Decreto A.Y. 14-15

Decreto THE OFFICIAL INVESTIGATIVE JOURNAL OF THE HERALDO FILIPINO

Duties and responsibilities Performance evaluation Benefits and incentives Offense and complaint sanctions

Heraldofilipino.com

SEPTEMBER 2015

A look into the teacher’s desk

Posters boasting with “Accreditation Level 4,” tarpaulins, showing numerous alumni passing the licensure examination, a website featuring academic achievements—yet the quality of education in De La Salle University – Dasmariñas remains questionable due to anonymous complaints from students regarding the teaching performance of some faculty members.

For years, students have sent H ERALDO F ILIPINO ’s (HF) Kampusapusapan section unpleasant remarks on the quality or method of teaching of some of their professors. A few from

HF’s editorial board even expressed the same grievances in their columns. But on March 20, 2015, the HF received a message from a student’s parent through Facebook stating her distress on the said matter. This shows the real gravity of the situation—that those complaints are not just petty whinnying from students.

Parents pay tuition to give their children the good quality of education the University offers in its advertisements, and students rely on that offer to help them in their future careers.

A questionable quality of teaching does not

give justice to the tuition the parents worked hard to pay for, and endangers the future of the students—as well as the reputation of the University.

This issue of Decreto tries to investigate the reason behind the alleged incompetence of some faculty by seeking answers on how strict the University is in hiring a professor, what duties a professor has to fulfill, how faculty evaluations are conducted, if there are not enough faculty benefits to drive motivation, and how the University gives sanctions on faculty members.

Qualifications The De La Salle University - Dasmariñas Faculty Manual 2012 is a set of guidelines for the faculty members which require consistent and objective actions and decisions. The said manual explains how professors are chosen and hired.

First, the Marketing Communications Office (MCO) prepares the recruitment through an advertisement of position as requested by the Human Resource Management Office (HRMO), to be posted in the University website. Secondly, the HRMO accepts the applicant’s documents and conducts initial screening and background investigation of credentials. After the initial screening, a preliminary evaluation is set through an interview with the department chair or college dean.

As soon as the applicant is evaluated, the person who interviewed previously will schedule a teaching demonstration. Meanwhile, the applicant is required to take psychological and physical examination issued by the HRMO. Afterward, HRMO Director Susan Mostajo and Vice Chancellor for Academic Research (VCAR) Olivia Legaspi would interview the applicant if he/she has passed all the required examinations.

Then, the department chair or dean presents the summary ratings to the Faculty Status Board (FSB) which comprises of the VCAR, HRMO Director, college dean, department chair, Faculty Association (FA) President or any representative from the executive committee and one elected senior faculty member. The main task of the FSB is to deliberate

After the final action of the president on the recommendation, the department chair or dean informs the applicant about the results.

The applicant must then submit employment requirements to the HRMO such as Social Security System (SSS) No., Pagtutulungan sa Kinabukasan: Ikaw, Bangko, Industriya at Gobyerno (Pag-IBIG), Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance.

After the completion of the said requirements, the HRMO prepares appointment papers to be signed by the president.

On the other hand, FA President Bernard Esternon clarified that there is also an FSB in the department who deliberates on recommendations.

“Kaya pagdating sa institutional [board], parang formality nalang,” he said.

However, Esternon said that the hiring may be held for technical reasons if the HRMO found out that the faculty is not eligible for being hired for health purposes. “Kung ano ang recommendation ng HR, dapat mag-agree ‘yong department head,” he added.

As stated in the Faculty Manual, a newly hired full-time faculty should have at least a master’s degree, and a newly hired part-time faculty should have at least 50 percent of the total number of units earned in master’s degree.

To be given points for ranking, the certificates of training attended should be in the last three years. Also, it should be in the last five years in publications and researches. Moreover, the units earned in the graduate school must have been taken

on the recommendations which will take its final action to President Br. Augustine Boquer FSC.

within the last five years prior to employment in the University.

Infographic by Camille Joy Gallardo

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2SEPTEMBER 2015 | PAGE 2

Duties and responsibilities

They must sign in and out on the department logbook to monitor their attendance. They are required to complete

Lasallian modules and attend retreats, recollections, and other related activities.

However, Esternon said that classes should be the priority than related activities. Since one of their

“

…No faculty member, however, should attempt to force on his or his students a personal viewpoint or be intolerant of the rights of others to hold or express diverse opinions.

