Educational institutions and study programmes

Below, we explain what types of educational institutions and degree programmes there are in the Philippines. We also explain how we check whether these are recognised and/or accredited. We check the recognition and accreditation to make sure that the quality is sufficient. We give the necessary information per educational sector.

With regard to secondary education programmes, you have to pay special attention to the fact that a student has a recognised diploma. These are the recognised secondary education diplomas:

• Junior High Schoolo Diploma, the lower secondary education diploma;
• Grade 12/Senior High School Diploma, the upper secondary education diploa.

See Secondary education documents for a short explanation of the documents that students receive.

Students can complete upper secondary education at a public or private school. Some schools are connected to a higher education institution.

Philippine higher education institutions can be either public or private. They can have different names, such as university, college, academy, institute or school. These institutions can offer both higher professional education and research-oriented higher education.

Public higher education institutions

Approximately 30% of Philippine higher educations institutions are public. Universities and colleges are either:

• established by the state (State Universities and Colleges, SUCs); or
• established by local authorities (Local Universities and Colleges, LUCs).

Private higher education institutions

About 70% of the Philippine higher education institutions are private. Some are religious (private sectarian), while others are non-religious (private non-sectarian).

For study programmes in higher education, you can check the following 2 things:

• recognition by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). This is compulsory.
• accreditation by private organisations. This is not compulsory.

Recognition by the CHED

The CHED checks higher education study programmes:

• Public higher education institutions need to register their study programmes with the CHED.
• Private educational institutions must request permission from the CHED for every study programme they offer:
  • They first get a temporary permit for 2 years (initial permit).
  • Then the initial permit is extended for 1 year.
  • If, during the extension, the study programme meets the minimum requirements that the CHED has set for its recognition, the CHED recognises the study programme. This is called Government Recognition (GR).

Accreditation by private organisations

Higher education institutions can have their programmes accredited by private organisations. This is not compulsory. The Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP) oversees these private organisations for accreditation. There are 3 in the Philippines:

• Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU);
• Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA);
• Association of Christian Schools, Colleges and Universities-Accrediting Council, Inc. (ACSCU-ACI).

Please note: accreditation is not compulsory, but it offers benefits for educational institutions. An accredited programme receives an accreditation level (Level I, II, III or IV). The higher the accreditation level, the more benefits there are. For example, from accreditation level 1 (Level I) onwards, educational institutions no longer need to apply for an SO number from the CHED for that study programme.