UST is implementing a stricter retention policy

[voltairemad]

The University is starting to implement stricter retention policies in different Faculties and Colleges.

It will improve the University's standards. But how about those who will not make the cut?

www.varsitarian.net/news/20130611/half_of_sophomores_fail_accountancy_retention_exams

Half of sophomores fail Accountancy retention exams

MORE than half of Accountancy sophomores failed their retention exams, following a stricter screening process to improve UST’s showing in the certified public accountant (CPA) board exams.

Out of 764 second-year students, 449 students or 58.77 percent were removed from the program. This was higher than last year’s 44.42 percent, wherein 211 out of 475 failed the retention test.

Accountancy Dean Minerva Cruz said the retention exam was implemented to screen students who were “really fit” for the program.

“Accounting is very in demand but we have to be selective of our students,” Cruz said. “We [want to] either maintain or improve our performance in the board exams.”

One hundred eighty-five sophomores were exempted from the retention test after getting grades of 2.0 or higher in Accounting 1 and 2, while 104 students were automatically transferred to Management Accounting after failing the two courses.

The retention exam, which was implemented in 2011, replaced the grade retention policy of 2.75 in Accounting 1 and 2.5 in Accounting 2.
While UST wants Accountancy to be a “quota course,” Cruz said there was still need for a retention exam.

“An applicant may have a high rating in the University of Santo Tomas Entrance Test but it does not assure us that the student is fit for Accountancy,” she said.

“We will not bend the rules, otherwise, we will not be able to sustain our good performance in the CPA board examinations,” Cruz told the Varsitarian.

The college also plans to raise the passing grade for its Integrated Accounting courses to 80 percent from 75.

Integrated Accounting courses are review subjects for the CPA board exam, offered during the summer for junior and senior students. Under the revised curriculum, the 24-unit courses will be given in the last semester of the fifth year.

The college has also cut freshmen sections to 19 from the usual 22 sections to accommodate free classrooms for the first batch of fifth-year students. Gena Myrtle P. Terre

[voltairemad]

Some faculties and colleges have also barred shifting to other courses/faculties and colleges. As the target of this policy is to improve student selectivity, it will curtail the student's option of staying put in the university if that student feels he/she is actually destined in another course.

www.varsitarian.net/news/20130611/artlets_crs_ban_shifters_transferees

Artlets, CRS ban shifters, transferees

STUDENTS at the College of Rehabilitation Sciences (CRS) are barred from shifting to other courses, as part of efforts to impose stricter academic standards.

Incoming CRS freshmen are no longer allowed to shift to other courses at any period of their stay, said College Secretary Donald Manlapaz.

“We need to have the no-shifting policy since our courses have board examinations. We want the student to be aligned to what they want to choose,” he said.

Parents were asked to sign a document waiving PPS No. 1006 or shifting regulations in the UST Student Handbook, which states that: “The University recognizes the right of the student to choose the program he or she wants to pursue, provided he or she meets all the requirements for admission.”

“Kaya nga nagpa-waiver kami [because the new policy is contrary to the UST Handbook]. Kaya siya hindi implemented sa higher batch,” he said.

Meanwhile, second-year students will be required to meet the minimum general weighted average (GWA) in their respective programs to be readmitted to the next year level.

The GWA is 2.50 for five-year programs: Physical Therapy, Speech and Language Pathology and Occupational Therapy; and 2.75 for the four-year program Sports Science.

CRS Dean Cheryl Ramos-Peralta said the new requirement was meant to motivate students to perform better academically, and earn grades much higher than the passing mark.

“This comprehensive policy is aimed at enhancing efforts toward academic excellence in all programs,” Peralta said, adding that the new promotion system would help students determine if they are really interested in and capable of pursuing their chosen programs.

CRS had benchmarked the policy with the colleges of Architecture, Nursing and Accountancy, which have similar promotion and retention policies.

