Full of energy and positivity, the stakeholders of the Pines City Colleges’ (PCC) from the Academic and Administration departments gathered to develop and align a three-year strategic plan for providing quality health education, held on July 27-28, 2023 in Ortigas, Pasig, Metro Manila.
To realize PCC’s Vision, Mission, and Goals, PCC organized the said institutional planning aimed to achieve quality assurance through local, national, and international accreditations; strengthen the effective learning environment with diverse students’ needs; and enhance the work sustainability through the development of innovative and effective employees and administrators.
Dr. Marian Grace Gascon, PCC Vice President for Academic Affairs, opened the two-day institutional planning with her welcome remarks. She encouraged the participants to maximize the activity to learn, bond, apply talents and work together for the achievement of the goals of strategic planning. Then, Ms. Ma. Regina Prats, Vice President for Administration and Finance, introduced Dr. Maria Cristina Bate as the resource speaker of the activity.
Dr. Bate is a graduate school faculty for education leaders in De la Salle University teaching Strategic Planning and Management. Since 1995 and up to the present, Dr. Bate has been an Accreditor for the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities, Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA) where she conducts visits to member institutions to help achieve in education and provide solutions to various challenges and problems. She is also a member of different organizations with programs of education and women empowerment.
In the input presentation of Dr. Bate, she gave a brief background of what a strategic plan is and how to create one for schools. Dr. Bate discussed seven key points of the importance and purpose of a strategic plan: to articulate the Vision, Mission, and Goals (VMGs) of the school, to organize the school and staff, to define how success is measured, to aid decision makers and provide directions, to increase communication and engagement, and to keep teachers and administrators in the school connected. She stressed that a strategic plan’s top priority is always the students.
Dr. Bate facilitated the planning workshop where the participants revisited PCC’s organizational VMGs, performed gap analysis, identified and prioritized strategic issues, developed strategic goals and objectives, and created a strategic plan to achieve PCC goals and objectives. Dr. Bate coached the participants in planning for key result areas (KRA) identified in the education programs of PCC. The workshop resulted in improvements to the programs aligned with the quality standards set by PACUCOA.
Achieving PCC Goals
Dr. Gascon reiterated the importance of developing a strategic plan in realizing PCC’s continuing commitment to nurturing future health professionals. She said that the best strategies and actions were provided and contributed during the workshops to solving concerns and issues for the betterment of the school.
The strategic plan will also be reflected in the work plans of non-teaching and administrative positions to serve PCC’s interests and goals for students and the whole PCC community.
As she closed the activity, Ms. Prats left a message for the participants. “Everyone is essential. We came here to strengthen our commitment to advancing our school, the center of excellence in the health sciences, an effective learning environment, and sustainability both for students and employees. We go back to Pines with more work in our hands to realize our goals,” she ended. Ms. Prats thanked the participants and Dr. Gascon for their active participation and contribution to the Strategic Plan, and Dr. Bate for her invaluable gift and experiences shared in the workshops.
The Institutional Strategic Planning was participated by the Deans of each College, Department Heads, and with the special participation of student representatives, alumni, faculty, and the union.
