COPE, control and construct – the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Assistant to the Rector for Planning and Quality Management Prof. Clarita Carillo offered a descriptive continuum of the category of responses demonstrated by higher education institutions to face the challenges, changes and chances brought about by a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment, which may not be limited to the current pandemic, during the Discurso de Apertura (inaugural lecture) on August 4, 2022, at the UST Chapel (Santísimo Rosario Parish Church).

Titled 'Quality Assurance and the 3Cs of Resiliency as Philippine Academic Institutions Move Forward,' Carillo anchored her discussions on the direct and vicarious experiences of Philippine higher education institutions, highlighting the UST's own experience, in transitioning from in-person classes to the Enriched Virtual Mode of instruction.