-Faculty Manual 2012

“

In Article III, Section I Primary Functions of the Faculty Manual, “faculty members who are engaged in the actual teaching facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and skills geared towards the development of the analytical, critical, and creative faculties of the students.” Also, faculty members are expected to engage in research, community service, and professional growth and development.

In research, faculty are expected to conduct researches in aid of instruction every semester. “Ang alam ko lahat ng faculty [members] ginagawa ‘yon kasi nag-u-update din sila ng instructional materials,” Esternon explained. He furthered that the University Research Office commissions the works of faculty who will pass for an institutional-funded research. Faculty members are encouraged to be involved in research works, because 25 percent of the criteria for the best universities in Asia come from research outputs.

Esternon said faculty members can use three hours of their 34 residency hours per week in the campus in community service. He suggested they can be volunteers for various projects of the Lasallian Community Development Center (LCDC). “Maraming program ang LCDC catering to the community needs at minsan, nangangailangan sila ng volunteers lalong-lalo na kapag panahon ng calamities so marami ring faculty [members] ang nag-vo-volunteer diyan,” In professional growth and development, the faculty is expected to develop their field of expertise by enrolling in a master’s degree or doctoral degree and by attending seminars or conferences. “Seminar is a form of enhancing your skills and your discipline na magagamit mo rin sa pagtuturo. In some conferences, magugulat ka na lang mayroon palang mga ganoong publications na hindi mo nababasa or may mga taong nagsasalita doon na expert[ise] nila doon sa field na ‘yon,” says Esternon. He added that they could present papers both locally and internationally to represent the University.

In Article III, Section II, the performance of the foregoing functions, “faculty members are expected to observe intellectual honesty in their search for, use of, and transmission of knowledge.” They should “perform legitimate inquiry, accept objective evaluations of their work, and the role of intellectual guide and counselor to students and treat them with genuine concern and fairness.”

Esternon stressed that faculty members should adhere to the Lasallian core values: faith, zeal, service, and communion. Faculty members must respect the beliefs of colleagues, students, and other members of the University, as Article I Section 2.2 furthers, “…No faculty member, however, should attempt to force on his students a personal viewpoint or be intolerant of the rights of others to hold or express diverse opinions.” They adhere to the established and acceptable norms of behavior within the University in particular and the society in general. They should “not contribute to the problems of the society… [they should] not exaggerate what’s the problem in the society,” he added.

In Article III, Section III Duties and Responsibilities, faculty members are tasked to accomplish the Individual Faculty Schedule form within the schedule set by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academics and Research (OVCAR).

responsibilities is to use technology for more effective instruction, Schoolbook is one example of technology-based alternative learning system. “Pero kung makakagawa ng

paraan ‘yung faculty to apply for an alternative class through Schoolbook, puwede ‘yon,” he added.

On the other hand, Esternon said that Schoolbook has disadvantages. “Mahirap mag-check online [at] mag-log sa server. Kasi sa Schoolbook, [ang] puwedeng isagot ng bata ay puwede siyang may other references … Mas maganda pa rin ‘yung classroom, at saka doon mo makikita na recitation matters. Iba talaga ‘yung [magkikita kayo ng students nang] personal.”

Though he admitted that there are still no formal complaints from students regarding the overtime dismissal of classes, he confirmed that there are some informal complaints from students. “Since informal ‘yung complaint, nagiging informal din ‘yung action namin. Puwedeng kausapin ‘yung faculty,” said Esternon.

Article III, Section III also includes matters regarding the course syllabus. Faculty members must coordinate with the members of their respective departments in the syllabus’ preparation. The approved syllabi must then be uploaded online beforehand and must be distributed to the students on the first day of classes.

Performance Evaluation In 2004, the Institutional Testing and Evaluation Office (ITEO) separated from the Admissions Office. The ITEO was responsible for conducting psychological testing and institutional evaluation of faculty members of the University. However, in 2011, members of the ITEO were transferred to different departments, causing the said office to dissolve. Consequently, the evaluations are now being managed by the Evaluation Section of the HRMO. On the other hand, the FSB evaluates part-time faculty members who acquired a low rating in the evaluations to determine if the faculty member will be rehired next academic year. The FSB is also congregated to recommend the hiring, rehiring, regularization, and promotion of faculty members.

The faculty evaluation is conducted every year to measure the total performance of the faculty. “Bilang isang faculty, parang ‘yon lang ang way para makita mo kung may dapat ka pang i-improve pag dating sa teaching mo,” Evaluation Section Head and former ITEO member Renylyn Carranza said.

