University of the Philippines Visayas

The University of the Philippines Visayas is a public research university in the Philippines, and one of the units of the University of the Philippines System. It is the most prominent and one of the leading educational institutions in the Southern Philippines, especially when it comes to management, accountancy, marketing, chemistry, applied mathematics and physics, marine science education and research, fisheries, and aquaculture. It also offers regional studies programs on the preservation and enrichment of the Visayan cultural heritage as well as a full complement of other subjects and majors.

U.P. Visayas is composed of three (3) campuses, located in Miagao, Iloilo City, and Tacloban; with Miagao being the main campus with its central administration offices. In September 2010, the U.P. Cebu separated from the U.P. Visayas.

Most of its students are drawn from the Visayas and the Visayan linguistic groups, attracting many of the best students of this region. Many of the leaders of the Visayas have graduated from U.P.V. or its predecessor institutions.

As of 2007, the Philippines' Commission on Higher Education (CHED) awarded four National Centers of Excellence/Development (COEs/CODs) to U.P.V. The COEs/CODs in the university are: Fisheries (UPV-Miagao), Marine Science (UPV-Miagao), and Biology (UPV-Miagao).

History

U.P.V. was created by merging three U.P. colleges: U.P. Cebu founded in 1918, U.P. Iloilo founded in 1947, and U.P. Tacloban founded in 1973. When the Miagao campus was built, many of Iloilo City's programs were moved there. To this day, the faculty, staff and students regularly move between the Iloilo and Miagao campuses.

It was during the term of U.P. President Onofre D. Corpuz in 1975 when an interdisciplinary team within the University conceived of an autonomous unit which would become the country's premier institution for fisheries and marine science education and research. This idea was fleshed out in a proposal entitled "Education Development Plan for the University of the Philippines in the Visayas", a six-volume report by the interdisciplinary team. The new university would evolve from the U.P. College of Iloilo and the College of Fisheries in Diliman, which would transfer to its new site in the Visayas. Funding was to come partly from a government loan, to be negotiated with the World Bank for the development of fisheries education.

On September 21, 1977, President Ferdinand E. Marcos issued Presidential Decree 1200, known as the Philippine Five-Year Development Plan (1978-1982), which provides, among others, that Region VI would be the site of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas (U.P.V.) with emphasis on fisheries and marine sciences. A second U.P.V. Project Development Team was then organized in December 1977 to review and update the plans for U.P.V. The new development plan was approved by the U.P. Board of Regents (BOR) on May 28, 1978. The fisheries educational loan was then re-negotiated with the World Bank inasmuch as its appraisal team had earlier favorably endorsed the development plan.

On May 31, 1979, the Board of Regents approved the establishment of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas as an autonomous unit of the University of the Philippines System with its main campus in Miagao, Iloilo. It would start with two colleges, the U.P. College Iloilo as its College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Fisheries as its flagship college.

Through the Sixth Educational Loan of the Philippine Government approved by the World Bank in January 1980, the development of UPV's flagship college was made possible.

On February 29, 1980, the groundbreaking of the U.P.V. site in Miagao was held, an event marking the beginning of UPV's bid to develop itself into the leading educational institution in Region VI, and especially as an outstanding institution of higher learning in fisheries and marine and related sciences. On June 26, 1980, Executive Order No. 628 of President Ferdinand E. Marcos operationalized U.P.V., and Dr. Dionisia A. Rola became the first Chancellor.

The development of the site and construction of facilities began in September 1981 and was made possible through the Sixth Educational Loan. This loan of about $17.63 Million was used for site acquisition, construction of buildings, procurement of equipment, and the transfer of the College of Fisheries personnel and other property from Diliman to Miagao.

Originally, U.P.V. consisted of two colleges - the College of Fisheries (CF) and the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), formerly U.P. College Iloilo. Now it has five (5) colleges and a school in four (4) campuses with the establishment of the College of Management (CM) in 1981 and the School of Technology (SoTech) in 1984, and the integration of U.P. Cebu College (UPCC) and U.P. Tacloban College (UPTC) into U.P.V. in 1986.

