THE UNIVERSITY will introduce new or modified academic programs in the Conservatory of Music, Institute of Technological Courses (ITC), College of Education and the Faculty of Arts and Letters next school year, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Armando de Jesus told the Varsitarian.
The Conservatory will introduce short-term certificate programs equivalent to a semester or five months, De Jesus said. Students can enroll in various courses (Composition and Conducting, Voice, Keyboard, Music Education, Piano, Violin, Strings and Guitar, Brass wind, Woodwind, and Percussion) any time of the year provided they have fulfilled the basic requirements in musical education.
The new certificate programs will tap into the strengths of the Conservatory, recognized by the Commission on Higher Education as a Center of Excellence in Music.
Meanwhile, the ITC under the Faculty of Engineering will restructure its certificate programs into a 192-hour crash course instead of the usual two-year diploma course. ITC offers certificate courses in Welding Technology, Electrical Technology, and Graphics and Printing Technology.
Perhaps the most dramatic change will come with the introduction of a ladderized B.S.E-M.A. in Social Studies degree under the College of Education. The five-year program will allow students to obtain a Master’s in the fifth year. But students will also have to take up summer courses to complete the degree on time.
De Jesus called the new program “not so much of a realignment but an innovation.”
But the introduction of the ladderized program would mean the abolition of another innovative program: the present AB-BSE in Social Studies program, which is a tie-up between the College of Education and the Faculty of Arts and Letters, De Jesus said.
Meanwhile, Faculty of Arts and Letters Dean Belen Tangco is planning to establish an International Studies program soon, De Jesus said.
