UP Diliman OKs shift in calendar

MANILA, Philippines - Students of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City will begin classes in August this year after the University Council (UC) voted yesterday in favor of the new academic calendar.

UP Diliman chancellor Michael Tan said 284 out of 456 regular faculty members attending the UC meeting voted in favor of the calendar shift.

A total of 164 faculty members voted against the proposal, while 8 abstained.

More than 1,000 faculty members with the rank of assistant professor and above comprise the UC, but the faculty manual states that only 75 members in attendance are required to obtain a quorum.

UP vice president for public affairs Prospero de Vera said the results will be forwarded to the 11-member Board of Regents (BOR), which is expected to formalize the calendar change in its meeting on Friday.

The BOR earlier approved the pilot implementation of the shift in UP campuses in Baguio, Manila, Los Baños, the Visayas, Cebu, and Mindanao, as well as in the UP Open University.

The BOR decision did not cover UP Diliman as it had yet to finish its consultations when the regents voted on the proposal in January.

UP president Alfredo Pascual said an evaluation of the impact of the academic calendar shift will be presented to the BOR after one year.

“The decision to shift the academic calendar is part of the continuing efforts of UP to develop into a regional and global university and to maximize the opportunities offered by ASEAN integration and global educational partnerships,” he said.

Faculty, student position

The UC decision was made a month after the Diliman campus held a faculty referendum on the issue.

Based on the results, 647 of the 954 regular faculty members who participated in the voting are in favor of the proposed calendar shift, while 274 faculty members voted against the shift.

A total of 499 regular faculty members wanted the implementation of the calendar change this year, while 154 wanted it to be implemented next year.

Of the 293 instructors participating in the referendum, 281 voted for the proposed calendar, while 86 voted against it.

A total of 215 instructors wanted the shift to be implemented this year, while 67 voted for the implementation in 2015.

On the other hand, the University Student Council issued a position paper calling on the administration to postpone the implementation of the academic calendar shift.

The paper was released following the consultation conducted on students and organizations in the campus, where 1,834 out of 2,728 students approved the shift.

Of those approving the shift, 1,186 wanted it implemented in the next school year, while the remaining 648 wanted the implementation to be deferred.

Despite the results leaning on those wanting immediate implementation, the student council “would like to assert that the shifting of the academic calendar must be deferred.”

“A lot of important issues were raised in the comment section of the survey forms and during the org consultations,” read the 15-page student council position paper.

“These concerns need proper attention from the administration before implementing a significant change in the academic calendar.”

Among the issues raised was the effect of the calendar shift on internship programs, particularly those needing to take practicum in basic education institutions, which will retain the current calendar.

Also raised were the possible schedule conflicts in board and bar exams, as well as the issue of conducting classes during the summer months.

The student council said the student body thinks that they were not properly informed on the matter.

“We challenge the administration to defer the decision on the shift and push for a more consultative and informative decision-making procedure,” read the position paper.

“While we agree to the merits of the academic calendar shift, we should not forget the real problems of the university. A shift in the calendar alone does not guarantee a quality education for all students. It entails a continuous call for higher budget on the education sector to ensure quality and access.”

Protest vs shift

During the UC meeting yesterday, some groups against the shift urged the faculty members not to vote in favor of the proposal.

Students handed sunflower-themed cards to the professors to symbolize the possible end of the UP tradition of having sunflowers at the university during graduations in April.

Under the new academic calendar, graduations will be moved to June, a rainy month.

Those opposing the shift also noted that the UC already voted in December not to endorse the proposal of its administrators and recommended “a more in-depth study to understand the possible advantages gained as well as challenges encountered when effecting such a shift.”

“Indeed, the referendum raises serious process questions: why was a faculty referendum conducted when the UC had already spoken on the issue? UC decisions in the past have never been questioned on such grounds and a quorum has always been considered sufficient,” read a statement released during the referendum.

A forum on the calendar shift was held in February to discuss the possible effects of the change.