EXECUTIVE Order (EO) 330, adopting the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (Eteeap), was issued by former President Fidel V. Ramos in 1996.
Eteeap, according to the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) official website, is a comprehensive educational assessment program at the tertiary level that recognizes, accredits and gives equivalencies to knowledge, skills, attitudes and values gained by individuals from relevant work. It is implemented through deputized higher education institutions that shall award the appropriate college degree.
"Beneficiaries must be Filipinos who are at least high school graduates. They must have worked for at least five years in the field or industry related to the academic program they are obtaining an equivalency. They must also be able to show proof of proficiency, capability and thorough knowledge in the field applied for equivalency," Ched's website added.
Ched records a total of 96 Eteeap Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) all over the country to date.
In Mindanao, Liceo de Cagayan University (LDCU) is among the authorized deputized Eteeap HEIs via Ched memorandum dated January 17, 2012.
From one Eteeap student who is currently the Dean of Business and Accountancy of Urios University, LDCU produced 89 graduates who earned degrees in Bachelor of Arts major in Political Science, International Studies, Economics, Communication, Literature and Performing Arts (major in English Literature, Dance, Theater); and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (major in Financial Management, Human Resource Development Management and Marketing Management).
LDCU College of Arts and Sciences Dean director Oliver Plaza II said their Eteeap program has evolved through constant updating and upgrading of operational procedures through Ched trainings and orientations.
Plaza, however, said that there have been misconceptions about Eteeap and since it is a new program of the school, it still needs to be promoted.
SunStar Davao editor-in-chief Stella Estremera, who graduated last March 23 with a BA in Communication degree, said, "Many a time, a person does not end up in the course he first chose, while many others find a lucrative career without graduating from an undergraduate degree. We also know that just as many take up undergraduate degrees that are their parents' choices, thus, after college, they find themselves in an entirely different career that they do not have the baccalaureate degree for. Eteeap bridges that gap or disconnect between what one had as a student and what one achieved as a professional."
Estremera took up BS Architecture in her student years.
Decorated performing artist Maan Chua, for her part, said the Eteeap program is very helpful for career-driven people who did not get a degree to pursue their dreams.
"In a society that is driven by or needs formality in a form of paper or title (diploma, masters, PHD, etc.), experience of 10, 20, 50 years without a paper is still useless unless you are exceptionaly excellent on your particular field of expertise," said Chua said who graduated with a BA in Literature and Performing Arts Major in Theater at LDCU.
She dropped out of a BS Nursing course as she opted to grab the many opportunities to travel abroad and go places to perform. She was a musician, composer, singer, and guitarist even before she stopped schooling.
Chua added, "For me it was more a fulfillment for myself and for my mom who worked hard for me to finish school but never stopped me from doing what I love to do, make music. It might have taken me more than 15 years to finally get a degree, but that was 15 years of work experience that gave me a degree in so short a time."
General Santos City-based Allen Estabillo, meanwhile, said: "It's more of a personal accomplishment. For many years, it's an unfinished business. Eteeap opened a way for me to realize that."
Estabillo, who now owns a BA in Communication degree, also marched with Estremera, Chua, and this writer during the recent commencement exercises of LDCU for Batch 2017-2018.
This writer, too, is thankful for the opportunity that Eteeap has opened for her. She studied Communication until third year college at the Ateneo de Davao University and quit when she already started working as a reporter of SunStar Davao. Twenty years later, she earned a diploma in barely five months since enrolling at LDCU-Eteeap. For her, it is an answered prayer, a dream come true.