THE UNIVERSITY stood firm on its decision to continue online learning after student leaders appealed to end the term amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Acting Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P. wrote in a letter dated April 20 that the pandemic brought about a “new normal” that called for “new paradigm on leadership, student engagement and relationships.”
“In this extraordinary time, the University is doing everything to allow learning to succeed in all forms and platforms possible,” Ang said in the letter addressed to Central Student Council (CSC) President Robert Dominic Gonzales.
The University has tied up with telecommunications companies and made arrangements to allow students to participate in a virtual learning environment, he said.
Ang also said unused laboratory fees and other charges would be refunded on a per class basis, either in cash or credited to the next enrollment.
Gonzales said the CSC would cooperate with the UST Faculty Union to find “collaborative ways” on how to relieve the load for both students and faculty members.
“Ultimately, though we have not yet reached the end-goal of what our petition was fighting for, we are promising to explore more ways on how to tackle what we are going through right now. It doesn’t end here,” Gonzales said in a tweet.
On April 17, the CSC appealed to administrators to end or freeze the semester, as Covid-19 cases in the country continued to rise despite a month-long lockdown.
