Review of university calendar to conform with ‘world’

The government of the Philippines has said it is reviewing the academic calendar with a view to possibly bringing it in line with universities abroad, particularly those in Association of Southeast Asian Nations – ASEAN – countries.

The Commission on Higher Education, or CHED, announced this month that it is studying the proposed moving of the beginning of the academic year from June at present to August or September, in common with other ASEAN countries.

This comes as the 10-country bloc comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam moves towards an ASEAN Economic Community in 2015 that will allow the free movement of goods and services – including education services – across the region.

Apart from Thailand, the Philippines is the only ASEAN country where the academic year begins in June.

A change will also enable it to synchronise semesters with China, Korea, Europe and North America.

CHED has set up a technical working group to examine the implications of any change, for example on the schedule of entrance examinations for universities and colleges. The CHED group will convene from January and is likely to report in March.

CHED Chair Patricia Licuanan acknowledged that a change in the academic year would make it easier for foreign students to enrol and for Filipino students to study overseas, and would improve student mobility as the ASEAN community is formed.

However she appeared cautious this month, saying that it was fine for a few autonomous institutions to shift their academic year, “but as we see that more and more are jumping on the bandwagon, we advise all to study this very carefully”.

Top universities

Several top universities – including the country’s largest public institution, the University of the Philippines or UP, which has many campuses around the country – are mulling over a change in the academic calendar from June to March to August to June.

Top private Catholic universities Ateneo de Manila, University of Santo Tomas, De La Salle University and Adamson University have also said they want to change.

University of the Philippines officials told local media that the majority of its campuses were ready to switch over in the 2014-15 academic year, pending approval by the governing body

The administration had already submitted a proposal in June 2013. The change was intended to enable the university to be “a regional and global university and address current developments in the region and the world”, the proposal said.

Ateneo de Manila University said a changed academic timetable would “speed up Ateneo’s internationalisation efforts and will extend its scope for potential partnerships with other universities overseas”, according to a draft of its proposal.

Adamson University in Manila announced on 20 December that it had set up a committee to study the implications of the move to September for the 2015 academic year after a 21 November consultation with university administrators, faculty and student bodies.

“The university is seeking ways of making a smooth transition between the old and new school calendars and exploring a transition summer term from April to August 2014,” it said in a statement. “CHED leaves it to the discretion of private schools if they wish to adopt the said calendar.”

Compromise

Other top universities have autonomous status as centres of excellence and merely need to notify CHED of any changes.

However, said Patricia Licuanan, universities that are not autonomous will need a directive from CHED before they can adjust their academic calendar.

A switchover could mean universities will run classes during the hottest time of the year – April and May. Many university buildings lack air conditioning. And they may have to start the academic year when monsoon rains start in September and frequent floods occur.

Licuanan said some compromise might be necessary. “One of these might be a quarterly system or tri-semester to provide more entry points for foreign students coming in and ours going out.”

She said universities needed to work out what proportion of students were likely to benefit from the change and “assess if they have enough cross-border activity to make it worth it to change their academic calendar”.

The Ministry of Education will also study the effects of a new academic calendar on graduating high school students, but it seems unlikely that the primary and secondary school sectors will change the academic year to align with universities.