First International iOBE Workshop: Technological University of the Philippines

On Friday, 9 October 2026, I had the honour of conducting an online seminar-workshop, Introduction and Application of the iOBE Software for the Assessment of Learning Outcomes, for the Technological University of the Philippines (TUP), Manila. This was the first official iOBE workshop delivered to a university outside Malaysia, and a meaningful milestone for The Integrated OBE Software (iOBE).

The workshop was organised by the College of Industrial Education (CIE) and brought together close to 60 faculty members from colleges across TUP Manila.

The heart of the session was an extended, live demonstration of iOBE in action. Working through a sample course from start to finish, I showed how a course’s assessment data and outcome mappings are prepared and run through the software. I then took participants carefully through each output: the graphs of individual student marks, the box plots of marks for each assessment and outcome, and the population charts showing how students are distributed across mark bands. Together, these outputs reveal how student assessment results translate into measurable attainment of course and program outcomes, at a level of detail that grades alone cannot provide.

The demonstration then moved to what proved to be a real game changer: using AI to analyse iOBE results. Typical outcomes reports summarise each outcome with only three to five data points, such as the average mark and the percentages of students passing or failing. iOBE, by contrast, produces 14 data points for every course or program outcome. Its box plots give the full statistical profile of marks, including outliers, and its population charts show the share of students in each of six mark bands alongside the outcome’s weightage. This richness is what makes AI analysis so powerful. Working from iOBE’s outputs, AI examined each outcome in depth, uncovered patterns that the eye alone would miss, and recommended targeted improvements for both students and the course. It then brought these findings together into a complete course-level report, showing participants how outcomes data can move quickly from analysis to evidence-based continuous quality improvement.

The discussion reflected the strong commitment of TUP faculty to outcomes-based education. It also showed a shared interest in moving from documenting outcomes to measuring and using them, and that is exactly where iOBE aims to help.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr. Apollo P. Portez, Dean of the College of Industrial Education, for the kind invitation and support. I also thank Dr. Neil Andrew F. Calayag, Head of the Professional Industrial Education Department and Project Leader of the activity, who coordinated the workshop programme and liased with me throughout the preparations. My thanks also go to the TUP faculty members who joined and participated in the workshop.

I look forward to continuing this collaboration with TUP and supporting more institutions in strengthening their outcomes assessment.