CATBALOGAN CITY, Philippines — Samar State University (SSU) gears up for Academic Year (AY) 2025-2026 as it opens the annual Faculty Development Training (FDT) bearing the theme, “From Standards to Excellence: Advancing SSU’s Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) for Curricular Programs.” The FDT, led by the Office of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs (OVPAF), is designed to serve as a catalyst for professional growth, pedagogical education, and collaborative learning.
Dr. Felisa E. Gomba, Vice-President for Academic Affairs and head of the host office, gave a rationale of the 3-day activity, and underscored the expected increase of faculty engagement in the processes of curricular reviews in emphasis of SSU’s ongoing shifts from benchmarks to academic excellence.
The first day highlighted two lectures from SSU President Dr. Redentor S. Palencia and Dr. Luisito L. Lacatan of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP).
Dr. Palencia opened the FDT sessions with a talk on “We Build: A Forefront of Global Education in CQI Lenses,” where he emphasized that students are the heart of SSU and urged faculty to recognize their diverse realities while teaching with clarity, connectivity, and inclusivity. Drawing from CHED-funded research and Guidance Office data, he presented the challenges faced by SSU students, many being first-generation learners from low-income, farming, or fisherfolk families, while also highlighting the university’s achievements along academic affairs and global innovation. He called on faculty to teach with both rigor and compassion, and cultivate a culture of CQI across all curricular programs, noting that they play a pivotal role as agents of transformation in education.
The main session was led by Dr. Lacatan, Chief of Curriculum Planning and Development and Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) and CQI of PUP, who gave a lecture on how to implement OBE and CQI in SSU. His lecture focused on the application of the OBE framework and CQI cycle in designing, assessing, and improving academic programs and courses, and evaluation of the effectiveness of OBE and CQI implementation within SSU’s academic programs.
Following Dr. Lacatan’s session, the SSU faculty members participated in a curriculum mapping workshop, development of OBE framework, formulation of program educational objectives, graduate attributes, performance indicators, and course outcomes, development of assessment rubrics, and program assessment and CQI planning.
Furthermore, Engr. Meddy Mangaring, Dean of SSU College of Engineering (CoEng), shared CoEng’s best practice in Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) through its systematic and evidence-based approach to curriculum development and evaluation. Anchored on BOR Resolution No. 38, series of 2023, the college ensures that CQI efforts are practiced through the conduct of an annual curriculum audit evaluated through the college’s CQI plan.
This year’s FDT is hosted in the Convention Center and CAS Audio-Visual Center of the SSU Main Campus, Catbalogan City, from August 18 to 20, 2025.