS will be held—one by DAP for the UP
System administration and another for administrative staff. The road ahead is filled with
training programs and workshops until the final management review, readiness
assessment, certification preparation, and finally, the certification proper, targeted to
happen from April to June 2025.

A consistently improving QA

Jimenez is a firm believer in the growth mindset, where continuous improvement drives
success. In QA, the other component of FP 9, the UP leadership recognizes existing
measures in place and intends to both enhance them and supplement them with other
programs. “[QA] will enable us to continuously sustain and enhance the quality and
relevance of our academic programs. It encompasses all facets of university teaching
and learning, including learning outcomes, curriculum development, teaching
methodologies, and student support services.”
UP QA has two components in assessing its degree program offerings. One is the
uniquely homegrown internal QA (IQA), Internal Assessment and Development System
or iAADS—a comprehensive reporting system done every three years, designed to
evaluate various aspects of academic programs and institutional effectiveness, and
customized to suit the specific needs of each unit.
The other is the external QA (EQA) done by local or international assessment or
accreditation bodies, especially for professional degree programs or those with
discipline and QA experts external to the program. EQA is conducted after iAAADS and
should be done every five years.

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One initiative of the Jimenez administration is the accelerated rollout of capacity building
programs to beef up UP’s QA systems. An example is the External Reviewers
Training by the QA Capacity Building Committee to (1) increase the number of faculty
members who are capable of conducting external reviews of UP degree programs and
(2) equip representative QA officers and faculty administrators across the UP System
with the knowledge and skills to effectively conduct EQA reviews.
Strategic planning is also underway for establishing a fully functional, independent UP
System QA Office, a big step forward from the current UP System QA Team and UP
System QA Committee. This development is on top of UP constituent universities
creating their own QA Offices and constituting QA committees.
The development and launch of the QA Portal—the centralized online platform
integrating the UP IQA and EQA instruments and processes—is intended to better
facilitate the QA process for all the academic units of UP. In addition to the Portal, the
first UP System QA Conference will be organized to bring together stakeholders from
across the UP System for collaborative discussions and knowledge sharing. The event
is expected to foster a culture of innovation, transparency, and accountability within the
institution, in pursuit of academic excellence and social relevance.
Rallying UP employees, Jimenez said, “In our pursuit of excellence, we must also be
excellent in our decision-making. … We know that guaranteeing the quality of our
programs and graduates as set by our guidelines is what makes UP, UP. … We want to
enhance the delivery of our products and services as a university, and we want to make
sure we deliver these in the best way possible.”

Flagship Program 10: Digital Transformation

Making the right click: Institutionalizing

UP’s digital transformation
Processing the basic papers of newly hired employees in the University of the
Philippines (UP) Diliman used to take three long months; but with the Personnel Unified
Systems Outlook (PUSO) human resources system, new members of the workforce can
now receive their appointment papers within 28 days.
“There’s still room for improvement,” an analytics and industrial engineering professor,
Dr. Eugene Rex Jalao, admitted during the UP System’s recent IT Dx Conference from
May 23 to 24. But for PUSO users, the system’s efficiency not only drastically eased

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their work, it also improved their lives, especially when the first salaries of new
employees often depended on the release of their appointment papers.
“76 percent say that they are really happy with the system because it really improved
their lives. Wala nang masyadong paper[work] and they can track the real-time status of
their documents,” Dr. Jalao continued.
PUSO is just one of the homegrown information technology (IT) systems developed by
UP’s industrial engineers. First unveiled in UP Diliman in 2020 during the COVID-19
pandemic, the system has since then processed around 12,000 basic papers, 100,000
leave applications, 4,000 document requests, and 400,000 service records.
Dr. Jalao and his team are now eyeing the rollout of PUSO and the Budget Utilization
and Liquidation System Analytics (BULSA) financial management system to other
constituent universities (CUs) as a replacement for the old University Information
System (UIS), in line with UP President Angelo Jimenez’s flagship program towards the
digital transformation of the University’s processes and information systems.
If they succeed, thousands of workers throughout the UP System stand to benefit from
the faster processing of their compensation and documents. Nonetheless, institutional
challenges linger; and the implementation of this program would need all hands on deck
to ensure that the new systems and the services they deliver would not only
meaningfully reach the UP community, but also fully realize UP’s mandate to serve the
Filipino people, especially in an increasingly digital world.

