Perceived competence and faculty needs in the key result areas for academic promotions in a Philippine state university

Abstract

Faculty promotion in Philippine state universities depends on performance in instruction, research, extension, and professional development, yet institutions often lack evidence on whether faculty are equally prepared across these domains. This study examined perceived competence and developmental needs among regular faculty members at a large, multi-campus Philippine state university. Using a descriptive-analytical cross-sectional design, all 824 regular faculty members were invited to an online survey; 346 responded, and 300 valid responses were analyzed. Descriptive statistics, association tests with false discovery rate adjustment, and thematic analysis of open-ended responses were used. Not applicable responses were excluded from domain score denominators to avoid penalizing faculty for non-applicable promotion indicators. Findings showed uneven competence across the four domains. Instruction remained the strongest area, while research was the most constrained domain, with low levels of indexed publications, scientific presentations, and intellectual property outputs. Qualitative themes highlighted unequal access to opportunities, research support needs, workload pressures, funding constraints, and field-alignment concerns. Promotion-oriented faculty development should therefore prioritize structured research mentoring, protected time, support for converting outputs, and equitable access mechanisms across campuses.