(FILE, MARCH 01, 2019)
UP Oblation with new fountain in Diliman, Quezon City.
INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON
MANILA, Philippines — As colleges and universities start to transition to in-person classes, the University of the Philippines (UP) on Monday lifted the rules and policies the university implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the no-fail policy.
In a memorandum released by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, UP announced that the no-fail policy, academic delinquency rules, degree program retention rules, prerequisites and the deadline for dropping and leave of absence, among others, will now be in force effective academic year 2022-2023.
“After due deliberation, the PAC approved the following policies, affirming its position that as the National University, UP is committed to exerting every effort to ensure that its Iskolar (s] ng Bayan – the country’s future leaders in different branches of knowledge and agencies- possess the competence, grit, and agility to overcome adversities, thrive … while giving due consideration to the difficult circumstances of individual students on a case-to-case basis as practiced in the ‘old normal,’” the school said.
The 15-unit regular course load for undergraduate students is now also in full force, effective the upcoming school year.
On the other hand, the cap on the number of units taught by lecturers remains suspended, as well as the cap on the number of faculty members that can go on study leave in an academic unit.
Meanwhile, the UP Office of the Student Regent (OSR), and the university student councils (USCs) of different UP Campuses maintained their position that the suspended policies should be retained.
“The OSR & USCs submitted a comment to maintain these policies in the Aug 1 UCSA meeting. The collective UP student body advocated the continued suspension of classroom policies for academic ease amidst lack of student support services and the health & economic crisis,” the OSR said in a post on Twitter.
Apart from the reintroduction of the suspended policies, UP said that it will also soon release a different memorandum for the guidelines on the attendance of unvaccinated students and personnels, after the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) lifted the vaccine requirement for attending in-person classes.
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