QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEMS FOR THE
PSU OPEN UNIVERSITY SYSTEMS

Quality Assurance Systems or QAS is a means to an end. It is a program and strategy to ascertain or guarantee that the needs of the clientele are adequately satisfied and met. It even goes beyond the conformity to specifications as required by the end-users. This is what is referred to as value added characteristic of the final product. Value added mean that the customers or end-users of the finished product appreciate and attach loyalty to the producer and the product. Because of this, the Pangasinan State University Open University Systems or PSU-OUS shall produce the programs and services that are externally required such as the specified demands of the clientele and the market conditions. This will ensure the appropriateness and adequacy of the training and development of the desired graduate and guarantee the sustainability and growth of the institution.

The QAS as a vehicle in attaining quality must be performed by dedicated academic people through a quality management team. This is an overall management function for the formulation and implementation of the quality policy. The team shall have the responsibility to adequately satisfy the internal requirements in meeting the external demands. This means that the team shall attain the adequate and proper level of confidence in performing the actions as reflected by the quality policy and strategy through tested procedures and processes. This level of internal confidence could induce the equivalent level of confidence of the end-users of the finished products and services of the institution. Thus the QAS Management Team is the driver of the vehicle in attaining the desired levels of quality as defined by qualitative and quantitative standards.

The QAS of the PSU-OUS as proposed is a first attempt to build internal and external confidence and guarantee the satisfaction and appreciation of the services and graduates through the use of alternative instructional delivery systems. Hence, this proposal, even if adopted for use, shall be subjected to further and continuous process of development.

The QAS shall therefore gradually contribute to the development of the PSU-OUS in the future as a dynamic alternative institution which shall complement the regular system. Its development focus shall provide the emergence of a distinct university serving the wide variety of clientele which can benefit most from the alternative instructional delivery systems through the knowledge media. Therefore, ultimately the PSU-OUS shall become the center of knowledge generation and diffusion heading into a different but a more competitive higher education institution in the Province and other parts of the country.