CHED policy
CMO 46, CMO 37 and the OBE Handbook, in plain language
Three CHED documents shape outcome-based education in Philippine higher education. Here is what each one asks, and what it means for your programs.
2 min read
Outcome-based education, made practical
Prove what your graduates can do.
Outcome-based education starts with what graduates should be able to do, then aligns teaching and assessment to show whether they can. OBE Studio maps your outcomes, measures attainment and records every improvement, in one place.
- Free to start
- Aligned with the CHED outcome chain
- Works in your browser
Why it matters
One question every level of your institution can answer.
OBE replaces “What did we cover?” with “What can our graduates do, and how do we know?”
Institutional leadership
Lead with evidence.
A clear line from mission to assessed work, so priorities and resources follow evidence rather than assumption.
Quality assurance teams
Review in one record.
Outcomes, mappings, results and improvement actions kept together, not compiled again for every review.
Deans and faculty
Know which outcome needs you.
Explicit expectations for each course, and assessment evidence that points to the gap.
Learners
No surprises.
Knowing in advance what they are expected to do, and how their work will be judged.
CHED policy, simplified
Three documents. One clear direction.
Two 2012 memorandum orders and a 2014 handbook shape OBE in Philippine higher education. Here they are in a sentence each.
The framework
From mission to marked work: one line of sight.
Institutional intent cascades into program outcomes, then course outcomes, then the tasks that reveal learning. Every assessment has a clear place in that chain.
Institution
- Vision
- Mission
Program
- PEO 1, PEO 2, PEO 3
- PO 1, PO 2 … PO nalso called PLOs
Course
- Course A: CLO 1, CLO 2 … CLO n
- Course A: Assessment 1, Assessment 2 … Assessment nEvery assessment is tagged with COs and cognitive levels
Vision → PEOs → PLOs → CLOs → Assessment: every assessment maps to outcomes.
Adapted from the OBE workshop deck. Reference: CHED OBE framework. Labels vary slightly between program PSGs.
How OBE works
Five steps. Every term. Nothing left to guesswork.
Evidence matters only when it leads to a documented response.
- 01
Define outcomes
State what graduates and course completers should be able to do, in observable terms.
- 02
Align learning
Map courses to program outcomes and design teaching activities that build each capability.
- 03
Assess achievement
Use tasks and criteria that produce evidence for specific outcomes.
- 04
Review evidence
Compare attainment with targets to locate gaps by outcome, course and cohort.
- 05
Improve
Act on the gap, record who owns the change and reassess to see whether it helped.
OBE Studio in action
Less compiling. More teaching decisions.
Real screens and short videos from OBE Studio, showing the work faculty and QA teams do every term.
Start with what learners will be able to do.
Faculty record four to six measurable course outcomes, each tagged with its Bloom’s level, or paste them straight from an existing syllabus.
Inside OBE Studio
Every step of the chain, on screen.
From program outcomes to the finished course file: real screens from the platform, in the order you use them.
- 01 · ProgramProgram outcomesEach PO linked to a graduate attribute.
- 02 · AlignCO–PO mappingRate how strongly each course builds each PO.
03 · EnrolCourse rosterUpload students from Excel, any mix of sections.
04 · MeasureAttainment scalesBands that turn percentages into levels.
05 · ReportCourse file reportCO attainment against target, ready for review.
06 · OverseeInstitution viewOBE progress for every subject at a glance.
Questions
What academic leaders ask first
Outcome-based education (OBE) designs a program backwards from what graduates should be able to do, then aligns teaching and assessment so the institution can show, with evidence, whether learners achieved it.
Read about OBECMO 46, s. 2012 is the policy: quality is what graduates can actually do. CMO 37, s. 2012 applies OBE to engineering programs in six repeating steps. The 2014 CHED Handbook is the playbook: it shows faculty how to cascade outcomes and keep every course aligned.
See the infographicsProgram educational objectives (PEOs) describe what graduates achieve a few years after graduation. Program outcomes (POs) describe capabilities at graduation. Course outcomes (COs) describe what a learner can do by the end of one course.
Explore the frameworkNo. Accreditation decisions are made by accrediting bodies against their own criteria. A platform can help organise evidence; academic judgement, sound mappings and genuine improvement remain the institution’s work.
From the blog
Short reads. Practical answers.
Plain-language articles on CHED’s OBE policies, writing outcomes and measuring attainment.
- Outcomes
Five checks before you finalise a learning outcome
A learning outcome should be clear enough that two assessors could agree whether it has been shown. Use these five checks to get there.
1 min read
- Assessment
From marks to attainment: threshold, target and level
How assessed marks become a course outcome attainment level, and how course outcomes roll up to program outcomes, explained step by step.
2 min read
Free access to OBE Studio
Start measuring outcomes today, free.
Plan, measure and report learning outcomes in one guided workspace, without the spreadsheets, following the same chain CHED describes, from program outcomes to course outcomes to every assessment.
- Step 1Sign up freeCreate your OBE Studio account in minutes.
- Step 2Add a courseEnter or paste its course outcomes and link your program.
- Step 3See attainmentMap, assess, enter marks: CO and PO attainment follow.
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