STUDENTS from the Conservatory of Music are the “most dissatisfied” on University services, results of the annual exit survey conducted by the Office for Planning and Quality Management showed.
The college got an average score of 3.07 from respondents in the past two years, settling at the low end of the four-point satisfaction survey of the University.
Sherry Cantor, immediate past president of the Music Student Council, attributed the students’ dissatisfaction to some professors’ tardiness.
“Some students had pointed out that professors’ tardiness was the reason Music students suffered delay of graduation,” she said.
Most faculty members were often absent because of concerts and performances abroad, aside from personal reasons, said Cantor.
“Ang sisipag ng Music students mag-aral. Pero kung ikaw ‘yung estudyante at masipag ka, at nakikita mong ‘yung professor mo hindi pumapasok, there’s the [tendency] na tatamarin ka rin,” Cantor said.
But the administration has been trying to solve the problem by monitoring faculty members’ attendance, she clarified.
Another problem is classroom shortage, Cantor said.
“We badly need rooms, especially [students bringing] instruments like the bass and trumpet. Wala silang mapag-praktisan kasi kung sa studio, tatagos ‘yung sound. Ang nangyayari, nagpa-practice sila sa lobby, pero pinapatigil sila kasi naiistorbo ‘yung classes,” she said.
Some schools have a building for Music students alone, Cantor said. In UST, at least 700 Music students occupy the fifth floor of the Albertus Magnus Building. In terms of population, UST’s Conservatory of Music is the biggest music school in the country.
The Albertus Magnus Building also houses the Education High School and the colleges of Education and Tourism and Hospitality Management (CTHM). CTHM, however, will be transferred to the Thomasian Alumni Center, which is still under construction.
The College of Architecture is also trying to correct the same problems, said Dean John Joseph Fernandez.
“[One of the usual concerns of the students are] faculty members who have probably been late in attending classes,” he said.
Fernandez said the college had been trying to upgrade its facilities. UST’s Architecture school is the biggest in the country in terms of the number of students.
“[I tell the students that] facilities-wise, okay na tayo dito. Ingatan niyo mga gamit dito kasi ‘pag pumunta kayo [sa ibang Architecture schools], ‘yung mga drafting tables doon uka-uka,” he said.
Because of these problems, the administration now wants to prioritize “quality over quantity” of students, he said.
“The Rector has instructed [all colleges] to maintain a population [that] is realistic,” he said. “This year, nagpapa-reduce na siya.”
In the College of Science, which ranked fourth on the list of “unhappy colleges” in UST, Dean Donnie Ramos said the results were not alarming as the survey’s purpose was to serve as a feedback mechanism of the University.
Science had the most number of renovations in the past years, said Ramos, contrary to reports of students complaining of poor facilities.
Henry Villamiel, president of the Faculty of Arts and Letters Student Council, said the results might have been influenced by the lack of time in answering the survey.
“Not all students take the survey seriously and others take it as a joke,” Villamiel told the Varsitarian.
He reminded students of their responsibility to take the survey exercise seriously because the administration uses it as basis of its performance for the next school year.
Most recommended
Thomasians are most likely to recommend Accountancy as the course to take up in UST, survey results also revealed.
“We’re happy that we’re considered as the most recommended program among those being offered by UST,” said Accountancy Dean Minerva Cruz. “Their basis is also probably the previous performance of our Accountancy graduates in the certified public accountant (CPA) board exams.”
In 2012, for the first time in the history of CPA board exams, two students from the same school landed on the first place, both of them Thomasians.
The survey results may have also been due to strict policies being imposed in the College, such as debarment and retention policies, aside from numerous job opportunities in accounting, Cruz said. Daphne J. Magturo and Cez Mariela Teresa G. Verzosa
