Eliza M. Suarez | Herminia A. Ugay
This study assessed the extent of implementation and effectiveness of the guidance program of a higher educational institution (HEI). Utilizing a descriptive survey method, the study involved 366 students as respondents, enrolled in the various courses in the college and all its guidance staff as the service providers. Findings show that relative to the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA) standards as rated by the students, the services were implemented to a great extent. The staff rated the orientation, testing, and counseling services as fully implemented while individual inventory, information, placement and follow-up, research and evaluation as implemented to a great extent. In terms of the Institutional Quality Assurance Monitoring and Evaluation (IQuAME) standards, both the students and staff respondents rated the implementation of the services as implemented to a moderate extent. Regarding the effectiveness of the program, the students rated the guidance services based on the PACUCOA standards as moderately extensive and functioning very well. The staff, on the other hand, rated the testing service as extensive and functioning excellently and the other services as adequate and functioning well. Based on the IQuAME standards, both respondents rated the effectiveness of the program as adequate and functioning well affirming that good practices are maintained in the department in many aspects. The test of difference and analysis of variance reveals that there is no significant difference of the perception of the respondents on the level of effectiveness. In terms of PACUCOA and IQuAME standards, the same test shows no difference in the respondents' perception of the effectiveness of the guidance services. The findings also reveal that the extent of implementation of the services has a strong correlation with the program's level of effectiveness. Thus, the effectiveness of the guidance program is strongly associated with the quality of its implementation.