Message during the University Research Forum of University Of San Carlos August 26, 2010

by: Dr. Amelia A. Biglete

Director IV, CHED Regional Office VII

 

Let me start by congratulating you on the celebration of the 75^th anniversary of the SVD Mission here at the University of San Carlos. Looking into your program for today's Research Forum, a total of 19 research papers from the various academic departments and disciplines will be presented – in the fields of social sciences, education, business, natural sciences and engineering. 

 

The holding of a research forum showcasing the quality of research outputs of the faculty is a manifestation of the commitment of USC in upholding the culture of research within the university, in Cebu, Region 7, and in the country, as many of the papers are world class.  For this, we can say that USC truly is one of the leading higher education institutions in the country which we can be proud of, not only because its research capability is exemplary, but also because we can see that many of its programs are recognized as centers of excellence, majority of its programs are Level III accredited, and it is one of the few institutions granted autonomous status by CHED.  And because of this distinct recognition, USC is one of only two Zonal Research Centers in Region 7 designated by CHED to cover the HEIs in Central Visayas.  

 

As we all know, the three major functions of a higher education institution are instruction, research and extension.  There is now the fourth function, and this is production.  Research as an academic function is what differentiates higher education from basic education. The academe has traditionally been one of the major sources of knowledge and innovation because of the research activities of the faculty. 

 

However, as revealed in various reports and studies, the quality of research outputs of many of our HEIs in the country can be described as below world standards. 

 

We have to admit, the development of research culture really takes time.  The general observation is that there is a seeming lack of research culture in majority of our higher education institutions.  The poor state of research in higher education can be attributed to the lack of research capability of our faculty members, insufficient funding and lack of incentives to do research, inadequate or lack of research facilities and library resources and other logistics.  You are very lucky here at USC, because research is one task which is being given much support by the administration.

 

For the past several years, the Commission on Higher Education has been trying its best to promote and help improve the research capabilities of our institutions. Some major initiatives which CHED include the following: (1) allocation of funds to support research projects of our HEIs through the CHED  Higher Education Development Fund (or HEDF); (2) formulation of the National Higher Education Research Agenda (NHERA); (3)  creation of Zonal Research Centers (ZRCs) in  strategic regions of the country; (4) implementation of the CHED Republica Awards to recognize and reward annually outstanding research outputs of public and private HEIs; (5) implementation of the Search for Best HEIs Research Program, and; (6) implementation of Accreditation of Research Journals.

 

All these efforts are intended towards addressing the need to develop the research capabilities of our HEIs.  However, despite all these initiatives, we know we only have scratched the surface of the problem. The process is taking too slow, much remains to be done.  The task of improving the quality of research in higher education is a formidable one.      

             

At this juncture, I would like to pose a challenge to the whole academic community of the University of San Carlos - as one of the excellent higher education institutions in the country to continuously strive and emerge as a leading research institution not only in Region VII but in the whole country. I have high hopes that you will spread your wings in helping other HEIs develop their research capabilities as part of the missionary work of the SVD.  Thank you very much and I wish you a very successful research forum.

 

Author:
27 / August / 2010