She added that faculty evaluations are comprised of administrator’s evaluation (35%), peer evaluation (20%), and student or client’s evaluation (45%). According to the Faculty Manual, the administrator’s evaluation is an assessment conducted by the immediate head and the college dean; peer evaluation is conducted by colleagues from the “unit/department/ college” the faculty belongs to, to measure the professional, social, and personal qualities of the

faculty; the student’s evaluation is conducted by the students to assess the class performance of their teachers; and the client’s evaluation is conducted by clients of a particular unit or office to assess the performance of the service faculty. The total performance evaluation refers to the average resulting from the administrator, peer, and student or client’s evaluation. The rating a faculty member acquires in the total performance evaluation serves as the basis for his regularization, promotion, and rehiring.

Administrators, peers, students or clients all use the same metric scale in rating the performance of the faculty: Poor (P) is below 1.50, Needs Improvement (NI) is 1.50 to 2.49, Satisfactory (V) is 2.50 to 3.49, Very Satisfactory (VS) is 3.50 to 4.49 and Outstanding (O) is 4.50 to 5.00.

According to Carranza, the average total performance evaluation result of faculty members is Very Satisfactory. “Bihira [rin] kasi ang nakakakuha ng rating na Needs Improvement— siguro hindi pa lumalampas nang limang faculty per semester,” she added.

Carranza explained that full-time faculty members are evaluated once per academic year, by the decision of the faculty’s immediate head or department chair. However, full-time faculty members which acquired a total performance rating below Satisfactory must be evaluated in the succeeding two semesters. Meanwhile, parttime faculty members are evaluated twice per academic year.

Decreto A full-time faculty member who acquires a Needs Improvement or a Poor rating in consecutive academic years in his total performance evaluation will undergo corrective measures, depending on how many academic years they have been receiving a low rating. The corrective measures are as follows:

Frequency

Corrective Measure

1st

training and mentoring by peer (one semester)

2nd

training and mentoring by peer (two semesters)

3rd

enrollment in one refresher course in education

4th

enrollment in one refresher course in education

5th

enrollment in one refresher course in education

Moreover, the Faculty Manual states that the faculty member will personally finance his training and enrollment costs, and will not be given an overload of units in a semester until they acquire a Very Satisfactory rating.

Carranza furthered that a full-time faculty member may not be terminated from the job due to his low total performance evaluation rating as it is against Article 282, Title I, Book VI the Labor Code of the Philippines to terminate employees without just causes.

Benefits and incentives In a country where employees and laborers conduct rallies to express their grievances regarding wage and salary, it is hypothetical to consider that salaries and benefits may play a role in the quality of a faculty member’s teaching performance.

In line with this, a research was conducted regarding the University faculty’s salary and benefits to see if they could be the reasons behind the alleged poor quality of teaching of some faculty members. However, while the list of benefits can be found in the Faculty Manual, the precise amount of salary remains confidential.

Faculty members are entitled to nine benefits, two incentives (Long Service Award and Mortuary Assistance), and two programs (Faculty Development Program and enhanced Brother President Scholarship program), as per the Faculty Manual.

The faculty benefits comprise of leave benefits, education benefit for legal dependents of deceased or permanently disabled faculty, research and publication benefits, Christmas bonus and De Minimis benefit, health insurance benefit, long term sickness and disability benefits, longevity benefits, retirement benefits, and Social Security System and employees compensation insurance.

Full rice subsidy, clothing allowance, laundry allowance, and cash medical allowance for dependents shall be given as benefits for all regular faculty members during the school year.

Leave benefits include vacation leave with pay, maternity leave, paternity leave, sabbatical leave, dissertation leave, and dissertationsabbatical leave.

In line with Article 133 of the Labor Code and Section 14-A of “Social Security Act of 1997 (Republic Act No. 8282), the University

SEPTEMBER 2015 | PAGE 3

extends maternity leave benefits to faculty members. The Magna Carta of Women or Section 18 of Republic Act 9710 provides that women employees who undergo surgery caused by gynecological disorders are entitled to leave benefits of two months with full pay based on gross monthly compensation, provided that they have rendered continuous aggregate employment service of at least six months for the last 12 months.

Paternity leave (Section X), on the other hand, which states that all married male employees shall be entitled to a leave of seven working days with full pay for the first four deliveries of the legitimate spouse, was followed from Republic Act No. 8187, otherwise known as the Paternity Leave Act of 1996.

As per Appendix P of the Faculty Manual, a regular faculty member who is currently enrolled in dissertation writing is allowed to a dissertation leave with pay for a period of one semester. Prior to the date of intended leave, the faculty member should submit a leave form for the said dissertation, and an approved dissertation proposal certificate or its equivalent from the graduate school dean where the faculty is enrolled.

