About
the Zonal Research Center
Location of HEIs in Negros Oriental and Siquijor Provinces.
[click image to enlarge] |
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The goal of the Center is to develop a culture of research in higher education
institutions in the Central Visayas Region (Region 7).
Research on/in higher education aims to push the frontiers
of knowledge across higher education disciplines, enrich instruction in the
academic disciplines, and apply the results of research to improve the quality
of life of Filipinos.
The Center assists the faculty and administrators of
16 colleges and universities in the preparation of research proposals, the
conduct of their research activities, and the preparation and dissemination
of research results in various forms such as technical papers for publication
in refereed journals, newsletters, news releases, posters, and educational
materials.
Higher education institutions (HEIs) in the region are
encouraged to conduct research in disciplines or academic areas in which they
have the required competence and research facilities to enable them to compete
with similar institutions in other regions of the country. The choice of research
areas is guided by local, regional, national and even international priorities
for development.
List
of Higher Education Institutions
in Negros Oriental Province and on
Siquijor Island: |
| |
|
| 1. |
Asian College of
Science and Technology (ACSAT) |
| 2. |
Balite Institute of Technology
(BIT) |
| 3. |
Bayawan College BC) |
| 4. |
Central Visayas Polytechnic
College (CVPC) |
| 5. |
Colegio de Sta. Catalina de
Alejandria (COSCA) |
| 6. |
Foundation University(FU) |
| 7. |
Genaro Goņi Memorial College
(GGMC) |
| 8. |
Negros Maritime College Foundation
(NMCF) |
| 9. |
Negros Oriental National Agricultural
School (NONAS) |
| 10. |
Quezon Memorial Institute of
Siquijor (QMIS) |
| 11. |
Saint Joseph Seminary College
(SJSC) |
| 12. |
Saint Paul College of Dumaguete (SPCD) |
| 13. |
Siaton Community College (SCC) |
| 14. |
Silliman University SU) |
| 15.
|
Siquijor State College (SSC) |
| 16. |
Villaflores College (VC) |
| |
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A
Note from the Regional Director, CHED Region 7 |
|
|
|
Dr.
Isabela L. Mahler, Ed.D., PDA, CESO III, Director IV, CHED
Region 7 |
|
| |
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With great pride and pleasure I convey my warmest congratulations
to the CHED – Silliman University Zonal Research Center for the
Central Visayas on the release of its maiden issue of the Research Journal.
The undertaken is a long awaited move of the Zonal Research Center to
gradually realize its function to promote research consciousness among
the Higher Education
Institutions in the region particularly in the provinces of Negros Oriental
and Siquijor as in the region particularly in the province of Negros
Oriental and Siquijor as envisioned by the Commission of Higher Education.
Research is one of the tri-fold functions of an
institution of higher learning without the novel concepts uncovered
through research. Unpublished research defeats the purpose of the initiative.
Somehow a body should take care in the dissemination of the information
to all stakeholders to maximize the utilization of the findings. This
has to be done for the sake of pushing forward the frontiers of knowledge
and for the benefit of mankind.
The lead role taken by the Center in all this intellectual
activities is a concrete step towards the establishment of a culture
of research in higher of education. The quality of education is unequivocally
enhanced in the process and I appreciate so much the assistance of the
Center for this regard. |
|
Seminars and Workshops
Conducted
Five workshops participated in by faculty and administrators
of the colleges and universities were conducted at the Center during the past
two years. These meetings dealt with identification of research areas, proposal
writing, data analysis, paper writing, publication of research results. The
Center has used the expertise of several researchers in Silliman University
as resource persons in these seminars and workshops. In addition, the Center
Director served as resource speaker once at the Central Visayas Polytechnic
College and twice at the Mindanao Polytechnic State College in Region 10 discussing
research approaches, paper writing, refereeing, and publishing. The Zonal
Research Director of this college, Dr. Roberto N. Padua, reciprocated by giving
a discussion paper on design and analysis of scientific data.
The Center Director has sat down a couple of times with
small groups at Silliman to discuss research in the social sciences in an
effort to increase research productivity of this group. A series of small,
directed seminars/workshops with specific groups to address specific research
processes, beginning with Foundation University in July, 2002.
Dr.
Angel Alcala made a presentation on researchable topics research proposal
writing at SU Multimedia Center. |
|
Survey
of the Research Capability of Higher Education Institution
A
survey of the research capability five colleges and universities under the
Center was made in late 2001-early 2002. A report of this study has been submitted
to CHED, and only a summary is given here. I quote below the Summary
and Conclusion of this survey:
The survey dealt only with five institutions, a small
sample, therefore limiting the applicability of the conclusions. However,
our findings in our part of Region VII tend to confirm the intuitive
feeling of keen observers on the present status of research at higher
education institutions. The first of these is the low priority given to research
in terms of funding and other support, compared to the emphasis on teaching
and, in some institutions, on extension. The reason behind this is the
lack of a research culture in our academic community in this country.
The second general observation is that the quality of our research
outputs leaves much to be desired. There is definitely a need for ways to
encourage our researchers to publish in refereed or peer reviewed journals
as well as in local journals. This way, papers will be exposed to all kinds
of readers. Papers submitted to international journals have the advantage
of being peer reviewed for lapses in scientific thinking, thus insuring
their quality. If publication in refereed journals is a criterion, then only
one of the five institutions (SU) in this study can be classified as a research
institution (see Appendix 2).
The third finding has to do with the researchable areas. Many researchers
tend to conduct research in traditional areas (e.g. education) and shy away
from the emerging, interdisciplinary or technical areas or areas needed
for our development. This finding has its roots in the way our graduate education
is conducted: many professors in graduate schools lack research track records.
One cannot teach what he does not have.
| |
Dr.
Angel Alcala made a presentation on researchable topics research proposal
writing at SU Multimedia Center. |
The fourth finding has to do with the disparity
between the number of qualified faculty members and research productivity.
An institution may have many faculty members with master's and doctor's degrees
but the research productivity is low. The commitment to the search for truth
through research is apparently lacking. To build this commitment, a system
of incentives beyond monetary rewards is needed. This is primarily the responsibility
of the academic institutions themselves.
As a conclusion, it may be
said that research (loosely defined) is going on in the five higher education
institutions in Negros Oriental and Siquijor
Provinces in the Central Visayas. But the quantity and quality of the research
outputs need improvement. There is a potential for improvement based on the
moderate number of faculty members holding master's and doctor's degrees.
CHED is being looked up to as a direct
source of funds for research. Its funds may also serve as counterparts to
research grants from the external agencies, which are the main source of research
support for educational institutions in the region. The Commission will not
be able to improve higher education in the country if it retreats from the
responsibility of supporting research as mandated by the Higher Education
Act of 1994 (R.A. 7722).
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Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, Philippines
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