Proposed Student Research Policies and Procedures

PROPOSED STUDENT RESEARCH POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Committed to developing competent professionals is MMC CAST’s desire to train our students to be self directed by means of encouraging them to engage in scientific inquiries and in searching for evidence based information. The MMC CAST through the  Institutional Research Coordinating Center (IRCC) aims to facilitate administrators, faculty members and students  in their research efforts.

The IRC have formulated the following  policy guidelines and procedures to better serve our students in their research endeavors. The policy covers all academic and co-curricular research projects, captone studies, development projects , thesis and feasibility studies.

GENERAL POLICY

• All programs shall follow their respective CMO in the conduct and inclusion of Research and development in their courses. The respective programs heads or designated faculty should primarily consult the provisions of their CMOs to determine the minimum requirements in the area of research
• Respective  colleges determines the subject or course where research / studies/ captones / feasibility studies are incorporated in cases where these activities will be undertaken but was not explicitly indicated in the curriculum.
  • Allied Health Sciences  - Research Methodology and Thesis Writing
  • IT – Capstone Project
  • BA  -  Intro to Research and Academic Writing ; Feasibility Study
  • CHTM – Facilities Planning ; Hospitality Entreprenuership
• An Institutional Student Research Format shall be prescribed to all programs the students and faculty advisers in the format of their research paper. (Appendix)
• Each College is advised to furnish IRC with the approved abstract of student research proposal and completed research thesis or paper at the end of each of semester for  archival purposes.
• All student research, thesis, capstone projects, feasibility studies (proposal  works and for implementation) approved by the college dean shall all begin at the start of the semester.

FACULTY ADVISER APPOINTMENT

• A faculty adviser appointed by the Dean of the College shall be given  a maximum number of students per group subject  to be endorsed for approval by the IRC and HRD. 
  • 8 students per group in allied health professions
  • 4 students per group in CHTM, BA and IT
• Upon the approval of the appointment,  it should be reflected in the faculty loading and the faculty adviser shall receive the corresponding adviser’s honorarium (per group basis) upon submission of the final draft of the  research , feasibility and capstone paper.
  • Approved faculty  adviser loading must be submitted to the IRC  reflecting the schedule of advising per week (day, time, number of hours and room)
  • Consultation form in triplicate (HRD, Dean’s ofc, adviser’s copy) shall be submitted and signed by the Dean for monitoring and recording purposed
  • Each Adviser will have a maximum of 4 groups per semester and shall devote 20 hours per group per semester.
• Only faculty members with masters  or post graduate degree may be appointed with thesis advising load. Should any faculty be recommended for such, the Dean will provide justification for the appointment ( expert in the field, extensive experience, and alike).

INVITING EXTERNAL PANELISTS FOR DEFENSE OR PRESENTATION

• For Thesis Defense or Presentation that warrants the need for panelists or external adjudicators, faculty –in charge must submit a letter of request to  invite panelists for defense within the first month of the semester (June for 1st sem and Nov for 2nd sem). A maximum of 3 panelists per group maybe invited. The letter must contain
• The list of panelists with attached CVs and their qualifications
• attach draft of letter of invitation with Dean’s approval
• The schedule / program flow of the defense of the groups vis-a vis the panelist who will seat through the defense
• The proposed budget for honoraria for the panelists (500 /group ) and the amount that will be collected from the students (if not included in the tuition fee).
• Template of certificate for panelist

Procedures For Honoraria Processing Panel Honoraria

1.Adviser submits request letter for approval in inviting Panelists for thesis defense or presentation within the first month of the semester with the required attachments as listed above.

2.IRCC coordinates with the adviser and dean for clarifications and consultations with offices concerned and budget details then  endorses the letter to VPAA for final approval, VPAA office returns approved request to IRCC

3.IRCC releases approved letter, budget (and contract) to the college concerned ( Dean informs the adviser, and advises to process  cash or cheque honorarium)

4.College forwards endorses the request to Accounting Office for cash or cheque processing and preparation of acknowledgement receipt and schedule of release. Thesis adviser receives the cash or check and acknowledgement receipt prior to the schedule of defense

5.Subject Adviser  issues the cash or cheque to the panelists who signs the acknowledgement receipt and submits the completed grading sheet/s

6.Subject adviser submits signed acknowledgement receipt immediately to accounting office for liquidation.

THE RESEARCH FEE

• A Research Fee amounting to Php 1,450.00 per student  will be collected from the students at a schedule determined by the college (prior to defense or presentation). Payment should be completed a week before the date of the defense and  forwarded to the Accounting Office for issuance of OR.
• The Research Fee for every semester will be Php 1,065 per student , per semester, group member maximum of 5 students, to be paid to the accounting office.

PARTICIPATION IN RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES AND FORA

• Should completed thesis, research be accepted for research and local scientific conferences, fora or convocations, the adviser may endorse the student/group for institutional support (financial, technical, registration fee  and transportation subsidy), to be facilitated with IRCC in coordination with the college concerned and the adviser subject to the approval of the VPAA  and the President.

Procedure for Processing Request For Institutional Support

1.Student submits a letter of request endorsed by the thesis adviser and Dean for institutional support to the conference. The letter  should indicates the form of support should be accompanied by following documents:

a.Letter of acceptance by the conference scientific committee including the category wher e the research will be presented (poster, or oral)

b.Brochure or leaflets containing the details of the conference ( dates, venue, program, registration and other fees

2.IRCC endorses the letter to VPAA with proposed budget as consulted with the Accounting Office for clarifications. Upon approval by the VPAA, IRCC receives approved request with budget 

3.IRCC releases and informs student and adviser and receives a copy of the approved budget and request and forward the document for fund processing and release

4.Upon return from the conference, student and adviser surrenders copies of certificates, pictures of the presentation and OR of the fees and expenses to the Dean’s Office and IRCC.