Saint Louis University (SLU) welcomed accreditors from the Philippine Technological Council (PTC)- Accreditation and Certification Board for Engineering and Technology (ACBET), on 08 September 2026, marking the start of a two-day accreditation review for the School of Engineering and Architecture (SEA). The visit buttressed SLU SEA’s Tier 1 classification under PTC’s institutional ranking system, achieved in April 2026.
The PTC-ACBET delegation was led by PTC President Engr. Federico A. Monsada and Team Chair Maria Natalia R. Dimaano, PhD, with Review Evaluators Virgilio Y. Abellana, PhD, Edison E. Mojica, PhD, and Engr. Maida A. Dela Cueva, along with observers from ACBET and the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC), and PTC accreditation officers.
After a courtesy call on SLU President Rev. Fr. Gilbert B. Sales, CICM, PhD, a welcome and opening meeting with the University’s senior leadership team took place at the Fr. Theophile Verbist Hall, Medical Arts Parking Building, SLU Sacred Heart Medical Center (SLU-SHMC), followed by the awarding of Tier and Certificates by PTC ACBET.
SLU received the certificate of its classification as a Tier 1 Institution in accordance with the PTC Tier Classification System (TCS) that is valid for a period of six (6) years.
Certificates were also issued to six SEA programs, namely: Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. These certify that the programs were assessed and evaluated in accordance with the PTC-Certification and Accreditation System for Engineering Education (PTC-CASEE) by the EAC and Certification Board for Engineering and Technology.
In underscoring the commitment to excellence in engineering education, PTC President Engr. Monsada noted that PTC and SLU share a common vision for engineering education, one centered on developing globally competitive, community-oriented professionals grounded in values, faith, and committed to nation-building. He said that the PTC continues to pursue excellence “because we believe that as we continue to face shifting changes in the practice of engineering, we can rise to meet the requirements of the Washington Accord and International Engineering Alliance (IEA).”
He added that graduates from PTC-accredited programs qualify to apply to regional engineering mobility registers. He then discussed the significance of the tier classification.
According to PTC’s Tier Classification System, “accredited engineering programs of a Tier I HEI will be eligible for recognition under the Washington Accord, while engineering programs of Tier II HEI may be accredited under PTC CASEE for continuous quality improvement purposes only while the HEI prepares to meet Tier I criteria.”
In his reflection to the six programs recognized, Fr. Sales said, “Now, these certificates. I want to say plainly what I understand them to be, and what I understand them not to be. They are not a trophy. A trophy is given for something finished, and it is placed on a shelf where it stops asking anything more of you. These certificates are instead closer to a promise — one made not to this administration, and not even to the PTC, but to a young person from Benguet, the Cordilleras, or a province far from here, who has enrolled in one of our engineering programs, often on the strength of a family’s considerable sacrifice. The promise is that what we teach them here will hold up anywhere.”
“Thanks to PTC’s international standing, the credentials our graduates hold are recognized well beyond this country. That is not a small thing to place in a student’s hands. It is also not a small thing to be held responsible for,” Fr. Sales remarked and then expressed his gratitude to all the program chairs, faculty, laboratory staff, and program secretaries.
The University President added that the certification visit was in line with SLU’s theme this academic year, Missio et Excellentia — Transforming Mirrors into Windows through Purpose-Driven Education. He said, “Every accreditation begins as a mirror. We spend months preparing a self-survey report, looking hard at our own reflection, and an honest mirror shows the blemishes along with everything else. That work is necessary. But an institution that stops at the mirror has learned only to admire itself, and our mission asks considerably more of us than that. It asks us to turn the glass — so that what we have learned about ourselves becomes something others can see through… (for us) to reach out to the world.”
The accreditation review was held at various venues in the SLU Main Campus including: Alejandro Roces Boardroom, Fr. Jose Burgos Administrative Center; SIRIB Center, and the University Libraries, Msgr. Charles Vath Building. Meetings were likewise held with university officials, faculty members, students, and external stakeholders, as well as a tour of university facilities.
On 9 September 2026, the PTC evaluation team formally concluded its interim visit with an exit meeting held at Fr. Theophile Verbist Hall, where it presented its findings to the SLU administration, the SEA dean, program chairs, faculty members, and staff. Dr. Dimaano, head of the evaluation team, opened the session by highlighting the institutional strengths observed over the course of the visit. Each interim evaluator then reported the results for their assigned program. In response, through his closing remarks, SEA Dean Engr. Binwag thanked the PTC evaluation team for conducting the visit.
PTC-ACBET is the leading national body for accrediting higher education engineering programs in the Philippines recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in accordance with the policies, processes and procedures, and authorities as spelled out in its CASEE.
This review reflects SLU’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 4 (Quality Education), 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), reaffirming its role in shaping engineering professionals equipped to drive innovation and development locally and globally, rooted in Missio et Excellentia.
