Academic Program Improvement (API) Project
In 2016, OFA Diliman has implemented an Academic Program Improvement (API) Project that aims to contextualize AFAs in the University. This API project has the following objectives: (i) to document and categorize existing AFAs in UP Diliman, (ii) to identify issues on existing policies and practices in conducting AFAs of different colleges and/or academic units in UP Diliman, and (iii) to formulate recommendations for the development of University-wide policies on academic field activities based on good practices by academic units. An inventory of courses in UP Diliman with AFAs (based on the earlier survey conducted), and series of focus group discussion with selected academic units handling AFAs were implemented to collect the necessary data for this API project.
Focus Group Discussions
Four rounds of focus group discussions (FGDs) were held last 28 November 2016 and 2 December 2016 to discuss the guidelines and practices in handling various types of AFAs among colleges and academic units. The FGDs served as a follow-through of the 2015 survey on AFAs. These discussions thus became a venue for representatives to share college- or unit-specific policies that may serve as a guide or a basis of appraisal for other colleges in creating and validating their own AFA framework. The discussions also provided an opportunity for them to clarify some of their queries and concerns regarding how AFAs should be properly handled. A short-survey on AFAs was conducted among the participants during the FGD to validate the information that was provided by the colleges for the initial survey on AFAs the previous year.
