Dr. Danilo B. Bose, Chief Education Program Specialist; and Engr. Angelica Q. Dolores, Supervising Education Program Specialist of CHED Regional Office 1 (CHED ROI) graced the ISO Certification Awarding Ceremony of Universidad de Dagupan (UdD) on January 17, 2025.
On behalf of Dr. Christine Nabor-Ferrer, Director IV of CHED ROI, Dr. Bose delivered her congratulatory message to the entire community of UdD, highlighting UdD’s efforts in ensuring that its processes and outcomes remain competitive on a global scale.
“Thank you UdD for listening to the demands of education and for your proactive approach to responding and adapting to areas which needs your actions for the betterment of your institution and as part of the education sector,” Dr. Bose shared.
UdD recently received its ISO 21001:2018 Certification for Education Organization Management Systems which is particularly relevant and appropriate to the higher education sector as it provides a framework for quality management, learner-centered approaches, and continuous improvement.
📷: Universidad de Dagupan

Dr. Al Gerald Barde, Education Supervisor and Focal for Culture and Arts of the Commission on Higher Education Regional Office I (CHED ROI), attended the Joint Tourism Council and Local Culture and Arts Council meeting at the San Fernando City (SFC) Hall on January 27, 2025.
On behalf of City Mayor Hermenegildo “Dong” Gualberto, Councilor Mark Anthony Ducusin presided over the meeting.
Discussions focused on strategic initiatives to enhance the city’s tourism and cultural programs, reports on council accomplishments and ongoing projects under the 2025 Tourism and Cultural Agenda, and collaborative activities within the CREATE Your San Fernando Elyu Framework.
City officials reaffirmed their commitment to integrating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into tourism, culture, and arts initiatives.
Moreover, the C.R.E.A.T.E. Your San Fernando ELYU UNSDG Innovation Center, launched on October 11, 2024, is set to intensify its efforts in supporting creative industries and local artists.
Dr. Barde expressed CHED ROI’s support to the city’s goal of becoming a UNESCO Creative City for Media Arts as he emphasized the agency’s advocacy for internationalization in higher education institutions (HEIs) through global citizenship education and SDG integration.
He also proposed collaborations with HEIs in the city to explore the potential offering of academic programs aligned with creative industries, such as Bachelor of Multimedia Arts, Bachelor of Culture and Arts Education, and Bachelor of Fine Arts.
“The HEIs in the city currently do not offer courses directly related to culture and arts. You may use your data to assess the need for these programs and initiate discussions with them. The city can also support HEIs by providing talents and sharing facilities,” Dr. Barde said.
To further promote educational tourism, he also suggested including HEIs in the city’s tour itineraries, citing that some institutions hold the status of Centers of Development and Excellence and are internationally ranked or rated.
𝘣𝘺 𝘈.𝘎. 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦

As part of its quality assurance mandate, the Commission on Higher Education Regional Office I (CHED ROI) technical team, led by Dr. Danilo Bose, Chief Education Program Specialist, conducted an assessment Ilocos Sur Community College’s (ISCC) compliance with Institutional Recognition (IR) requirements and the alignment of its academic programs with CHED policies and standards in Bantay, Ilocos Sur on January 16, 2025.
Joining Dr. Bose, Dr. Al Gerald Barde, Education Supervisor and Focal Person for Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs), examined key IR aspects such as ISCC’s mandate and purpose, governance structure, facility adequacy, and operational sustainability, in accordance with CHED Memorandum Order No. 18, s. 2022.
For the HEI’s program offerings, the following CHED ROI supervisors conducted the assessment: Dr. Ricky Cera for BS in Agribusiness Management and BS in Cooperative Management programs; Mr. Arnold Ancheta for BS in Hospitality Management program; Mr. Albert Subang for BS in Information Technology program; and Dr. Maria Carmela Domocmat for the BS in Midwifery program.
Dr. Bose underscored the importance of complying with IR requirements to ensure ISCC’s continued eligibility for free higher education benefits under Republic Act No. 10931.
During the exit conference, Dr. Bose and Dr. Barde presented a detailed discussion of the findings based on the evaluation tool developed by the Office of Institutional Quality Assurance and Governance (OIQAG).
They also engaged with Mr. Amador Rojo, ISCC Officer-in-Charge, and other HEI officials in exploring strategies to address identified concerns.
Furthermore, the education supervisors also shared their program assessment results, highlighting areas for improvement and recommending measures to enhance institutional effectiveness while sustaining best practices.
𝘣𝘺 𝘈.𝘎. 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦

The CHED ROI Education Supervisors visited the Sta. Maria campus of Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College (ISPSC) in Ilocos Sur, for the monitoring of their graduate school programs last January 25, 2025.
The supervisors examined the ISPSC’s compliance with the minimum requirements on curricular offerings per CHED Memorandum Order 15, s. 2019.
Dr. Myrelle Faith Mina handled the doctorate programs and assessed the program offerings of the institution in Agronomy, Technology Education Management, English Language Education and Educational Management.
Atty. Dessa Estrada took charge of the evaluation of the master’s program in Agriculture, with specific focus on the different majors offered in Agronomy, Rural Development, Animal Science, and Horticulture.
Dr. Mina and Atty. Estrada also inspected the facilities including the library and learning spaces of the institution.
The master’s degree program in education majors in English, Mathematics, General Science, Technology and Livelihood Education, and Educational Management, were evaluated by Engr. Leonora Quarte, who also looked into the research and creative work structure of the institution.
Dr. Jocelyn Absolor, Dean of ISPSC Sta. Maria Graduate School, and the heads of the different programs were present during the evaluation and answered the queries of the education supervisors.
The supervisors presented the results of the evaluation during the exit conference where they shared their observations and gave their recommendations to further enhance the institution’s thrust on the delivery of quality graduate education.
Dr. Anna Marie Barroga, Vice President for Academic Affairs; Dr. Annabelle Francisco, Vice President for Research, Extension and Internationalization; and Dr. Francisco Divina, Campus Director, were present during the discussion of observations, and conveyed their commitment to be at the forefront of sustaining quality education in the institution.
𝘣𝘺 𝘓. 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦

