The Culture of Excellence of Private Higher Education Institutions

The study investigated the culture of excellence of six top performing private higher education institutions in Northern Mindanao. These descriptive study respondents involved 80 academic administrators and program chairpersons as respondents. The frequency, percentage, weighted mean, and analysis of variance were used. These are the conclusions of the study. The culture of excellence is largely a function of efficient and effective quality assurance management systems such as voluntary accreditation and international certification. The external evaluation in the quality assurance audits promotes the achievement of comparable standards with the best practices in the Philippines and abroad. Some accredited schools have acquired ISO certification, a move that enhances the quality assurance management system. The schools’ culture of excellence generates the intended teaching and learning outcomes manifested through integral development of graduates, high performance in licensure examinations, high employability, and global competitiveness. The efficiency and effectiveness of the governance and management of the schools have an overriding influence on the quality of teaching and research, support to students, relations with the community, and management of resources. Generating higher research productivity among the faculty, fund sourcing from partnership and entrepreneurial activities that generate non-tuition revenues remain the serious challenges of the school management.

Key words - Culture of excellence, governance and management, teaching and research, quality assurance