On April 30, 1987, the Board of Regents approved the reorganization of the College of Fisheries (now the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences or CFOS) and the establishment of four institutes, namely, the Institute of Aquaculture (IA), the Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanology (IMFO), Institute of Fish Processing Technology (IFPT), and the Institute of Fisheries Policy and Development Studies (IFPDS). The Brackishwater Aquaculture Center (BAC) facilities in Leganes, Iloilo became the Brackishwater Aquaculture Research Station of IA.

In May 1988, the College of Fisheries transferred to the new site in Miagao under the leadership of Chancellor Rogelio O. Juliano and Dean Efren Ed. C. Flores. The Diliman-based programs of the College of Fisheries were then relocated to its present site together with most of its faculty and staff.

In January 1990, the School of Technology transferred to the Miagao Campus. In June of the same year, Chancellor Francisco Nemenzo effected the transfer of the Division of Humanities and the Division of Social Sciences of the College of Arts and Sciences.

In May 1993, the transfer of the Division of Physical Sciences and Mathematics and the Division of Biological Sciences, along with the Office of the Dean, completed the transfer of the CAS.

On September 24, 2010, the U.P. Board of Regents elevated the status of U.P. Cebu as an autonomous unit, in preparation for its constituent university status after five to seven years.^[1]

Two degree-granting units remain on the Iloilo City Campus. They are the College of Management, and the CAS Division of Professional Education. Also on campus is the U.P. High School in Iloilo (formerly U.P.V. High School). The High School is an experimental laboratory for innovative teaching strategies designed to provide academic training for underprivileged students in order to better prepare them for access to tertiary education in the University of the Philippines.

Some units have remained on the Iloilo City Campus, namely: (1) the Center for West Visayan Studies (CWVS) to make it more accessible to those interested in the study of Visayan Culture; (2) Office of Extension Services and Continuing Education (OESCE); (3) Sentro ng Wikang Filipino (SWF); (4) Graduate Program Office (GPO), which caters to clientele who are mostly working professionals in the city; (5) Language Program; (6) School for Distance Education, Visayas; (7) Ugnayan sa Pahinungod/Oblation Corps; and (8) U.P.V. Women's Desk.

Part of the Miagao Campus has been reserved to accommodate regional offices and Miagao government centers with which U.P.V. closely interfaces. At present, a Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) Branch is accommodated in the U.P.V. Miagao Campus Library-Museum Building.

Degree-granting Units

U.P. Visayas - Miagao Campus

College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (formerly the College of Fisheries)

The College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS) of the University of the Philippines Visayas is the forefront of fisheries education in the country. Over the years, the college has instituted degree programs that address the need for sustainable development of the country's fisheries resources and respond to the call for highly trained manpower in the field. Its curricular offerings, at the graduate and undergraduate level, aim to impart to students theoretical knowledge and practical skills as well as develop analytical capabilities as tools toward innovative approaches and solutions to fisheries and related programs.

The College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences has four (4) institutes: the Institute of Aquaculture, the Institute of Fish Processing Technology, the Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanology, and the Institute of Fisheries Policy and Development Studies. It offers the following programs: Undergraduate — B.S. Fisheries, major in Fisheries Business Management, Fish Processing Technology, Inland Fisheries, and Marine Fisheries; Graduate — Master of Aquaculture, M.S. Fisheries with majors in Aquaculture, Fisheries Biology, and Fish Processing Technology; and Ph.D. in Aquaculture.

College of Arts and Sciences

The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) provides the general education program that is the foundation of all academic programs in the university. The College equips the students with basic knowledge in the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities; the skills necessary to communicate and to analyze and integrate knowledge; and the ability to learn independently and think critically. it offers interdisciplinary programs with double major supportive of, or complementary to, those offered by other colleges.

As a college composed of various disciplines, including a Division of Professional Education and a laboratory high school designed to train underprivileged youth especially from rural areas, the CAS takes the lead in strengthening programs related to science and technology, professional competence, and values clarification, inculcating in the student a better understanding of himself/herself as a Filipino, with a deep sense of nationalism and pride in the cultural heritage.

