During the opening ceremony
The Asia Pacific Accreditation and Certification Commission (APACC) conducted a five-day refresher training for international accreditors on March 28 to April 1, 2022. The training, which was held online through Zoom, was organized to give the participant accreditors updates on APACC instrument and various processes. A total of ten accreditors and observers from Bangladesh, Mongolia, Philippines, and Sri Lanka participated in the training and were joined by two Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC) staff members who were trained as potential documentation officers.
The program management includes Prof. G.L. Dharmasri Wickramasinghe, APACC President, and Prof. Romulita C. Alto, EdD, program coordinator. The program was primarily facilitated by Prof. Alto and Dr. H. Chithral Ambawatte who discussed updates on the seven criteria (I) Governance and Management (II) Teaching and Learning, (III) Human Resources, (IV) Research and Development, (V) Image and Sustainability, (VI) Other Resources, and (VII) Support to Students.
The opening ceremony was held on March 28, 2022 which was facilitated by APACC and CPSC. In his opening speech, Prof. Wickramasinghe emphasized the importance of accreditation and certification citing that from its inception, APACC has already certified more than sixty institutions with one institution from Malaysia garnering a platinum award. Afterwards, Dr. Alto graciously briefed the participants with a general discussion on the new updates on the APACC manual and welcomed the participants as well.
Program topics did not just include discussions on the seven criteria but also presentations on the specific roles and duties of accreditors and documentation officers during on-site and online evaluations. APACC Officer Mrs. Adrienne Abril-Nonan also presented some tips on writing a good evaluation report during the last day of the training.
During the course of the five-day training, role plays were facilitated by APACC to have the participants hone their questioning and evaluation skills as accreditors. The participants were divided into three groups and roles (accreditors, accreditees, and observers) were pre-assigned after the discussion of the criterion updates by the resource persons.
During the closing ceremony
The closing ceremony was held on April 1, 2022. In his closing speech, Prof. Wickramasinghe thanked the participants for attending the training and wished them good luck for future institutional evaluations. Dr. Alto and Dr. Ambawatte in their vote of thanks reiterated the importance of constantly affirming the positive impact of accreditation and certification for quality improvement in TVET institutions and its services. Selected participants also delivered short responses in appreciation of the five-day training during the closing ceremony.
