THE UNIVERSITY has standardized the general education courses for Filipino, History, Literature, Spanish, and English this semester in an effort to address problems in crediting minor subject grades when shifting courses.
Department of General Education director Dr. Nancy Eleria said some minor subjects that a student-shifter has taken are not credited when transferring to another college or faculty of the University because syllabi vary per college or faculty.
With the standardization, Eleria said general education courses in the University will now be regulated.
“For example, the syllabi of Math 101A in the Faculty of Arts and Letters and the Faculty of Engineering are now the same,” she said.
Eleria added that with the standard syllabus, the Department can prescribe books for all general education courses in UST. It will also be easier to evaluate the effectiveness of the syllabus.
She said syllabi standardization is also an integral part for the accreditation of UST’s programs.
“Representatives of the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAASCU) noticed that UST does not have a standard syllabus for the general education courses,” Eleria said.
She noted, however, that the standardization has drawn disapproval from some teachers who argue that the system will kill their academic freedom.
“Some teachers have told me that they will lose their academic freedom with the standard syllabi, but the standardization is vital for we have a big responsibility to the students,” Eleria explained.
The professors and the efficiency of the syllabi will be evaluated at the end of the school year, she said.
“The standardization of the curriculum is just a pilot test for this semester,” Eleria said. “We still have to make adjustments.” J.T. Villaflor and J.dL. Yamzon
