BORDERLESS

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BY RHODA GARZON CAMPILLAN
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USA: ISO-certified

THE UNIVERSITY of San Agustin community is very much grateful for the blessings received this year.
One of the “prized” graces the community is very thankful for is being recognized as an ISO 9001:2008 certified University. When Father President first announced that the University will undergo accreditation through ISO or International Organization for Standardization, I was clueless. I have heard ISO several times from my mother, whose workplace was also ISO-certified. However, I do not have any idea what ISO really is and what does it means to be ISO-certified.
According to website of ISO, ISO International Standards ensure that products and services are safe, reliable and of good quality. Furthermore, conformity to International Standards helps re-assure consumers that product, systems and organizations are safe, reliable and good for the environment. Hence, USA being ISO-certified means a lot. It pushes the organization to level up and improve its system.
ISO 9001, according to the ISO website, has been shown to improve sales, customer satisfaction, corporate image and market share. Moreover, this kind of accreditation expects the organization to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide product that meets customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
To be accredited of ISO 9001:2008, employees should know by heart the mission of the organization. They should be aware of their purpose and able to define clearly their roles. Work processes flow should be tried and tested first to determine which parts of the processes need improvement.
To get this accreditation is not easy for the men and women of the University. Personnel of every Department improved their work processes, organized their data, made sure documents and storage cabinets have labels, crafted the quality policy for every office and college, among others. It was a community effort.
On the day of the accreditation, everyone felt anxious and nervous. Some are over thinking of the type of questions the accreditors may ask. Every personnel have set their eyes on one goal – to be ISO certified.
Change is inevitable. For an organization to thrive, it has to adopt to changes and continue to innovate and be competitive. Accreditation is a form of change. Everyone in the organization is required to revisit how far their respective departments have achieved and what more they can contribute to provide efficient and effective service. Oftentimes, people frown if change comes their way. However, the best way to counter change is to accept it. Socrates once said, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” In the case of USA, everyone embraced change and so this is now the fruit of every Augustinian’s labor – the ISO certification.
Yesterday, the Augustinian community celebrated the recent feat through a motorcade around the city and Mass. After the Mass, everyone gathered for the awarding of the ISO certificate.
This is only the beginning for every Augustinian. We should continue to get better and better. Our passion should not waver and our direction to our goal should be set. To the men and women of the University of San Agustin, Viva! Viva!/PN
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