AFFIRMING ITS “COMMITMENT to global standards,” San Beda University (SBU) once again received a recertification of the Quality Management System – ISO 9001:2015 from the 145-year-old globally-recognized and independent German inspection service TÜV Rheinland last September 29, valid for A.Y.s 2023 to 2026.
For the third time in a row since 2017, SBU continued to prove that it has “quality management and quality management systems.” In line with this, the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Dean, Prof. Christian Bryan Bustamante, PhD, who also serves as the Director of the University’s Governance and Quality Assurance Office, expounded on the importance of having this kind of international certification.
“This contains standards pertaining to the management system. What we must have in order to run or to manage an organization. Siyempre if you are certified, it means that your system meets international standards like the standards set by ISO 9001:2015. So, kaya pinapaskil natin ‘yan, bino-broadcast natin ‘yan, nilalagay natin sa mga official documents. Everyone knows that we have the system and this system is aligned or met the requirements of an international standard, which is called as 9001:2015,” Dean Bustamante shared.
Furthermore, the Dean also explained how the University was able to acquire its certification once again by means of following the standard requirements needed to have a management system.
“Kapag na-verify nila they will agree with you, so okay na ‘yon, wala nang problema. There were recommendations on how to improve. Hindi naman nawawala ‘yang recommendations kasi kaya nga sila nag au-audit, para makita nila kung ano pa ‘yung dapat pa natin i-improve kaya nagbibigay sila ng recommendation. Pero after that, ‘yan na ‘yung itsura ng standard. ‘Yan ang ISO Standard,” Dean Bustamante added.
The TÜV Rheinland certification has a thorough process or stages in which the University underwent in order to achieve the recertification. In terms of obstacles faced during this process, the Dean mentioned that there were none during the recent re-certification. However, they did encounter some when the University was applying for its initial certification back in 2017.
“One of the challenges we encountered when we were starting to comply to the standards of 2017 was, of course, we have to review all the manuals or the processes in order to ensure that these processes are consistent with what is being asked by the standard. ‘Eto yung standard, ‘eto ‘yung practice mo, so kung ano ‘yung hinihingi dito, isulat mo dito, gawin mo,” the Dean further explained.
With the purpose of re-certifying the University every three years to see if it was able to remain an ideal or were there any improvements, it goes to show that SBU is reflecting and adhering to the standards of the TÜV Rheinland certification.