Introduction
As the Pangasinan State University (PSU) continues to mark history in Philippine academia, it adheres to its mission to develop highly principled, morally upright, innovative and globally competent graduates capable of meeting the needs of industry, public service and civil society. These qualities are determined by the qualifications, competencies, and commitment of the faculty members. As a result, the University employs intensive hiring procedures to select the most qualified faculty members with high levels of expertise, reputable educational and moral backgrounds, and a strong sense of commitment.
Moreover, faculty members are constantly provided with a variety of opportunities to improve their competencies and skills to cope up with the rapidly changing educational trends. The University’s Faculty Development Program addresses the need to build up the teaching force. It provides a comprehensive support system designed to ensure faculty members’ holistic development and professional advancement in their respective fields of specialization for quality instruction and higher levels of competencies in research, extension, and production. It also helps in attaining the vision, mission, goals and objectives of the University by giving avenues for the faculty members to increase their commitment to perform their tasks and responsibilities, resulting in an effective and committed workforce.
Well-defined Objectives
Whilst infrastructures like buildings, laboratories, and equipment typically suggest an educational institution’s competence, it is without a doubt that its human resource is its lifeblood. Hence, while striving to upgrade physical facilities and equipment, it is a must for any educational organization to uplift the quality of its faculty members, that is, the inevitable need for faculty development.
Faculty development can be defined as the process of “providing professional development training and coaching to faculty members to help them improve their work performance”. Though usually focusing on teaching skills, improvement of course content, and personal development, it may encompass the upgrading of research, extension, and administration skills. Moreover, faculty members of Pangasinan State University are mandated to perform a so-called four-fold function – instruction, research, extension, and production. Thus, defining faculty development as a holistic process of upgrading the instruction, research, extension, and administration skills of faculty members seemingly fit the scenario.
The Information Technology Department is a constituent organization of the Pangasinan State University – Urdaneta City Campus. The Department is tasked to supervise one of the programs offered by the Campus, the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology program.
Being a part of an institution that seeks to uphold the quality of service to its clientele, the current and future members of the Department should be continuously provided with mechanisms and opportunities leading to continuous growth across the different facets of being a faculty member.
The University Faculty Manual (UFM) explicitly stated in three chapters the necessity of a Faculty Development Plan. Sections 1 and 2 of Article 5 of the first chapter specify the need for a master’s degree for permanency. This is also in concordance with the rules of the Civil Service Commission. Moreover, Article 1 of Chapter 2 specifies that the following are included as duties and functions of a faculty member:
l. continuously sustains professional growth and advancement through attendance to professional meetings, conferences, seminar-workshops, trainings, educational for a, and the like.
m. conduct research, extension, and production activities.
r. performs other duties assigned to him by the immediate supervisor and other authorities from time to time aimed at improving and strengthening the progress and operation of the school.
Finally, Chapter 6 of the University Faculty Manual states the provision of an Academic Staff Development Program, headed by the Vice President for Academic Affairs. This program, via the coordination of the Campus Executive Directors, Vice President for Planning and Administration, and the Human Resource Management Office, intends to provide activities and venues aiming to upgrade faculty members’ professional competencies.
To induce holistic professional growth among Information Technology Department members, the following faculty development objectives were identified:
1. To support faculty members in obtaining advanced degrees;
2. To provide professional development opportunities for faculty members;
3. To expand the avenues of instructions for a more effective learning process from faculty to its target clients;
4. To support faculty members in attaining higher academic ranks; and
5. To provide opportunities for the faculty member’s overall development.
To add, these objectives coincide with the indicators of the National Budget Circular (NBC) 461, the criteria for the promotion of faculty members. Apart from having these objectives lead to a holistic upgrading of the faculty members; these would also ultimately lead them into promotion.