29 October 2026
Benguet State University (BSU), through the Office for Quality Assurance and Accreditation (OQAA), conducted an Institutional Accreditation (IA) Mentoring Session with BSU accreditors at the CHK Function Hall to strengthen the university’s preparations for institutional accreditation.
In his opening remarks, Vice President for Administration and Finance Richard H. Kinnud acknowledged OQAA’s efforts in spearheading the activity, emphasizing its role in the series of preparations leading to the university’s institutional accreditation.
He also underscored the importance of the mentoring process in advancing BSU’s continuing pursuit of quality and excellence.
OQAA Director Joanna I. Alafag presented an overview of the activity, describing the session as a collaborative review and coaching opportunity for the university’s internal quality teams.
The mentoring aimed to refine self-survey reports, strengthen evidence-based narratives, standardize formatting and Means of Verification (MOVs), and ensure consistency in the presentation of institutional documents. Alafag further emphasized that institutional accreditation is the highest level of quality assurance, encompassing the university as a whole, including its academic programs, colleges, operations, systems, and personnel, rather than evaluating only an individual program or department.
Following the orientation, participants grouped themselves according to their assigned accreditation areas for simultaneous coaching sessions facilitated by internal IA mentors.
The mentoring sessions covered nine accreditation areas. Jao-jao A. Somyden facilitated Area I (Governance and Management); Evelyn S. Angiwan handled Area II (Teaching, Learning, and Evaluation) and Area III (Faculty and Staff); Romeo A. Gomez Jr. mentored Area IV (Research, Extension, Consultancy, and Linkages) and Area V (Support to Students); Vicente G. Panagan Jr. covered Area VI (Support to Students); Grace D. Quijano led Area VII (Library) and Area IX (Quality Assurance Culture); while Jenny V. Esiong guided Area VIII (Infrastructure and Other Learning Resources).
To conclude the mentoring phase, representatives from the Quality, Editing, and Program Facilitation Team, together with the Quality Documentation and Packaging Team, briefed participants on the preparation of final outputs and the submission guidelines for the packaged accreditation materials.
The activity concluded with the awarding of certificates to the internal accreditors, recognizing their participation and contribution to the university’s institutional accreditation preparations.//CDeGuzman|DPaydowan