ANGELES CITY — It has been a year of firsts as Holy Angel University (HAU) became the first higher education institution (HEI) north of Manila.
HAU is also the first HEI to receive the prestigious Philippine Quality Award (PQA) from among HEIs whose degree programs are predominantly accredited by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAASCU). As the sole recipient of the award in 2016, HAU also has the distinction of being among only three HEIs that have achieved PQA Level 2 Recognition for Proficiency in Quality Management on the first attempt.
“This award is among the highest levels of recognition any university in the Philippines can achieve,” said University President Luis María R. Calingo. “This is a marvelous tribute to our university, as to our students, faculty, staff, and my predecessors in leadership. This recognition, along with the attainment of initial program accreditation by PAASCU in 1993, is truly one of the greatest events in the history of this institution.”
“The Department of Trade and Industry congratulates Holy Angel University and the many organizations that have been recognized with the Philippine Quality Award,” said Competitiveness Bureau Director Virgilio P. Fulgencio. “Through their passion for excellence and their commitment to customers, employees, stakeholders, and their communities, PQA recipients at any level have achieved extraordinary results. They represent the proud spirit of the Filipino and our strong resolve to excel.” “We are especially pleased to have PQA recipients in the education sector,” continued Fulgencio. “They will be outstanding role models for 21st Century higher education institutions, which is especially important as we face a more competitive integrated ASEAN economic community.”
Under the leadership and guidance of Dr. Luis Maria R. Calingo, HAU applied for the award for the first time in 2016. The University detailed innovations, achievements, and improvements in seven key areas, which comprise the PQA categories for performance excellence framework. The following are examples of HAU’s achievements in each area:
Leadership –Using the Strategic Planning Process as the basis for action, HAU’s senior leaders set directions to guide and sustain the organization.
Strategic planning – HAU executes and tracks the accomplishment of annual action plans that implement a comprehensive five-year strategic plan. HAU’s plans are aligned with four institution-wide strategic objectives that address HAU’s strategic challenges and opportunities for innovation.
Customer focus – HAU acquires actionable feedback through different learning and listening approaches to determine, assess, and monitor needs, expectations, aspirations, and attitudes of students and stakeholders.
Measurement, analysis, and knowledge management – HAU utilizes CAMPUS++, which is an integrated, real-time, server-based campus information system, to store transactions data and provide reports. Process owners make operational decisions on the basis of this information.
Workforce focus – HAU’s workforce change management plan in response to the K-12 basic education reform shows improvement and enhancement in faculty capacity and capability, thereby helping HAU achieve its strategic objective of becoming a great university to work for.
Operations focus – HAU’s work systems are anchored on the trifocal functions of an HEI in the Philippines: instruction, research, and community extension. HAU has a systematic and integrated approach in designing its work processes in pursduit of the theme, “It’s all about students.”
Results – HAU tracks progress on student learning and process outcomes and results such as graduation rates, professional licensure performance results, student satisfaction with programs and services, enrollment yield from applications, and financial sustainability. HAU benchmarks peer institutions, specifically international Catholic schools recommended by the Cardinal Newman Society, to evaluate and determine trends.
“The application and review process for the award is the best, cost-effective, and comprehensive organizational health audit you can get,” according to Dr. Peter P. Laurel, President of the Lyceum of the Philippines University (Batangas and Laguna Campuses), which received 2015 PQA Level 2 recognition.
Known as the gold standard for quality and business excellence, the Philippine Quality Award honors the exemplary efforts of organizations in both the private and public sectors in the pursuit of world-class performance excellence. The President of the Philippines presents the Award annually to Philippine organizations. Created through Executive Order 448 on October 3, 1997, PQA was institutionalized on February 28, 2001 through the signing of Republic Act 9013, also known as the Philippine Quality Award Act. It is equivalent to the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in the U.S. and other National Quality Awards worldwide.
HAU’s achievements prior to its PQA recognition include several international and national honors and citations, among which are U.S.-based International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) accreditation for business education (the first in the country and Southeast Asia) and inclusion as the only Asian HEI in the U.S.-based Cardinal Newman Society’s guide to recommended Catholic colleges in view of its demonstrated commitment to faithful Catholic education. Granted Autonomous Status by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), HAU has eleven degree programs accredited by PAASCU. Among the nation’s HEIs whose graduates participated in at least fifteen professional licensure examinations, HAU ranks first in overall passing rate in Central Luzon and among the top twelve in the country.
“HAU truly is a pioneer in academic quality and organizational excellence and is making its mark to be among the best-managed organizations in the country,” said Mr. Manuel V. Pangilinan, Chairman of PLDT and immediate past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Holy Angel University.
About Holy Angel University
Founded in 1933, Holy Angel University is the first Catholic higher education institution in the Philippines founded by a layperson and is the first Catholic high school in the Philippines that is co-educational from the beginning. Located in Angeles City, Holy Angel offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs from School of Arts & Sciences, School of Business & Accountancy, School of Education, School of Engineering & Architecture, College of Criminal Justice Education & Forensics, College of Hospitality & Tourism Management, College of Nursing & Allied Medical Sciences, and the Graduate School. Holy Angel is the only Catholic college in Asia that is recommended by the US-based Cardinal Newman Society for its demonstrated commitment to faithful Catholic education. Holy Angel University has exponentially grown from its initial 78 enrollees to become one of the largest private universities in the country and a producer of board topnotchers and future leaders and captains of industry. For more information about Holy Angel University visit www.hau.edu.ph.