Section 13Sec./Art. 13

Benchmarks for Ensuring Quality of TNHE. In reviewing the performance of TNHEIs, the CHED, or other duly recognized local or international audit and accreditation bodies, may ascribe the respective weights to the following performance indicators:

(a) Curriculum innovation, which pertains to the manner and degree to which the curricula are relevant and adaptable to current and global developments, trends, and values.1шphi1 Curriculum innovation includes the assessment of the conformity of certificates, diplomas and degrees granted by the TNHEIs with internationally accredited programs of reputable international accreditation bodies;

(b) Student diversity, which includes the promotion of a respectful classroom climate under egalitarian norms and principles; encouraging plurality and the contribution of diverse perspectives brought about by differences in race, gender, religion, and culture; use and monitoring of both spoken and written languages in ways that consider implicit assumptions, exclusions, overgeneralizations, stereotypes, and social discrimination;

(c) Research and development, which can be measured in terms of the number and quality of articles and papers published in international journals and other publications used in international fora and conferences;

(d) Graduation and retention rate, which pertains to the number of first year students who graduate within a given time period in light of course requirements and internationally acceptable best practices;

(e) Job placement and career services, which generally refer to the effectiveness of in-house career services that educate, connect, and advise students and new graduates about opportunities for internships, externships, fellowships, postgraduation employment opportunities, and career advancement. Job placement services include the degree to which the TNHEI can structurally align its graduates to programs for economic needs, and the human resource requirements of industry to the general employment demands and the specific industry demands in local and foreign markets;

(f) Facilities and infrastructure, which pertain to the extent to which the schools facilities and infrastructure address the needs of the programs in accordance with set standards, as well as provide for the welfare of students and teachers. The students experiences on the availability, adequacy, and suitability of facilities and infrastructure shall be assessed through surveys and other appropriate means;

(g) Faculty and faculty diversity, which pertain to the credentials of the faculty in terms of their education, work background and expertise, and involvement in research and other institutions in their field. Greater weight is given to institutions with a higher percentage of full-time faculty holding doctorate or equivalent degrees in their fields. Visiting faculty from other regions, countries, cultures, and backgrounds are encouraged. There should also be a sufficient number of qualified faculty to adhere to internationally accepted best practices for faculty-to-student ratio;

(h) Alumni leadership and performance, which includes entry-level and mid-career-level income of alumni; for public interest positions, the international reputation of the positions which alumni hold; alumni performance and passing rates in licensure examinations, especially those examinations administered by jurisdictions in major economies outside the Philippines; performance and passing rates in internationally acceptable standardized tests and testing methods by foreign jurisdictions; the extent to which the skill sets of alumni meet legitimate employment demand in domestic and foreign markets; and alumni mobility and transferability of ones skill set across jurisdictions or industries;

(i) Alumni participation, which may be measured in terms of donations, endowment building, network building and network database management, alumni-initiated partnerships and linkages, extent and reach of foreign alumni, and alumni cohesiveness;

(j) International linkages, which refer to institutional relationships made on the basis of formal or informal agreements, which lead to cooperative action resulting in the accomplishment of shared or specific objectives by the parties involved: Provided, That the number of signed agreements alone shall not be a sufficient basis for assessing international linkages. The CHED, or other duly recognized local or international audit and accreditation bodies, may identify other bases for assessing performance relevant to international linkages, such as the benefits that accrue or are expected to accrue to TNHEIs as a result of agreements entered into;

(k) Grant and endowment management, which pertains to how effective the TNHEI can build and manage an endowment corpus for purposes of sustaining a system of scholarships and fellowships, such as the sustainability of its endowment, the efficiency of grant compliance measures and grant administration, progressive per capita endowment ratios, and the degree to which the endowment can fund operating expenses otherwise financed by tuition; and

(l) Other criteria analogous to the foregoing.

The following criteria may also be considered: (i) environmental sustainability; (ii) gender and race sensitivity; (iii) social responsibility; (iv) housing facilities, both in-house and affiliated housing; (v) health facilities and medical services; (vi) retirement facilities; (vii) job generation; and (viii) other quasi-indicators analogous to the foregoing.