The new promotion policy was based on two separate three-year retrospective studies, which showed the GWA as an indicator of academic performance and the top predictive factor of success in licensure examinations.

In another study, CRS found that 20 to 30 percent of students had GWAs below the cut-off score, which was considered relatively large given the small population of the college.

Artlets’ no shifting policy

Meanwhile, the Faculty of Arts and Letters has decided not to accept shifters and transferees in the first semester of Academic Year 2013-2014.

“Shifting and transferee may be accommodated only if there are available slots,” Vasco said. “Transferees and shifters may only be accommodated on a case-to-case basis and if their case is meritorious [or they have] impeccable grades,” Artlets Dean Michael Anthony Vasco said.

Artlets Assistant Dean Narcisa Tabirara said the faculty was authorized to implement stricter policies.

“Sometimes there are certain conditions in the faculty where the general policy may not be [applicable]. I don’t think any college is obliged to accept shifters and transferees,” Tabirara said.

“We have certain standards that we are trying to maintain. Colleges are authorized to implement stricter policies if necessary, which is stipulated in the [UST] Handbook,” she added. Jerome P. Villanueva

[voltairemad]

varsitarian.net/news/20130706/new_deans_vow_to_uphold_standards

New deans vow to uphold standards

By Gena Myrtle P. Terre

THE UNIVERSITY’S new deans—Jesus Valencia of the Faculty of Medicine, Marilu Madrunio of the Graduate School and Ma. Elena Manansala of the Faculty of Pharmacy—have pledged to raise academic standards.

The new college heads will be evaluated for a year before they can be appointed for a full three-year term, according to the Office of Academic Affairs.

Valencia, previously the Medical Education department chair, said he will continue the programs and policies of past administrations to uphold excellence in Medicine education.

“The objective is to maintain the status of the faculty as one of the best, if not the best, medical school in the country [by continuing] the good work initiated by my predecessors,” said Valencia, who succeeded Dr. Ma. Graciela Gonzaga.

He added he plans to require higher cut-off grades for those who aspire to become honor graduates.

“We see a lot of students graduating with honors [and] this number is almost as big as the number of graduating [students] in other medical schools,” said Valencia. “[We would like to] raise [the cut-off grade] one or two notches higher so we can make the number of graduating students with honors a little bit more realistic.”

Also the former director of the UST Medical Alumni Association, Valencia finished all his medical courses in UST and ranked eighth in the medicine licensure exams in 1976.

Valencia also considers changing the requirements in the faculty’s revalida. Whether the revalida should determine if a student should graduate with honors or not has always been a bone of contention, he said.

“We are going to revisit that and see whether we will retain the old policy or [give students] separate recognition.”

The revalida is a series of written and oral tests which UST Medicine students should pass in order to graduate, a tradition practiced by UST since 1871. Students aiming for Latin honors are required to get at least a “benemeritus” or a “very good” mark in the revalida.

Otherwise, they will not graduate with honors regardless of their general weighted average.

Madrunio, who replaced Lilian Sison as the head of Graduate School, was the UST Department of English chair for six years until 2012. She graduated summa cum laude in her master’s degree in English in 1997.

In succeeding Priscilla Torres, who served an eight-year term in Pharmacy, Manansala said she is relying on her experience as assistant dean for 11 years.

“It is very challenging,” she said. “To always be on top, to be the leader, is always a challenging job. But I hope my experience—because I have been the assistant dean since 2002—and the different activities and responsibilities that I did during the time of Dean Torres will help me out.”

Manansala said she has prepared a 12-point agenda which includes granting scholarships for faculty members to pursue postgraduate studies, establishing global linkages, and applying for higher accreditation of Pharmacy’s three programs.

Manansala finished her undergraduate and master’s degree in the University. Manansala is currently taking up her doctorate degree at the Graduate School. She placed seventh in the Pharmacy licensure exams in 1971.

Meanwhile, Mary Hildence Baluyot has been named acting dean of the College of Commerce and Business Administration.