dr. manuel t. corpus
TRUSTEE
National Network of Quality Assurance Agencies Inc.
Dr. MANUEL T. CORPUS, popularly known as the “Father of AACCUP” counts on a long and deep commitment to quality education. Presently, albeit retired from public service, he still serves as Member of the Board of Trustees of the National Network of Quality Assurance Agencies (NNQAA), the umbrella organization of the AACCUP and the ALCUCOA. He co-founded the NNQAA in the year 2003, and served as its President/Executive Director for 17 years until 2020. The fruit of his pioneering work in the NNQAA has prevailed to this day though overshadowed by the impact of his longer stay and more intense commitment in the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (AACCUP).
He is the Founding President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the AACCUP during the Agency’s first 13 years of operation (1987-2000).
In his publication entitled “AACCUP: Trial, Tribulation and Triumph”, he traces the history of AACCUP starting with the “trial” and “tribulation” stages which were faced with the difficult tasks of advocacy of the ideology of quality in education; scarcity of knowledge of the content, philosophy and mechanics of accreditation; and very importantly, the need for crusaders who have the talent and the passion for quality. Initially, the accreditors received no compensation, but still volunteered their services. The most difficult challenge to AACCUP was the early opposition to the rise of another body that is interested in accreditation. The accreditors persisted and with continuous training, they have developed into a very strong corps of quality crusaders. Eventually, SUC leadership also seeing the value and benefits of accreditation started rallying behind the program. At present, all state universities and colleges, without exception, are engaged in accreditation. Dr. Corpus calls these accreditors and leaders from state universities and colleges the “heroes and heroines” of accreditation.
Dr. Corpus continued his work in quality assurance as full-time Executive Director/President of AACCUP for another 20 years (2000-20).As Executive Director, he continued his hands-on role and leadership in the preparation of the literature and documents of accreditation: assessment instruments, documents, reports, standards, manuals, guidelines, qualification of accreditors and other related materials, all those that are now used by the Agency); actual training of accreditors; securing resources: funding, office condominiums, vehicles and equipment; management staff; and developing local and foreign linkages. AACCUP achieved the status of robust and fully developed accrediting body around the year 2005
AACCUP is a multi-awarded quality assurance agency in recognition of its stature and performance. It received the following awards from the Asia Pacific Quality Network (APQN), an organization of about 200 quality assurance agencies in the Asia-Pacific Region.
2013 APQN BEST PERFORMING MEMBER (for being the most productive);
APQN 2016 QUALITY AWARD (in the category of strengthening quality in the profession (for best training program);
2018 APQN QUALITY CHAMPION to DR. MANUEL T. CORPUS (for his leadership role in APQN and in his Agency).
AACCUP maintains linkages with quality assurance agencies around the world to continuously update its accreditation practices and maintain a respectable world-class image. These include:
- Asia-Pacific Quality Network (APQN), an organization of about 200 quality agencies and educational institutions in the Asia Pacific Region;
- International Association of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE);
- ANAAA, Timore Liste where AACCUP was contracted to develop the country’s Accreditation Program, and to conduct the accreditation of their academic programs from 2009 until 2018;
- ASEAN Quality Assurance Network (AQAN);
- Malaysian Qualifications Authority (MQA);
- Higher Education Academic Accreditation (HEACT), Taiwan; and
- Accreditation Council of Russia.
Dr. Corpus served in the APQN,first, as a Coopted Member of the Board in 2004-06 for his major assignment as Team Leader of the Network’s “Study of Qualifications Framework in the Asia-Pacific Region.” He is proud of his team members from Australia, Hongkong, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. The study report was adopted by APQN, and presented in several of the Network’s annual conferences. He served his second term in the APQN Board in 2016-18 where he was honored with an award as “APQN QUALITY CHAMPION” in 2018.
As the youngest State University President in 1983, he was elected President of the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) for a term of two years, 1983-85. He has accomplished two (2) legacies, which consist of two major long-term programs in SUCs: 1) NCC 33 (the original version of NBC 461) which governs the position classification and compensation of all faculty members in state universities; and 2) the AACCUP Accreditation Program which he founded as President, and which he continuously headed in various capacities as either President, Chairman of the Board, or Executive Director for 33 years (1987-2020).
Dr. Corpus started his career in the academe as Assistant Professor in the College of Public Administration (now NCPAG), University of the Philippines; and eventually, was rewarded with the pioneering work in two newly-created state universities as President of both the Cagayan State University (1980-89), and the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (1990-99)
He attributes his passion for quality to the teachings instilled to him in three quality universities that shaped his education: the Northwestern Educational Institution, where he earned his undergraduate degree in Education and Arts; the University of the Philippines (UP) for his Masters in Public Administration (MPA); and the University of Pittsburgh (,UP), USA, for his doctorate degree (Ph.D in Economics and Social Development).
