Three research project proposals the University of Saint Louis (USL) submitted to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) recently merited approval for funding from the commission’s K12 Continuing Professional Education Grants, specifically from its Revised and Expanded Continuing Professional Education (RECPE) Grants.
In a communication from CHED last Sept. 11, Dr. Marie Jean N. Mendezabal, director of the University Research and Development Center (URDC), was informed of the approval of the research proposal titled “Research Capacity Building for Academic Workforce towards GRASP (Generation of Research for Advancement, Sustainability, and Productivity of HEIs).”
On same date, Dr. Darin Jan C. Tindowen, head of the Center for Social Innovation, Local Knowledge, and Educational Research (CSILKER), received notice from CHED informing him of the approval of the proposal “Enriching Research Quality in Higher Education Institutions through Journal Accreditation.”
Dr. Mendezabal and Dr. Tindowen serve as project team leaders for said proposals, respectively. With their respective research project teams, they attended the Sept. 15 virtual meeting called for by CHED for the discussion of certain technical and administrative adjustments in their projects given the current health situation in the country.
CHED’s Commission En Banc announced the approval of the proposal “Project HEART: Higher Education Assistance for Resources Development in Teaching in a Flexible Learning Environment” on August 25.
From research generation to journal accreditation
The project “Research Capacity Building for Academic Workforce towards GRASP (Generation of Research for Advancement, Sustainability, and Productivity of HEIs” aims to strengthen the research capacity of faculty members and researchers for an “improved and increased research productivity, which will eventually contribute to institutional and national development.”
Target participants are faculty members and researchers from 15 private higher education institutions (HEIs) in Northern Luzon, which includes the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and the Cordillera Administrative Region.
The project team members shall develop the research training modules for the participants, and research experts to be identified shall provide the training workshops on research writing, with the project team members to be in assistance in the mentoring of participants.
Aside from the training modules, the participants’ research outputs are also an expected output of the project.
The other research project, “Enriching Research Quality in Higher Education Institutions through Journal Accreditation” was conceptualized to prepare institutional journals of HEIs in Northern Luzon for accreditation to CHED and international indexing standards.
Expected participants’ outputs from different sessions are articulated in the proposal, highlighted by the participants’ completion of the basic requirements for accreditation of institutional journals to CHED and international indexing standards.
The project is expected to increase the number of accredited journals in Northern Luzon, and improve research productivity and the quality of research by Filipino researchers.
Fifteen (15) private HEIs are the expected beneficiaries of the project.
Resources development for Flexible Learning
As CHED also encourages content and materials development for the RECPE Grants program, Dr. Mendezabal and her team of researchers proposed “Project HEART: Higher Education Assistance for Resources Development in Teaching in a Flexible Learning Environment.”
For its process, the project shall offer capacity-building activities for teachers for their development of teaching and learning resources for Flexible Learning environment.
The project shall reach out to all faculty members of six small (by virtue of population) private HEIs in Cagayan province, as per recommendation of CHED Regional Office 2.
The identified success indicators of the project are: (1) empowered teacher-beneficiaries to teach in a flexible learning environment, (2) teaching and learning resources for flexible learning environment in specific disciplines, and (3) enhanced student learning experiences and outcomes.
“The approval of the three research grants is a manifestation of the trust and confidence of the Commission on Higher Education to USL,” Dr. Emmanuel James P. Pattaguan, VP for Academics, said.
“It will be recalled that we were previously awarded three research grants for the preservation of culture. Moreover, this [approval of three new research proposals] is a testimony of the prowess of the University in doing research. We hope and pray that we will be able to complete the same in due time,” Dr. Pattaguan added.
Before submission to CHED, all the proposals went through the USL Research Council, chaired by the VP for Academics Office, for scrutiny. The VP for Academics coined the GRASP and HEART acronyms in the titles of two of the new projects.
