Focused on recalibrating its existing curriculum and processes in moving forward to the New
Normal, the Faculty and Staff Development Committee (FSDC) of the University of Rizal System
(URS) in collaboration with the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) conducted a
webinar-workshop in this regard. Led by its president, Dr. Nancy Pascual, the WEBrightShop on
Flexible Learning for Continuity, Enhancing and Transforming Higher Education for University of
Rizal System was held on July 7 – 9 and July 14 – 16, 2020 via Zoom.
Considering the analysis made by the technical working group on the New Learning Environment Guidelines regarding the learning modalities, a number of preparations and actions were done to redefine the teaching-learning strategy to guarantee the delivery of quality education amid the pandemic COVID-19. With the TWG’s initiated survey participated in by the ten campuses and its colleges, the University was able to determine the status and proposed specific guidelines for the implementation of the New Learning Environment under New Normal, among which is the curriculum delivery system which considered the learners’ and teachers’ capacity as well as those of the concerned staff of the University.
Thereby, URS in partnership with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the experts from the UPOU, module development and capacity building for faculty members were initiated.
As such, the University also coordinated with other government and non-government institutions for other alternative delivery models that fit the needs of the different clients of the University.
Plenary talks were held prior to the actual webinar-workshop. Speakers present were Commissioner Lilian De las Llagas of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Dr. Lisa Bersales, Dr. Arminda Santiago, Dr. Odette Portus, and Dr. Grace Alfonso of the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU). They talked on Education 6.0 “Education with a Soul”, Seamless and Quality Assured Higher Education; Data Matters: A Paradigm Shift to a Learner-centered and Faculty-abled University of Today and the Future; Innovation and Creativity: Pathways toward a Responsive, Agile and Relevant Higher Education Institution; Research: Key to Learner and Teacher as Co-creators of Knowledge; and, Technology and Beyond: Flexible Convertible Learning and Teaching and the Mechanics of WEBrightShop, respectively.
With the WEBrightShop, the faculty were able to design their course outline, develop materials to help achieve the intended outcomes of the courses, identify modes of delivery for each course and create activities that will help students achieve the intended objectives of the courses. For the administration, it aimed to help the administration identify areas with which it can help the faculty and students.
A total of 460 faculty members were trained. A total of 2,795 modules were written.
