TO ENCOURAGE professors to improve their academic profile, the University will grant merit bonuses to faculty members who pass the licensure and bar exams effective this school year.
According to the newly-ratified UST Faculty Union Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the merit bonus of P5, 000 will be considered as a new taxable benefit.
This was patterned after the Faculty of Civil Law’s cash incentive program given to graduates who topped the bar.
There is also a review allowance ranging from P2, 000 per month, which is good up to five months, for the faculty members who would take the government exams.
The new CBA also established the Haven for Optimum Psycho-Spiritual Empowerment (HOPE) for troubled professors.
HOPE is aims to give spiritual and psychological support to professors. Aside from the Pastoral Care Center, the University also plans to have a Day Care Center. Both will be handled by the University’s Human Resource Department, a University-wide planning committee.
According to USTFU spokesperson Prof. Rene Luis Tadle, UST is the only university with this kind of project for professors, which is for free.
Tadle explained that the University is not only concerned with the teaching capability of the faculty but also with their personal well being.
Union officers Lulu Medina and Norma Calaguas have already taken their master’s degree in Pastoral Ministry in Ateneo de Manila University to answer the faculty’s needs.
According to Tadle, the administration plans to establish a committee that would provide counseling for students and non-academic personnel in the future.
