Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

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The Academic Program Improvement (API) fund is mandated to be utilized for the continuous improvement of the University’s academic programs, with the ultimate goal of achieving academic excellence through the strengthening of the integration of education, research and creative work, and public service. The allocation for UP Diliman is being administered by the UPD Quality Assurance Office.

Eight (8) activities are eligible for funding through the API, and these are subject to change according the regular memorandum issued by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA): 

● Planning for extensive Ph.D. faculty development to increase the number of PhDs from 30% to 50% in all UP units vis-à-vis planning of teaching, research, creative work, administrative and public service activities per unit 

● Development and improvement of curricular programs (focus on content, pedagogy, and assessment of GE courses, undergraduate major courses, and postgraduate courses) 

● Planning and training to produce research, creative work, and policy grant proposals 

● Planning and training to stimulate research, creative work, policy publications, and other new knowledge output 

● Planning and training to mainstream IT/new technology for enhanced pedagogy 

● Planning and training to forge linkages with international collaborators, industry and government agencies, e.g., research collaboration strategies, on-the-job training (OJT) of students, externships of faculty 

● Planning to assure/enhance UP's academic excellence at this juncture through the program 

● Institutional academic assessment initiatives—referred to in the contemporary parlance of higher education as quality assurance (QA) initiatives—and the implementation of such educational assessment and development plans 

The following are additional criteria: 

● Degree-granting who are involved in the delivery of academic programs may apply, provided that their proposed activities fall within the eligible activities defined by the OVPAA. 

● Units that wish to apply should have submitted the latest iAADS Report and post-iAADS Report which will provide insights on the rationale and expected outcomes of the proposed activity. Projects for improvement of degree programs must attach a copy of the latest SAR, final assessment report, benchmarking report, and/or post-EQA report. 

● Units that have secured funding from previous years must have submitted the Project Accomplishment Report.

The call for applications for API funding is issued annually in October. The requirements for application are detailed in the memorandum disseminated by the UPD Quality Assurance Office to unit heads and quality assurance officers.

Units that will hire personnel under Contract of Service (CoS) arrangement should process the application for waiver of moratorium for hiring of Non-UP Contractual personnel through the University Information System (UIS). Refer to Memorandum No. NGY 22-30 for details. More information will be shared to project proponents of approved API projects. 

The Contract of Service must be signed by the project leader and contractee. The Job Order must be prepared by the unit administrative staff, recommended for approval by the project leader, and approved by the Director of the Quality Assurance Office. The acknowledgement field must be signed by the personnel hired through the job order. 

Salaries of personnel hired through CoS and JO arrangement cannot be processed using Cash Advance. Kindly contact the UP Diliman Accounting Office for the process of securing Cash Advance for the approved API project. 

Purchase requests amounting to PhP 49,999.99 may be processed by the unit. For items amounting to PhP 50,000.00 and up, the purchase request must be submitted in the Procurement Dashboard. For clarifications, you may coordinate with your unit’s procurement officer.

Kindly refer to the Pre-Audit Guide and Handbook of the UP Diliman Accounting Office and the BULSA tutorial for details.

Project leaders of approved API projects must submit three (3) reports in the course of the implementation of their projects: 

● First Project Report - June 15

● Second Project Report - September 30 

● Project Accomplishment Report - December 31 

Templates of the reports will be sent to project leaders.

Local numbers of UPD units may be found in the UPD Directory.