A lynchpin of all flagship programs

CUs throughout the UP System have already launched various digitalization projects to
streamline their own administrative and academic processes and information systems:
the Computerized Registration System (CRS) is currently being used in UP Diliman and
UP Visayas for student registrations; while UP Los Baños, UP Manila, UP Open
University, UP Baguio, and UP Cebu already utilize the Student Academic Information
System (SAIS).
However, the lack of a system-wide student registration system means that
inefficiencies remain, such as for cross-registration among CUs and troubleshooting for
technical difficulties. This situation is also present in the University’s other service
delivery efforts.
“As it is now, UP’s inefficiencies prevent the University from realizing its potentials and
serving the Filipino people better. This renders UP increasingly unable to respond
effectively to the needs of society. It is essential that we maximize the use of technology
to over-cap our organizational handicaps,” Jimenez stressed in his keynote address
during the conference.
The University therefore needs a “unified digital strategy” crafted through an “All-of-UP
approach”, which Jimenez said “would provide a cohesive overall framework that
ensures consistency, alignment, and synergy across all our digital transformation or Dx

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initiatives” while “[respecting] and [accommodating] the context-specific differences and
unique needs and adaptations of our different units and constituent universities.”
Digital transformation, after all, serves as a lynchpin for the flagship programs of his
administration’s Strategic Plan 2023–2029, from cultivating academic excellence to
forging active partnerships and collaborations, providing online distance e-learning, and
instituting a more inclusive admissions policy.
Significant system-wide efforts toward digital transformation are already underway. For
example, Tuklas and Buklod, developed by Prof. Chito Angeles, former UP Diliman
University Librarian, are also being deployed as the new discovery tool and library
services platform to replace the old Integrated Library System (iLib). These allow
students, faculty, researchers, and staff to access catalogs and online resources of
libraries across CUs through a single portal.
“We cannot talk about IT without involving our library and commons. Mayroon na silang
[Tuklas at] Buklod, [and] I think we have to continuously develop that,” Vice President
for Legal Affairs Abraham Rey Acosta urged in his opening remarks for the conference.
The goal of digital transformation, Acosta stated, is to “create an ecosystem where. . .
[one] unique identifier would become the key to all the services available in UP.”
Having such an ecosystem in place would also foster a more democratized access to
UP’s services: “Ang maganda pala sa student number natin is walang sinasabi diyan
[kung] taga saan ka ba except that taga-UP ka. Hindi ka [UP Los Baños], hindi ka UP
Baguio, hindi ka UP Diliman—taga-UP ka, so it’s really something na hindi
discriminatory,” he underscored.

Harmonizing transformation, collaboration

Jimenez nevertheless emphasized that creating and maintaining an ecosystem like this
would need a central governing body or committee to oversee the different Dx projects
across the UP System, in order to “standardize protocols for digital tools, platforms, and
data management systems [and] ensure [their] interoperability and compatibility across
the UP System,” while also assuring that CUs and units would “have the autonomy and
drive to generate Dx projects that are suited to their own needs and unique contexts
while adhering to the overarching standards.”
He also stated that required was “a culture of open collaboration and communication” to
implement and further improve this unified strategy along the way: “We need to maintain
regular communication channels among our CUs and the UP System to share updates,
best practices and feedback,” he emphasized.
Hence, Vice President for Development Daniel Peckley Jr. asserted the need for a
Office of the Vice President for IT and Dx to oversee these efforts: “If may isang opisina
sa Quezon Hall na palaging nagpaparallel processing, palaging ang daming sabay-

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sabay na inaasikaso, siguro ito na ‘yung [Office of the Vice President for Development].
The problem with that is, when you are so thinly spread, if you cannot focus, walang
matatapos—so it is really our earnest request na sana mabuo na ang Office for Vice
President for IT and Dx.”
With an enabling environment, Dr. Jalao envisioned a push towards 100 percent
digitalization “hopefully within the next five to 10 years,” through the training of end
users and assisting them as they migrate and transition to new platforms and systems.
Ultimately, user experience is paramount in these efforts toward digital transformation;
and their success can only be determined not by the procurement of the latest
equipment or software but by the feedback on the impact on the work and lives of their
end users: the UP community, and the Filipino people at large.
“We are the only persons here who know what is running behind the servers—pero ‘pag
tinanong mo sa estudyante doon, ang sasabihin lang naman niya is, ‘ang bagal naman
ng system ng UP’ o ‘ang bilis ng system ng UP’, etc. At the end of the day, this is what
we want to achieve, at least in UP. The technology here is invisible, and the user
experience is what matters most,” Acosta reiterated.

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