The College of Arts and Sciences has five (5) divisions: the Biological Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, and Professional Education. The Professional Education Division offers the following programs: Master of Education in Biology, Chemistry, English as a Second Language, Guidance, Mathematics, Filipino as a Second Language, Reading, Social Studies, and Physics. An M.S. Biology is also offered by the Division of Biological Sciences. The academic programs of CAS are the following: Undergraduate (Baccalaureate) — Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Media Studies, Community Development, Literature, Economics, History, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology; B.S. Applied Mathematics, B.S. Computer Science, B.S. Biology, and B.S. Chemistry; Undergraduate (Post-Baccalaureate) — Diploma in Physical Education, Certificate and Diploma in Science Education, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics Education.

School of Technology

The School of Technology (SoTech), formerly the School of Technology and Environmental Resources (STER), was established on March 29, 1984 as the 5th degree-granting unit of U.P. in the Visayas during the 966th Meeting of the Board of Regents. It was formally operationalized on February 17, 1986 with the transfer of the Food Technology program, along with its faculty, from the College of Arts and Sciences.

On April 22, 1993, the name of the School was changed from STER to SoTech. Along with its change of name was a modification of its mandate for it to become responsive to the needs of the region and the nation.

The School's mission is to provide highly trained manpower, generate appropriate and environment-friendly technologies, disseminate information and transfer knowledge and technology; and assist in the proper management of the environment for regional development and nation building.

The School of Technology offers B.S. Food Technology and the Certificate in Environmental Resource Management (CERM) with three areas of specialization, namely, Coastal Resource Management, Watershed Management, and Environmental Technology.

U.P. Visayas - Iloilo Campus

The College of Management (CM) was formerly the School of Development Management (SDM), established in December 1981 out of the former Division of Development Management of the College of Arts and Sciences. SDM was elevated to college status in 1991.

The objectives of the college are to provide strong management and business complement and support to the UPV programs in fisheries, marine sciences, the arts, social and natural sciences; to provide quality management education in order to train leaders for the region's public and private sectors; to serve as center for research, information dissemination, consultancy, and training services in the various areas of administration/management; and to serve as a pivotal link between UPV and local, national, and international organizations engaged in the management education, training and research.

The College of Management has two departments, namely, the Department of Accounting and the Department of Management. It offers the following academic programs: Undergraduate — B.S. Accountancy, B.S. Business Administration (Marketing), and B.S. Management; Graduate — Master of Management in Business Management, Public Management, Rural Development Management, and Tax Management.

Starting June 1997, the College offered the Diploma Program in Urban and Regional Planning in coordination with the School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP) at UP Diliman.

In July 1997, CM started the pilot testing of a course on Island Food Systems in RDM 298 (Field Studies), a course in the Master of Management, Rural Development Program. This initiative was made under the auspices of the Island Sustainability, Livelihood, and Equity (ISLE) Program. ISLE partners from Canada, Indonesia, and Jamaica team-taught the course with UPV faculty members.

Also found in UPV Iloilo campus is the University of the Philippines High School in Iloilo.

University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban College

In its 823rd meeting, the UP Board of Regents established the UP College Tacloban as an answer to the urgent need for quality education in Region VIII. It was recognized as a regional unit of the System on May 23, 1973 and inaugurated on July 2, 1973.

Ten years later, Executive Order No. 4 placed UP College Tacloban under the administrative supervision of UP in the Visayas.

The mission of the College is to develop humanist-oriented professionals and leaders by providing opportunities for a UP education to qualified secondary and tertiary education graduates. The College is likewise mandated to act as a catalyst of change through research and extension services that are geared toward improving the quality of life in Eastern Visayas.

UPV Tacloban College (UPVTC) is divided into four divisions: the Humanities Division, the Management and Technology Division, the Natural Sciences and Mathematics Division, and the Social Sciences Division. Its academic programs are the following: Undergraduate — Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts, Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences with specialization in Economics, Political Science, and Psychology, Bachelor of Science in Biology, Bachelor of Science in Accountancy, Bachelor of Business Administration, major in Management, and Bachelor of Science in Computer Science; Graduate — Master of Management in Business Management, Public Management, and Educational Management.

References

External links

• University of the Visayas - Cebu City, Philippines
• University of the Philippines Visayas
• University of the Philippines Visayas Forums
• University of the Philippines System