Almost a month after their concerns were raised, 5th year students from the School of Engineering and Architecture (SEA) are yet to be instructed regarding their enrollment process. According to the University Student Council (USC), they are still anticipating updates and detailed information about the matter from SEA’s administration and college student council.
“We cannot afford to wait or take one more semester because graduating na po kami. As of now, hindi pa po namin alam ang gagawin [namin] dahil wala pa po update sa amin”, Jose*, a 5th year student, said.
They were supposedly advised by the SEA admin to inquire in different schools. Unfortunately, not all engineering programs are permitted for cross enrollment. If there were any, most were covered by state universities and such institutions don’t just accept enrollees due to their limited slots.
Dr. Filipina I. De Guzman, Dean of the School of Engineering and Architecture, clarified that the delay was caused by the new arrangement and institutional shift to online learning.
On August 5, the same day that the first day of college online instructions began, the USC participated in a consultation with the SEA Administration, VP for Student Services, VP for Academic Affairs, Office of Student Affairs, College Student Council – SEA, and several 5th year students. The consultation discussed general measures that the school may take to cater the students for their specified individual plan of study (IPOS). Details were yet to be disclosed at the time since more considerations were being explored.
To date, there are more than one hundred 5th year SEA students initially expected to enroll. The number of students in each class must be 26 at minimum. Considering their population, varying subjects needed and the only available information so far, their course subjects are still being screened. It is possible that they may take the subject either administered by SEA or matched to courses offered by the global learning platform Coursera.
Being a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) managed by instructors from international universities and companies, Coursera has already been contacted by the SEA admin. It is still unclear how much the tuition fee rate will be per subject and if there will be any additional costs to be paid for the student’s enrollment in HAU.
Otherwise, a subject may be opened and taught by SEA professors, which may be more costly if the class does not meet the required minimum number of students. Some IPOS students have already cross-enrolled while others were distributed to subjects aligned to the new curriculum. Many are still waiting and have been told that certain subjects they need now will only be available next semester.
The Angelite has reached out to the College Student Council – SEA but received no response with regards to the actions that they have taken.
*The real name was changed to conceal the source’s identity.
