Eastern Visayas State University-Ormoc Campus (EVSU-OC) have gathered students, parents, and faculty from the engineering department, to discuss the important matters and to address concerns regarding the status of the department to the Certificate of Program Compliance (COPC) on February 14, 2025.
COPC, as issued by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), certifies that a higher education institution meets the require standards for specific degree programs. The certification is crucial for maintaining accreditation and ensuring that the institution provide quality education in line with CHED standards.
However, securing this certification remains a challenge for EVSU-OC. Dr. Richard P. Impas, DPA, Head of the Administration, Finance, and Services Office acknowledged that the university faces challenges in meeting the requirements due to three major reasons: insufficient laboratory equipment, inadequate facilities, and a shortage of faculty members with master’s or doctorate degrees in engineering. Despite these hurdles, he reassured the attendees that the institution is actively seeking solutions to this matter.
Moreover, Dr. Lydia M. Morante, Vice President of Academic Affairs, further elaborated the issue. She explained that COPC was already introduced in 2011, but the lack of sufficient funding has prevented the university from meeting these standards, leaving the problem unresolved to this day.
In addition, she affirmed that if ever EVSU-OC won’t be granted certification, the administration’s initial contingency plan is to transfer all engineering students to the Main Campus. Classes will still continue in Ormoc City, while laboratory sessions will be held in Tacloban.
After the discussion, Dr. Joel M. Capala, Head of Engineering Department, opened the floor for students and parents to voice their concerns, ask questions, or seek clarifications.
Some of the questions raised included:
“Ngano wala mo mag warning daan sa mga parents and students about sa situation?” and
“EVSU-OC is a government school, bakit hindi po kayo mabigyan ng budget ng gobyerno?”
In response, the VPAA explained that the administration was also unaware that graduate students would be barred from taking the Board Exam without the COPC certification. Additionally, the government should have allocated sufficient budgets in the education sector, but the university receives inadequate funding, making it difficult to meet the necessary requirements.
The evaluation of EVSU-OC is scheduled this coming February 26. With that, enrollment for the engineering programs is currently on hold. The institution is asking for support and apologizes for the inconvenience this issue has caused.
: R.M. Capucao
: Multimedia Department
