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Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP)



The Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP) is an alternative education program in the Philippines that allows working professionals who were not able to finish their college education or were completely unable to step into college to earn a bachelor’s degree without going through traditional schooling methods.

Under this program, professionals with five or more years of working experience can use the knowledge, experiences, and achievements they obtained through their jobs to earn school credits that are then deducted from the total number of units that they are required to earn before they graduate. This way, the more professional experience the ETEEAP student demonstrates, the sooner he or she can earn his or her bachelor’s degree.

Legitimacy of the Program

ETEEAP operates by virtue of Executive Order Number 330 signed by former President Fidel V. Ramos on May 10, 1996. It is currently administered by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and colleges or universities that wish to offer it as part of their academic programs must gain CHED’s approval first.

Differences Between ETEEAP and Traditional Schooling

Students aiming for a bachelor’s degree through the traditional method usually complete their college education in four or five years time, depending on the curriculum and the number of units they complete per term.

With ETEEAP, the basic concept is the same. The more units you can complete at a given time, the faster you’re going to graduate; however, compared with traditional schooling where you can, at most, graduate several months in advance if you were able to take up and complete more units than the regular school curriculum imposes, ETEEAP allows professionals to complete their degree in about a year or so by having their professional experiences evaluated and used in exchange for academic credits.

Also, most of the colleges and universities that implement ETEEAP also offer the program online, so anyone can take the course from anywhere in the world as long as they have a computer and access to the internet.

Evaluation of Professional Experiences

Evaluation of the applicant’s professional experiences rests on the school implementing the program. Among those usually taken into consideration are years of working experience, job responsibilities, job position, seminars and trainings attended, projects headed or undertaken, and achievements or citations received throughout the course of the applicant’s employment.

Each of these factors carry different weight, and when combined together, corresponds to a certain number of units that the applicant automatically earns.

Entrance Examinations

Like regular college applicants, individuals applying for ETEEAP are also required to take and pass the entrance exam of the school offering the program.

Contrary to traditional college entrance exams that are geared towards general knowledge, ETEEAP entrance exams are more course-specific, so you would need to demonstrate that you really know your job and the course you intend to take well. Exams are usually composed of questions with multiple choices to choose from, though.

Even so, the entrance exams will determine how many subjects  the applicant is going to take so applicants are advised to take them seriously. If you do well, your academic load will be lessened, but if you didn’t, you may have to take the full load or some supplementary classes.

Expenses

ETEEAP courses are comparatively more expensive than traditional college courses. In some cases, they can reach up to double or almost triple the amount of traditional college courses; however, given the incredibly short amount of time it takes to graduate, this amount is typically considered to be well spent by those who do graduate from the program.

Aside from the tuition fee, applicants also pay other miscellaneous fees including a work visit fee which is used to cover the expenses of the assessor that will be sent to your workplace to take a look at your work environment and discuss your work with your boss. Not all schools are particular with work visits, though, so this may or may not be applicable in certain cases.

ETEEAP Classes

ETEAAP classes are mostly conducted like traditional college classes — students gather in a room, listen to discussion, participate in recitation, do some seat work, submit assignments, and the like. The only major difference is things you would normally study in four to five years will be tackled in about a year, so the lessons are very fast-paced and straightforward. Also, project studies or theses are done individually as opposed to traditional schooling where they can be done in groups.

As for students studying overseas, classes are usually done through e-mail exchanges, instant messaging (YM, FB Chat, Google Chat), and video calls (YM, Skype) while project studies are sometimes submitted through courier.

Graduation

ETEEAP graduates are awarded corresponding degrees upon their successful completion of the program. They then go through graduation rites like traditional college graduates, although it is up to them whether they want to march onstage or they want to skip the event altogether.

If you enrolled in a course or program that has a licensure examination, you will have the option to take the board exam for additional leverage in seeking employment or more advanced career opportunities.

Qualifications

An ETEEAP candidate must meet the following qualifications: Filipino, at least high school graduate or must have PEPT equivalent to first year college.

  • Has at least five (5) years of work-related experience.
  • Must be at least twenty-two (22) years old; and
  • Able to show evidence of capability and thorough knowledge through the following evidences:
  • Certificate of Proficiency issued by the government regulatory board.
  • Certificate of Proficiency issued by the employer(s).
  • Certificate of Proficiency issued by a licensed practitioner in the field.

Requirements

  • Accomplished ETEEAP form with 1×1 picture
  • High school card/Form 137A/Transcript of Records (if HS grad only)
  • Certificate of Employment with job descriptions
  • Authenticated Birth certificate/affidavit of birth
  • Comprehensive Resume
  • Proficiency Certificate by:
  • Government regulatory board
  • Licensed practitioner in the field
  • Business registration
  • Certificates of training and workshops completed
  • NBI/Barangay clearance
  • Recommendation letter from immediate superior
  • Personality assessment
  • Other documents or evidence of capability and knowledge in the field applied for equivalency and accreditation

Filing the Application

Individuals interested in enrolling in the program can submit their applications at the Commission on Higher Education’s office or any of the college or universities authorized to offer ETEEAP. For specific questions and other concerns, please contact CHED or the school you are thinking of enrolling at directly.

Sources:

immersiondepth, red_fox2600 et.al. (2010, November 27). E t e e a p. Symbianize. Retrieved: 2013, February 08 from http://www.symbianize.com/showthread.php?t=300891

Commission on Higher Education. (n.d.) Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP).Retrieved from: http://www.ched.gov.ph/chedwww/index.php/eng/Projects-and-Programs/Expanded-Tertiary-Education-Equivalency-and-Accreditation-Program-ETEEAP

Commission on Higher Education. (n.d.) List of Deputized HEIs and Degree Programs Offered via the ETEEAP as of December 2010.Retrieved from: http://www.ched.gov.ph/chedwww/index.php/eng/content/download/1899/9798/file/list%20of%20HEIs.doc

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1 Comment

  1. This program can be applied to master electrician who would like to be an electrical engineer.Thank you and more power to CHED.

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