THE UNIVERSITY will charge a 2.5% tuition increase on incoming college freshmen at UST General Santos (GenSan) in Academic Year (AY) 2025 to 2026, the branch campus’s second year of operation.
Tuition per unit for freshmen increased to P1,291 from P1,260 across all five programs, based on the Varsitarian’s comparison of the new and old tables of fees.
Laboratory fees also rose by 2.5% to P2,583 per unit from P2,520, applying to students enrolled in the medical technology, pharmacy, and industrial engineering programs.
Medical technology, which drew the highest number of enrollees last year, will charge P54,170 for 18 lecture units and four laboratory units, up from P50,060 in the previous year. The amount includes miscellaneous fees.
Freshmen in accounting information systems will pay P42,038 for 18 lecture units, up from P37,980 last year, while those taking up entrepreneurship will pay P38,165 for 15 lecture units, from P34,200.
For industrial engineering, tuition for 15 lecture units and three laboratory units rose to P47,914 from P43,700.
Pharmacy freshmen taking 17 lecture units and three lab units will pay P49,796, up from P45,780.
The Commission on Higher Education does not require schools to consult with student government, faculty, alumni, and non-teaching staff when tuition hikes apply only to incoming freshmen or cover only miscellaneous and other fees.
UST GenSan’s tuition hike is below the 3.2% inflation recorded by the Philippine Statistics Authority in 2024.
Higher miscellaneous, other fees
Eight of the 13 miscellaneous and other fees are set to increase in the upcoming AY 2025-2026.
The physical infrastructure development fee rose by 50%, to P1,500 from P1,000, as construction continues on several campus facilities, such as the outdoor sports grounds near the Main Building and the Dr. Ricardo S. Po Sr. Integrated Innovation and Research Laboratories, which is targeted for completion in 2026.
The energy fee increased by 20% to P2,500 from P2,000, while both the community service and cultural fees climbed by 20% to P250 from P200.
The sports fee saw a 75% jump to P200 from P50, while the audiovisual fee surged by 150% to P500 from P200.
The fee for university-wide organizations increased to P100 from P10, and the student activity fee rose to P150 from P100.
Other fees, such as those for drug testing, information development, learning management system, retreat and recollection, and special development fund, remain unchanged.
Unlike UST Manila, UST GenSan does not charge freshmen fees for alumni, athletic, central and local student councils, university and college-level journals, Commission on Elections, and learning materials fees.
UST GenSan admitted a total of 126 students in Term 1 of AY 2024-2025.
