Maximized student and staff mobility, a longer semestral break and less typhoon-disrupted school days.
These were the advantages reiterated by the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Dr. Lorna Almocera in an interview yesterday regarding the proposal to shift the school calendar from a June to March to August to May.
“If we want to be global, we need to adjust and align with our neighbors,” said Almocera.
If this proposal is approved by the UP Board of Regents, the whole UP system will start first semester on the third week of August and will end on the first week of December.
While the second semester will start on the third week of January and will end on the second week of May. Proponents are hopeful this will be implemented in the next school year (2014-2015).
The proposal states that there will be less problems with semestral overlaps and students can easily get credit transfer on a per semester basis if coming from an international school, since most of the schools worldwide, including our neighbors in Southeast Asia.
The faculty, on the other hand, will be able to participate various trainings and summer courses offered by international institutions since these are commonly offered in June and July.
“This will create opportunities for greater student and faculty mobility that will further enhance the internationalization of UP programs,” said Almocera.
Typhoon-free
She added that the burden of make-up classes will be avoided if the proposal is implemented.
Another benefit is there’ll be a longer semestral break since it will allow for continuous classes to be conducted and a longer semestral break that will also cover the Christmas holidays.
Unlike the present, wherein second semester starts in November and will be broken by a two-week Christmas vacation.
Also, students will be saved from floods and suspension of classes brought about by heavy rains and typhoon on school days that usually happen on the June and July, the first two months of the first semester.
Studies have indicated that July is the most typhoon-visited month of the year.
“In our meeting in Diliman, many schools are just waiting for us (UP) to move then they’ll move. Actually some private schools in Manila have already adapted (the new academic calendar),” said Almocera.
Ella Jules Lastimosa, a third year mass communication who will be affected by the change of academic calendar said she likes the proposal.
“I’ll have more time with my family,” said Lastimosa regarding the long semestral break.
“It is just an assumption that other schools will not change their calendar, but once the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) sees that we are changing our calendar, Ched will follow. We’ll make some adjustments but we have to move because we are the primary state university of the Philippines, we should be spearheading and leading,” she added.
“I see the proposal as something positive. Having UP try this academic set-up first can help the country test and solve the constraints that the Philippines might encounter in implementing this system throughout Philippine schools,” said Maria Victoria Reyes, a UP Cebu third year management student who might experience the change as she is part of the graduating class of 2014-2015.
Among the countries and with universities as part of the Asean Universities Network (AUN), only the Philippines is the only country that starts the academic calendar in June.
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