Furthermore, a faculty who has been granted dissertation leave shall receive his or her salary and other benefits for one semester as mandated in the Faculty Manual. The faculty member is expected to finish the dissertation within the semester.

However, if the faculty fails to submit the hard copy of dissertation within the period of leave, the faculty member may be given a two-month extension to finish the paper but will have to return to work. After the completion of the dissertation leave, a return service of one year and a contract for this purpose is required.

The dissertation-sabbatical leave, which is quite similar with the dissertation leave, states that a regular faculty who has rendered seven years of continuous service may apply for a dissertation-sabbatical leave.

The requirements to submit to the immediate head and HRMO within the semester prior to the date of the intended leave are the same with that of dissertation leave.

The faculty who availed for the dissertation-sabbatical leave, however, is expected to finish his dissertation within one year. Also, the grantee shall report to work after the specified one year period of leave.

Incentives include the long service award, which entitles all faculty members who have rendered five, 10, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 years of credited service to mementos during the Lasallian Week celebration, as per Article XXV of the Faculty Manual.

A faculty member with five to 40 years of service in the University shall receive a monthly salary percentage of 50 to 400 percent.

Incentive of 15 days sick leave and 15 days vacation leave with pay are entitled to all full-time faculty members with at least one year of credited service, and seven days sick leave and seven days vacation leave after one semester of credited service are granted for probationary faculty members.

The University also provides programs under Article XVIII Faculty Development Program, which includes Faculty Study Grant by the University (Section 1.1), Faculty Study Grant funded by External Agency or Institutions (Section 1.2), Dissertation Benefit (Section 1.3), and Non-Formal Education Benefit (Section II).

The Enhanced Brother President Scholarship Program under Article XIX provides scholarship to qualified children of DLSU-D and/or De La Salle – Health Science Institute employees. Children of regular faculty and staff who have a minimum of three years of credited service in the University, and legally adopted children of single employees and childless couples are also entitled to the scholarship program.

Only one child will be accommodated with 100 percent tuition fee discount per employee. The succeeding applicants may be granted of the 75 percent and 50 percent tuition fee in the succeeding years, as per Section 1.2.

Moreover, full tuition discount in all courses, excluding Medicine at the DLS-HSI, are allowed to all legal dependents of regular faculty before year 1988-1989, according to Section II of Article XIX.

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Offense and complaint sanctions Despite the complaints the Kampusapusapan has received for years from students regarding the quality of teaching method of some professors in the University, DLSU-D Faculty Association Vice President Dr. Frank Villanueva stated that there are no recent cases of complaints filed since his term started last November 2014 . Dr. Villanueva said that students fail to file reports either because they are afraid or because they do not know the proper actions to take.

As defined in Article XIV Section I of the Faculty Manual, a complaint is “a sworn written statement under oath charging a person with a violation of sexual harassment subscribed before the proper authority.” However, the commission of sexual harassment is not the only violation a student could formally report.

A table under Article XV Sec III of the Faculty Manual lists actions considered as offenses. The table includes Absences and Tardiness (Sec 3.1), Failure to comply with requirements (Sec 3.2), Non-Observance of University policies (Sec 3.3), Falsification of University forms and documents (Sec 3.4), Misuse of University’s name and/ or property (Sec 3.5), Indiscriminate change of students’ grades (Sec 3.6), Fraudulence (Sec 3.7), Misconduct (3.8), Illegal activities within the campus and its vicinity (3.9), Criminal Offenses (Sec 3.10), Violation of IT Policies (Sec 3.11), and Breach of Contract (3.12). Specific offenses are stated under each general offense with their corresponding sanctions.

The sanctions given to a faculty proven guilty of violations depend on the gravity and frequency of the offense committed. For instance, a professor who was proven guilty of conducting an unauthorized collection of money from students may be suspended for one week on his first offense, and may be terminated from the University on his second offense. The gravity of the offense will also be determined after a thorough investigation in accordance to due process, as Article I Section 1.5 addresses under Statement of Rights that faculty members shall not be deprived of their rights at all times without due process of law. The investigation is conducted by the Grievance Board, on which Dr. Villanueva acts as a chairman of.

According to Appendix L, Grievance Procedure of the Faculty Manual, the Grievance Board is tasked to gather information related to the complainant, incident, or report. The said board must also verify evidences submitted by concerned parties through any legal means; determine the merit of complaint; deliberate or hear the case; summon the parties involved, if necessary; and recommend the decision to the OVCAR. Selection of the members that will comprise the Grievance Board will depend on whether or not the complainant came from the same department as the complained faculty.

