The General Education Center (GEC) met with the First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities (FAITH Colleges) on 18 October 2024 at the Diliman Interactive Learning Center Conference Room for a benchmarking visit focused on exploring and learning best practices related to curriculum and instruction, faculty development, and community extensions.
Welcomed by the GEC Director Dr. Anna Marie Sibayan-Sarmiento and staff were FAITH Colleges’ College of Arts, Sciences and Education Dean Dr. Jerrylyn Magbuo, Program Coordinator for General Education Martin Victor Melchor, College Secretary Anna Dominique Bathan, and faculty members Dr. Jun Masongsong (Social Sciences), Lowela Peñaranda (Language and Literature), Patricia Dela Cruz (Language and Literature), Ana Mariel Eve Abairo (Science and Technology), Johanna Abadicio (Social Sciences), Kaye Punzalan (NSTP and Physical Education), and Imelda Oruga (Mathematics).
The benchmarking session focused on exploring GEC’s organizational structure, support for curriculum review and pedagogy, best practices for faculty and staff development, research agenda and procedures, and community extension programs and initiatives. They also visited and observed a Speech 30 (Public Speaking and Persuasion) class in the College of Arts and Letters.
In a letter, Program Coordinator Melchor said that the GEC “has a strong commitment to excellence, sustainability, and pro-people innovations for the betterment of society through the UP General Education Program that complements the vision and mission of our institution [FAITH Colleges], which is to transform students’ lives so they may transform the world through our passion for excellence in education and strong social responsibility.”
Program Coordinator Melchor also added that, in the spirit of transformational and outcomes-based education, GEC’s practices “will provide a model structure for our [FAITH Colleges] General Education program, and improve the overall quality of general education here in our institution as we serve the whole community.”
