The status of criminology graduates of Isabela State University in the criminologists licensure examination for the april 2010-october 2014 examinations

The level of knowledge acquired by a person from a higher learning institution cannot be measured only by the course he finished or even the honors he received, but also by his performance on a given examination. Education is the bedrock of the development of any nation. This is the basis that the government invests profoundly in the edification of its citizens. It is helpful to strap up the capabilities and aptitude of an individual to be prolific and valuable constituent of the human race; consequently, the overall progress of an individual is a lifetime process. Constant learning equips student with a larger tapestry of knowledge, a broader understanding of facts, a larger repository of wisdom and a better insight on life that will make better individual responsible and upright human beings. The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) is the agency of the national government charged with the regulation and licensing profession in the Philippines. It is committed to protect, to fullest, the integrity of the licensure examination and change the public perception from that of doubt and despair to trust and confidence in the licensure examination system (PRC, 2006). Passing the licensure examination given by the PRC is one of the greatest achievements in one's life. This examination is intended to prove the graduates’ knowledge, progress, skills and qualification in a particular profession. It needs a lot of time to study, to have self-discipline, patience and determination and this will not be possible without prayers, support and encouragement (Caringal, 2001). This study attempted to determine the status in the Criminologist Licensure Examinations among criminology graduates’ of Isabela State University from the April 2010 examination to the October 2014 board examination. The respondents of this study are the ISUS Bachelor of Science in Criminology graduates who have undergone Criminology Board Examination, Instructors and School Administrators represented by the program/department chairperson of criminology in every campus. The data gathered in this study came from the individual ratings of the respondents in the board examinations taken from the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) April 2010 to October 2014. Since this study determined the implication of Bachelor of Science in Criminology graduates’ performance in the Criminologist Licensure Examination for the curriculum enhancement of the program, description of the current status of the ISUS, Bachelor of Science in Criminology Program's performance in the CLE is reflected in the study, hence, a descriptive research in nature. To attain its goal, the descriptive normative research design was utilized in the study. A sample size of two hundred ninety two (292) CLE takers were taken as the primary respondents of this study which were calculated from a population of one thousand eight hundred nine (1,809) using the Slovin's Formula with five (5) percent marginal error from April 2010 to October 2014 testing periods. The samples in each school year were computed using the stratified proportional random sampling. Total enumeration was utilized as the scheme to select the faculty and chairpersons as the secondary respondents of the study. The data obtained from the official records of the PRC which includes the result of Criminologist Licensure Examination (CLE) of each taker per subject area and the school performance of ISUS graduates from April 2010 to October 2014 were also recorded using a devised matrix. The status of the examinees in the CLE was described using the standard norm of PRC. Findings of the study revealed that the status of examinees in the Criminologist Licensure Examination of the five (5) campuses of Isabela State University System from April 2010 up to October 2014 shown that the percentage of passers in Echague campus is 19.00, the percentage of failed is 4.86, the overall percentage of Echague campus is 82.15 while the national passing percentage is 37.88. Angadanan campus shown that the percentage of passers is 4.33, while the percentage of failed is 5.00, the overall percentage of Angadanan campus is 30.61 while the national passing percentage is 35.38. Jones campus shown that the percentage of passers is 9.84, the percentage of failed is 1.00, the overall passing percentage of Jones is 76.34 while the national passing percentage is 38.41. Furthermore, Cauayan campus shown that the percentage of passers is 23.44 while the percentage of failed is 16.56, the overall passing percentage is 43.54 while the national passing percentage is 35.38. Lastly, Cabagan campus shown that the percentage of passers is 23.12 while the percentage of failed is 13.00, the overall passing percentage is 60.48 while the national passing percentage is 35.84. In view of the results of this study, it is strongly recommended that all criminology chairpersons and faculty members must do a careful and thorough examination of the subjects included in the professional components of the BS Criminology curriculum vis-a-vis competencies for each subject area should be regularly checked and updated to ensure that ISUS curriculum for BS Criminology is keeping pace with developments in the Criminology Education curriculum and the review coordinator, facilitators, instructors and administrators shall encourage all graduates of the institution who will take licensure exam to enroll in the review center before they take the examination.