File photo of The LANCE.
With hopes of improving the quality of the policies, despite various initiatives of the Colegio for ISO Certification, the determination to achieve the accreditation is evident in the eyes of the people behind the measures.
The department handling the preparation on ISO Certification is the Planning and Development Office, headed by Asst. Prof. Randy Castillo as the director and Ms. Diane Francisco along with Ms. Grace Cabigao as staff members.
The preparation started last August 2018 with the assistance of Angelica Frajinal, the Managing Director and Senior Consultant of ACF (Agile, Creative, Fast) Consultancy and Training Services.
The office conducted a two-day training on the processes of ISO, an orientation, and a documentation training spearheaded by the Vice President of Financial Affairs Rev. Fr. Lauro de Dios, O.P., as the executive sponsor together with the Rector and President, Rev. Fr. Clarence Marquez, O.P. of standards to ensure the quality, safety, and efficiency of products, services, and systems.
Meanwhile, the ISO 9001 Certification in the context of the Colegio’s aim for being qualified, signifies that the organization has met the requirements of defining the quality management system. This also serves as a condition that determines if the Colegio’s processes was
appropriate and effective, while still implementing improvements.
The members of the said preparation are the Finance and Resources Department (FRD) which involves the Student Accounts,
Cashier, Payroll, Bookstore, Engineering Buildings and Grounds, and Science Laboratory.
In an interview, Castillo stated that FRD has been the biggest contributor when it comes to the implementation of plans.
“Malaki ang contribution nila kasi sila ang subject of implementation, so sila talaga ang gagawa, ‘yung participation nila, ‘yung understanding nila and [the] Planning Office only facilitates,” he cleared.
When asked about the importance of being ISO-certified, Castillo answered: “It is very important. Una, in a way it improves the overall
policies, procedures, and services kasi ang gusto natin is quality, that’s one way of doing it.”
“Second, importante rin ‘yan sa ating dream of becoming an autonomous college kasi ‘yung ganyang certification is recognized by the Commission on Higher Education in the application kasi may point system, but ultimately ang gusto natin is for continuous improvement,
more of efficiency of our processes,” he furthered.
“It is also significant because it helps us to push for our quality initiatives in everything that we do,” he added.
APPLICATION FOR AUTONOMOUS COLLEGE
The certification also guarantees greater opportunities in the Colegio’s application for autonomous college.
“First, it has a bearing when it comes to the application for the autonomous college, the autonomous college is a milestone for us to become
a University eventually. In Quadri naman, because an autonomous college to start with, then eventually a university is significant in our celebration kaya we hope na maging university tayo,” the director said.
“Dahil under tayo ng regulating body (non-autonomous), everything that we do kapag hindi ka autonomous, magpapaalam ka, kapag gumawa ka ng program kailangang sumunod sa standards nila,” he clarified.
He also explained the side of having an autonomous status as an institution: “Kapag autonomous naman, dahil tiwala sila sa processes, you are granted the autonomy, the freedom.”
“Halimbawa when revising the curriculum, kahit di na magpaalam, i-iinform na lang sila. It’s free from regulation and the freedom to act on
your own as a school,” he continued.
UPON ACHIEVING UNIVERSITY STATUS
“The certification is one of the means to say and a metric that [the] Colegio is still on the track and we’re doing the right thing. It’s a validation and an affirmation that our practices are accredited,” he said.
“All targets and strategies are geared towards sa alignment ng lahat ng ‘yun, If may di man masunod lalo na sa critical areas medyo may
setback, pero confidently I can say na basta tuloy- tuloy at pagtatrabahuhan, maaabot siya,” he exclaimed.
“It’s a long way to go. It’s a tough journey but always remember journey starts with a single step,” Castillo concluded.
The target of the Colegio to be ISO 9001:2015 Certified, is ideally on July 2019, which is both connected to the 2020 Quadricentennial celebration and the plan of the institution to be a University at 2022.
(First published on The LANCE's Jan-Feb 2019 Issue)