Three education supervisors visited the Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College – Tagudin Campus for the monitoring of its Graduate School (GS) Programs in Tagudin, Ilocos Sur on January 25, 2025.
CHED ROI Education Supervisors Dr. Al Gerald Barde, Dr. Ricky Cera, and Mr. Albert Subang assessed the Master of Arts in Education, Doctor of Education, and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programs using CMO No. 15, s. 2019 as their basis.
The team also observed the PhD class which was going on during the visit.
The monitoring ended with an exit conference wherein the supervisors shared their observations and strategies to sustain the strengths of the programs.
They discussed with Dr. Ederlina Sumail, Campus Director, and Dr. Jonathan Dela Cruz, dean of the Graduate School the ways to develop a system of program assessment and evaluation and a system of continuous quality improvement on instruction, research, and extension.

To strengthen the compliance of the Certificate of Program Compliance (COPC) requirements, the Commission on Higher Education Regional Office 1 (CHED ROI) conducted back-to-back online meetings with Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs of State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs) via Zoom, on January 22, 2025.
The program commenced with Engr. Angelica Q. Dolores, Supervising Education Program Specialist, acknowledging the participants, followed by Dr. Danilo B. Bose, Chief Education Program Specialist, delivering a warm welcome and outlining the objectives of the meeting.
Dr. Christine N. Ferrer, Director IV of CHED ROI, delivered an inspiring message that emphasized the importance of compliance with standards in the pursuit of quality education.
Her words highlighted CHED ROI’s unwavering commitment to supporting higher education institutions in delivering programs of exceptional quality and relevance, ensuring their competitiveness on a global scale while addressing the needs of their stakeholders.
“Our goal is not just compliance, but a genuine commitment to delivering education that transforms lives and communities,” Dr. Ferrer said.
Highlights of the meeting included the presentation of Memorandum from the Executive Director (MOED) No. 19, Series of 2025, led by Mr. Arnold V. Ancheta for SUCs and Dr. Al Gerald S. Barde for LUCs.
Engr. Dolores also presented the status of COPC compliance for SUCs and LUCs, which was followed by an open forum that provided participants a platform to raise concerns.
The sessions aimed to address the progress, challenges, and strategies to ensure alignment with CHED’s standards and policies while fostering collaboration among higher education institutions in the region.
The event concluded with a call to action for institutions to strengthen partnerships and collaboratively elevate the quality of higher education in Region 1.
𝘣𝘺 𝘔. 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘰

The UniFAST Regional Coordinators from CHED ROI conducted an evaluation of the submitted liquidation reports of Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College campuses in Candon City and Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur on January 28, 2025.

The coordinators reviewed the released checks and downloaded funds for the following UniFAST programs: Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) and Tulong Dunong Program (TDP).

Ms. Lorebel S. Domingo, ISPSC registrar, and Dr. Ricci Gammad, ISPSC’s UniFAST Focal, assisted the coordinators throughout the activity.

The coordinators mentioned that the ISPSC employees’ cooperation ensured that the evaluation process was smooth and efficient, allowing for the thorough examination and proper documentation of the liquidation reports.

The Commission on Higher Education Regional Office I conducted a validation visit at the Union Christian College (UCC) relative to the its application for Government Recognition to operate Levels I-IV of the Bachelor of Science in Real Estate Management and the Bachelor of Science in Information System programs, effective SY 2025-2026, in the City of San Fernando, La Union on January 24, 2025.

Dr. Ricky A. Cera, Mr. Albert H. Subang, Education Supervisors, facilitated the documentary evaluation and inspection of the HEI’s facilities including its gender and development program.

Dr. Myrelle Faith D. Mina, Education Supervisor, joined the duo as she also monitored the tuition and other school fees of UCC.

Rev. Dr. Ferdinand Anno, UCC President, together with the other HEI officials, welcomed the team through a short program conducted prior to the evaluation.

The visit ended with an exit conference wherein the results of the validation were shared with the school officials.

𝘣𝘺 𝘙𝘊𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘨

The local government unit (LGU) of Bacnotan representatives visited the Commission on Higher Education Regional Office 1 (CHED RO1) to explore the possibility of establishing a local college on January 27, 2025.
Dr. Sol T. Jomaya, Education Consultant, presented the intent of LGU Bacnotan and its education plans to Dr. Christine Nabor-Ferrer, CHED RO1 Director IV.
To further discuss the CHED policies, guidelines, and standards on the establishment of an LUC and engage with the municipal officials and stakeholders, the two parties agreed on a scheduled meeting in Bacnotan.

Dr. Christine Nabor-Ferrer, Director IV of CHED Regional Office 1 emphasized the function of benchmarking in enhancing educational quality during the plenary session on Raising the Bar: Benchmarking as a Pathway to Educational Quality via Zoom, on January 25, 2025.
Dr. Ferrer discussed various types of benchmarking, data sources, addressed the connection between benchmarking, quality assurance and internationalization, and its impact on international ranking metrics.
Furthermore, she provided an overview of the benchmarking activities conducted by CHED ROI and various higher education institutions (HEIs) in the region.
The event was organized by the College of Education of Tarlac Agricultural University, Centro Escolar University, Pangasinan State University, and the Philippine Society for Quality.