SLSU Officials Participate in UPLB’s HELM Fellowship Program
The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), through the Office for Institutional Development in Higher Education (OIDHE) has recently implemented the second batch of its Higher Education Leadership Mentoring Fellowship Program (HELMFP) for 2025, taking place from March 31, 2025, to April 4, 2025. This initiative aims to enhance and enrich leadership capacity among administrators and officials from partner higher education institutions (HEIs) through experiential learning and exposure to UPLB’s institutional practices.
Among those selected for this year’s batch were three fellows from Southern Leyte State University (SLSU) — Dr. John Paul R. Gapasin, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry, and Environmental Sciences; Dr. Aldwin M. Teves, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences; and Ms. Claerchille Jhulia Tan, Executive Assistant to the President.
Throughout the program, fellows are carefully matched with UPLB offices that align with their professional interests, facilitating effective knowledge exchange and spurring the implementation of context-specific improvements within their institutions. Dr. Teves and Dr. Gapasin were fellows under the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA), while Ms. Tan was a fellow under the Office of the Chancellor - Office of International Linkages (OIL). This strategic placement ensures that every fellow gets exposure relevant to their leadership function and institutional requirement.
Their five-day immersion included a learning walkthrough visits to UPLB’s Office of International Linkages (OIL), Quality Assurance Office (QA), Gender and Development Office (GAD), Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CALT), and other various offices under the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (OVCSA) and Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA).
During their stay, the SLSU delegates explored best practices on faculty workload, internationalization, quality assurance, student services, and general education programs. Building on their learnings, Ms. Tan proposed Project SOAR (SLSU Staff Opportunities for Advancement and Reinforcement), an initiative aimed at enhancing the professional development of SLSU’s administrative staff through structured opportunities for capacity building, career advancement, and global exposure. Additionally, proposal for the establishment of a Learning Resource Center and the implementation of a Self-Assessment and Gap Analysis for AUN-QA were presented by Dr. Gapasin and Dr. Teves. These initiatives will be subject to evaluation by the SLSU Management Committee.
