Dr. Ong says CMU already exhibits “Culture of Excellence”

Dr. Ong delivered a message which recognized CMU having a “Culture of Excellence” during the opening program of AACCUP accreditation at Farmer’s Training Center on November 26.

Dr. Marylou B. Ong, the ACCUP Overall coordinator, said that CMU could deliver the quality of education needed by the graduates to make them competitive within the national boundaries and beyond.

“Through accreditation, we can see more future lights of developments… what we are enjoying today are the products of yesterday’s accreditation,” Dr. Ong stressed.

For the third time this year, CMU submits another three academic programs for accreditation namely: AB History, AB Psychology, and MS Food Science.

CMU has already submitted 33 academic programs this year and will continue to undergo accreditation until all programs get the highest accreditation to ensure delivery of quality programs which is the academic goal of CMU for all its 67 programs.

She added by giving her initial observation saying, “that CMU has already the culture of excellence.”

“It is already in the system for the institution operates in conformity with the socalled quality management system. The lifeblood of CMU is accreditation,” Dr. Ong explained.

Meanwhile, in the interviews conducted with the local task force about their insights on the “Culture of Excellence” in the university, Dr. Leo Labrador, OSA Director and faculty of the Behavioral Science Department shared how this culture of excellence is exhibited in the AB Psychology program.

“Our program responds to the need of the times. AB Psychology program already integrated crisis management, trauma management, psychosocial support like a debriefing, and psychological first aid… not only that we integrate that in our curriculum but there are also cases that our students are involved in the field,” Dr. Labrador stressed.

Dr. Labrador elaborated that the program is not confined in the four corners of the classroom but it extends itself to responding to the needs of the community. He mentioned the crisis response team composed of AB Psychology students during typhoon Sendong in Cagayan de Oro in 2011, Bukidnon bombing incident in 2014, and flash floods in the City of Valencia in 2017.

In addition, Dr. Quennie Ann L. Curayag, Dean of the College of Human Ecology, also showcased the stateof-the-art buildings which will soon house the hostel, lecture rooms, theater, and the different laboratories of the various programs of the college.

“We are very happy that we have our new buildings. At present we are acquiring different types of equipment from outside funding sources. This will help a lot in attaining excellence in the delivery of quality instruction to our students,” Dr. Curayag said.

Aside from the three-storey Integrated Laboratory which will be functional in 2020 the college also has an on-going project which is the Food Research and Development Center (FRDC) which will also be functional next year.

“We hope that MS Food Science program will pass the level II accreditation so that we can move forward to level III…other programs are now on level III and level IV,” Dr. Curayag added.

Furthermore, the AB History program also showcased excellence regarding community involvement especially the Indigenous Peoples in various areas in Bukidnon.

Prof. Reynante B. Casiro, the faculty of the AB History program said that they have students who studied about the Earth Guardians of Mt. Kalatungan, one of the sacred grounds of the Indigenous People of Bukidnon.

The study impacts on environmental preservation and community immersion especially IPs. “In terms of faculty development, we have four faculty members who presented a paper in the international arena. We also have faculty with the published journal in the international level,” Prof. Casiro added.

The AB Psychology program is applying for level IV, AB History for level III-phase 1, and the MS Food Science for level II. (IADalipe-Neri)