Hitches encounteredby criminology graduates of Isabela State Universityin the criminologists licensure examination: A basis for proposed program enhancement

Licensure Examinations according to Norman R. Hertz and Roberta N. Chinn (2000) describes as one of the last hurdles that a candidate must face in the licensing process. A board has the ultimate responsibility to ensure that the examination meets technical, professional, and legal standards, and, protects the health, safety and welfare of the public by assessing candidates’ abilities to practice competently. Once a candidate has passed a licensing examination, the board must be comfortable granting the license, thus assuring the public that the licensee is minimally qualified to practice at the time of initial licensure. A licensing examination requires significant amounts of time and money to develop - usually a year or more. As a general rule, each item appearing on an examination takes between two to four hours to plan, write, and review before the item is suitable for publication in an examination. Additional time is required to administer and maintain an examination. 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 hitches or problems encountered 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 problems encountered 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.Findings of the study revealed that the problems encountered by the respondents in terms of “Review Sessions” specifically on “Instructional Equipment and Facilities” are less serious.Problems encountered by the respondents in terms of “Personal Preparations” specifically on “financial aspects” and “mental aspects” are moderately serious.Problems encountered by the respondents in terms of “Personal Preparations” specifically on “physical aspect” are less serious. There is a significant difference on the assessment of the criminology graduates of ISUS as manifested by a lesser computed p-values than the 0.05 level of probability along all the factors on review program, lectures, teaching equipment and facilities, financial aspects and mental aspects (P=0.0247, P=0.0177, P=0.0057, p=0.0005 & P=0.0026). No significant difference was observed for problems encountered by the respondents specifically on physical aspect. The problems encountered by the respondents most especially on criminology review program are less serious same through with review sessions specifically on the lecturers, teaching equipment and facilities and personal preparations particularly on physical aspect. Problems encountered by the respondents on personal preparations specifically on financial aspects are moderately serious same through with mental aspect. In view of the results of this study, it is strongly recommended that Enhance the instructional facilities and equipment of the school to address the problems encountered by the examinees most especially the classroom ventilations, audio visual room for the review classes, conducive room that can accommodate big number of reviewees and the university shall establish a review center exclusively catering their graduates so that they will be able to monitor the individual performance of the reviewees.