The complaint process must undergo a levelby-level basis following the order of hierarchy of administration, as per Appendix L. Dr. Villanueva explained that a complaint needs to be raised first in a departmental level; in case the issue was not resolved by then, it has to be elevated to the college level. Until all the complaints have been processed, the Grievance Board shall provide a Fact Finding Committee.

Should a student want to file a lawsuit against a professor, he may consult it first to his adviser, suggests Dr. Villanueva. The adviser may then recommend bringing the issue to the department chair, in case it could not be settled with the concerned faculty. Otherwise, if the student is hesitant to go to his adviser, he may prefer to write a written report immediately after an incident has occurred, and submit it to the chair of the concerned faculty. Dr. Villanueva also stated that if the offense committed by the professor is beyond grave, the student may produce an affidavit and have it notarized by a lawyer. From there, the chair may make recommendations and suggestions whether or not to elevate the case to the college level.

As of press time, Dr. Villanueva said that they are working on the revision of the policies on grievance procedures to lessen any deficiency.

Nonetheless, Dr. Villanueva assured that their policies, similar to other institutions, are all “pro-student.”

Results and discussion

After gathering and studying the answers from the researches and interviews conducted, it seems like the answers themselves only gave birth to more questions.

The answer to how strict the University in hiring a faculty makes us wonder how the teachers under scrutiny were given the privilege to teach. Being familiar with the responsibilities of a professor makes us question if they are aware that saying that a student’s opinion is wrong can be considered as classroom misconduct. Knowing that a professor can still pass the faculty evaluation after gaining low evaluation points from the students make us question if the students’ role in improving the University even exists. On top of this, being aware of the faculty members’ benefits informs us of how the University acts toward its faculty, who in turn are instrumental to the development of its students.

However, it is still the University’s obligation to give excellent education by accordingly managing its faculty members, improving academic facilities, and ensuring a competitive yet feasible curriculum. And so, amid these new questions, only one stands out the most—what is the University going to do regarding its questioned quality of education?

Decreto The Official Investigative Journal of the Heraldo Filipino

Denise Anne Valentino Decreto Editor April Ciaralei Cenedoza Patricia Anne De Leon Chelsea Ann Montilla Writers/Researchers Jessone Purificacion Contributor Camille Joy Gallardo Artist Ricardo Martin Cabale Layout Artist

The Official Student Publication of De La Salle University-Dasmariñas Founded: June 1985 Member, College Editors Guild of the Philippines EDITORIAL BOARD AY 2014-2015 Crisselda F. Robles, Editor in Chief Denise Anne A. Valentino, Associate Editor Sheena Faye G. Lopez, Managing Director Daniella Shaira T. Cortez, Copy Editor John Paul R. Gonzales, Office Supervisor Florence Rio D. Bistoyong, News Editor Patricia Mae M. Estenoso, Features Editor Maria Anthonette B. Gadon, Literary Editor Krizza Mae M. Bautista, Sports Editor Chandler M. Belaro, Art Director Ricardo Martin O. Cabale, Chief Layout Artist Patricia Loise A. Lucero, Chief Photographer SENIOR STAFF Katherine Anne Aboy, Danielle Vince Capuno, Jeff Treat Dimaano, Mary Jo Lara, Fernan Patrick Flores, Pamela Joven, Cerisse Madlangbayan, Chelsea Ann Montilla JUNIOR STAFF Rigel Almira, Ishiel Aniñon, Lynoelle Kyle Arayata, Kathelyn Ann Bravo, Lexzene Dela Cruz, Patricia Anne De Leon, Carl Andrew Diaz, Yngwie Eusebio, Camille Joy Gallardo, Anri Ichimura, Christian Paul Macapagal, Felix Malicsi, Queenee Manaog, Christian Mateo, Nishtha Nigam, Jerome Quinto, Roxanne Valerie Rasco, Wenchie Tacate, James Fidel Tan, Enrico Paolo Topacio, Erika Uy Dr. Lakandupil C. Garcia, Adviser The Heraldo Filipino has its editorial office at Room 213, Gregoria Montoya Hall (Administration Building) De La Salle University-Dasmariñas, Cavite, Philippines 4115.

Telephone: +63 2 8447832, +63 46 416 4531 local 3063 Email: officialheraldofilipino@gmail.com Contributions, comments, suggestions, and signed letters should be addressed to the editor in chief.