Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) has begun preparations for the ASEAN University Network-Quality Assurance (AUN-QA) certification of its academic programs, holding a two-day orientation and workshop on 19 August.

The AUN-QA Certification Application, Orientation and Workshop at the university’s Center for Flexible Learning focuses on helping participating programs understand certification requirements and strengthen their quality assurance systems.

Engr. Alexis Mervin Sy, quality assurance director of the Far Eastern University Institute of Technology, led the discussions on the AUN-QA certification process, including preparation strategies, documentation and the development of the Self-Assessment Report (SAR).

Sy also discussed how academic programs can present evidence showing that their policies and practices meet AUN-QA standards.

The initiative is tied to MMSU’s goal of becoming a premier university in Southeast Asia by 2033, prompting the university to align its academic programs and institutional processes with regional standards.

MMSU President Virgilio Julius P. Manzano Jr. urged participating programs to use the workshop to begin addressing the requirements for certification.

“Our vision is to become a premier university in Southeast Asia. So our arena right now is in Southeast Asia. We must measure ourselves with the standard of the ASEAN region,” Manzano said.

He also assured the participating programs of the administration’s support throughout the certification process.

Dr. Lawrence Eclarin, director for quality assurance, said the effort should go beyond preparing for an external assessment and instead make quality assurance part of the regular management of academic programs.

“The goal is not to prepare for the visit. The goal is to make quality assurance part of everyday programme management,” Eclarin said.

Meanwhile, Vice President for Planning and Strategic Foresight Mee Jay Domingo encouraged program heads to treat the certification process as an opportunity to improve the university’s services to students.

“We are not doing this for our own personal benefits, but we are doing this for the imagined communities that we serve, specifically to our students,” Domingo said.

The workshop will proceed to discussions on program-level preparation, site and facility assessment, self-assessment, identification of gaps and action planning.

MMSU said the process is intended to help academic programs identify areas that need improvement and integrate quality assurance into their regular operations rather than treat certification as a one-time exercise.