UST IS set to lead five schools run by Filipino Dominicans under an integration plan to be implemented in the next four years.
This is part of a wider integration plan in which the Dominican schools follow only two “traditions”: the Santo Tomas tradition and the Letran tradition, newly re-elected Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. said.
“We believe that having traditions to follow is an advantage because we are following different models. So if we will have one model, then we live the same spirit, we live the same traditions, and as far as UST is concerned, our tradition is very rich and I think it will be to the advantage of the other schools to be part of the University,” Fr. Dagohoy said in an interview with the Varsitarian.
According to Fr. Dagohoy, five Dominican schools will fall under the leadership of UST, with one rector but different boards of trustees. The two Angelicum campuses in Quezon City and in Iloilo, Aquinas University in Legazpi and the two future satellite campuses in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and General Santos City will be under the UST system.
“UST is main but [the different schools] are independent. When you look at [it], when you understand the corporation setup, you can think of subsidiary or affiliated company. It is independent but it is being managed by one company,” Fr. Dagohoy explained.
UST traditions like the Welcome Walk and Paskuhan will be carried over to the campuses, but the uniforms will be different.
The Letran system has already integrated its four campuses in Intramuros, Manila; Abucay, Bataan; Calamba, Laguna; and Manaoag, Pangasinan. The Intramuros campus is the head campus of all Letran schools in the Philippines.
Fr. Dagohoy said the integration plan had “passed the scrutiny of the Council of Regents,” but would still undergo confirmation by the Academic Senate and the Board of Trustees.
According to UST’s General Statutes, the Board of Trustees is the highest policy and decision-making body of the University, composed of friars of the Order of Preachers. The Academic Senate is composed of the vice chancellor, the rector, the vice rector for religious affairs, the vice rector for academic affairs and all deans.
New model, tedious process
Fr. Dagohoy outlined the tedious process of building a new integration model, saying it would need the approval of the Commission on Higher Education. UST’s corporate papers and taxation regime will have to be revised.
The Angelicum campuses will be managed by UST due to the proximity of the Quezon City campus, but will follow a different model, being basic education units.
The UST integration will be a “very new model in the Philippine educational setup,” Fr. Dagohoy said.
“Malaking kaibahan ‘yon kasi in terms of fiscal autonomy, and in terms of management it is being governed by a separate board, separate from the board of the University. In other universities, there is only one board governing all the campuses. ‘Yun ang kaibahan nitong setup na ito. So wala pa kaming nakikitang model na ito sa ibang universities sa Pilipinas,” Fr. Dagohoy said.
Fr. Dagohoy said the closest system to the planned UST integration was the UP system, noting that UP campuses are autonomous but managed by one board, and there is only one president.
“But to become a system is difficult because there are certain requirements, for example your programs must at least attain second level of accreditation, and majority of your programs are tertiary. So those limitations could not be applied to us because for example, Angelicum is basic [education],” he said. “Of course Aquinas is a university but their programs are not yet Level II accredited, so they would not be qualified as part of the system,” Fr. Dagohoy said.
Integration plan to be assessed
Fr. Dagohoy said the integration plan would be discussed during the 11th Chapter of the Dominican Province of the Philippines (DPP) in October to “assess and evaluate progress.” The integration plan was conceived during the 10th provincial chapter in April 2012 in Pangasinan.
The 123rd act of the 10th provincial chapter states: “We ordain that the DPP move towards integrating all existing educational institutions of the [Philippine Dominican] Province within the two venerable and historical educational institutions, that of Letran (1620) and UST (1611) [in the event that UST is transferred to the jurisdiction of the Province.]”
In 2014, jurisdiction over UST was transferred officially to DPP from the Spanish Dominicans with the approval of the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education of the revised General Statutes of the University.
In the same year, coinciding the 43rd founding anniversary of DPP, UST, together with Angelicum College-Quezon City, Angelicum School-Iloilo and Aquinas University of Legazpi, signed a memorandum of intent to work on integrating the three Dominican educational institutions.
The memorandum of intent was signed by Fr. Dagohoy, Aquinas Rector Fr. Ernesto Arceo, O.P., Angelicum College Rector Fr. Ferdinand Bautista, O.P. and Angelicum School Director Fr. Lauro de Dios, O.P. in December 2014 at the Buenaventura G. Paredes, O.P. Alumni Center Building. Alhex Adrea M. Peralta and Jerome P. Villanueva
