Institutional Best Practices at City College of Calamba: A Qualitative Single-Case Study for Framework Development
Abstract
Higher education institutions (HEIs) increasingly demonstrate institutional excellence through effective governance, quality assurance, innovation, and stakeholder-centered service. However, limited research has examined how governance, administrative, and academic practices operate as an integrated institutional system within Philippine Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs) from a Public Administration perspective. This study aimed to identify, document, and analyze the institutional best practices of the City College of Calamba (CCC), examine how these practices reflect selected Public Administration perspectives, and develop a theory-informed Best Practices Framework. Using a qualitative single-case study design, the study analyzed 916 institutional documents covering 2023–2025 and used non-participant observation as contextual corroboration of documented practices and processes. Data were analyzed through document analysis, thematic analysis, and theory-based pattern matching. Practices were assessed using documented indicators of effectiveness, innovativeness, sustainability, and replicability. The findings show three interconnected domains: governance, administrative systems, and academic excellence. These practices were documented alongside institutional patterns involving accountability, quality management, stakeholder-centered service, innovation, organizational learning, and continuous improvement. The practices also reflected complementary principles of Good Governance Theory, New Public Management, Total Quality Management, Institutional Theory, and Learning Organization Theory. The study contributes a contextual, practice-based framework that connects institutional evidence, governance, administrative systems, academic practices, documented outcomes, enabling conditions, and continuous improvement. Because the evidence is drawn from a single institutional case, the framework is presented as a conceptual model for interpretation and adaptation rather than as a causally validated model.