By Kim Quilinguing 

Posted in UP Newsletter, Volume xxxi,   Number 12,    2010-12-01

On September 24, 2010, the Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines declared the University of the Philippines Cebu College as an autonomous unit under the Office of the President of the University. The move is viewed by UP Cebu College Dean Enrique Avila as a step towards becoming a constituent university within the UP System.

In the elevation of Cebu College from then being a component campus of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas to a separate college, the Central Visayan educational institution of the UP is expect-ed to become a stronger center for education, culture, and research in its immediate location.

Asked about the implications of this autonomy, UP Cebu College Associate Dean Winsor Calamba said that “independence from UP Visayas (will allow UP Cebu to) pursue its desired direction.” He said that the autonomy will allow the campus to adapt to the province’s and the cities’ development in science and technology. The Cebu College, being situated in the middle of several cities and in the economic hub of the Visayas has needs different from that of its constituent university. Fisheries, which is the flagship course of the UP in the Visayas, is not a course which is best suited to the needs of the students in the Central Visayan area.

Calamba said that the autonomy will allow a faster and simplified appointment process for faculty and staff in the college. Previously, the hiring of new teachers and personnel was tedious and consumed a lengthy amount of time since the applications had to be sent to Iloilo. Oftentimes, a recruited faculty member would have finished serving his term only to find out that he was not hired as a teacher, payment for services already rendered would not be released. Calamba also said that the autonomy will allow UP Cebu to address its needs and solve its problems more quickly. This is important particularly in the procurement of equipment and repair and maintenance of facilities.

Efficiency and expediency are only two of the changes which are expected by the administration, faculty, and staff of UP Cebu. In the long run, Calamba said that they expect a better stature for the college among the educational institutions of the area. The elevation of status he said “enhances UP Cebu’s presence amidst the existence of several colleges and universities in Cebu.”

Calamba said that the with the rigorous admission standards of the UP System; class ratios of one faculty per twenty to thirty-five students; and the comfortable loads of its faculty, UP Cebu is primed to produce more well-trained and well-educated graduates. The faculty to student ratio in Cebu’s prestigious universities is around one faculty member per forty to fifty students. The faculty members in the other universities are also saddled with 24-unit teaching loads.

With the college’s autonomy, Calamba said that UP Cebu is expected to attract more students in and around Cebu with new programs which will be implemented in response to the needs of the business, academic, and creative sectors in Central Visayas and the surrounding areas. Just a year earlier, the college added an MBA pro-gram and a Master’s degree in Computer Science. The autonomy will also give UP Cebu enough capability to strengthen and enhance programs which have made the college a veritable academic force in the region.