Are University of the Philippines (UP) students ready to make the “big shift?”

The UP Board of Regents (BOR), the university’s highest decision-making body, will take up in its next meeting in January the proposal to move the opening of classes from June to August.

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Except for UP Diliman, the flagship campus, other campuses have expressed their support for the shift in the academic calendar. These include UP Baguio, UP Los Baños, UP Manila, UP Visayas, UP Mindanao, the UP Open University and an autonomous college in Cebu.

UP vice president for public affairs Dr. Prospero de Vera said the Diliman community’s stand has yet to be finalized as it has the biggest number of constituents who naturally want more consultations.

“But based on a college by college assessment, most Diliman colleges seem to be ready for the shift,” he added. The final decision, however, would rest with the BOR.

Based on the proposed calendar, registration for the first semester would begin in the second week of August. Classes would start the next week and end on the first week of December.

On the other hand, enrollment for the second semester would be held in the second week of January. Classes would begin the following week and end in the second week of May.

As for summer classes, registration would start in the second week of June. Classes would kick off the following week and end in the third week of July.

The five-page proposal noted that the shift in the academic calendar would have fewer disruptions, June being the start of the typhoon season.

There would also be no interruptions in the momentum of classes since the shift would move the semestral break to coincide with the Christmas holiday.

The change in the academic calendar, first proposed by UP president Alfredo Pascual, was mainly prompted by the upcoming integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in 2015.

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According to the proposal, the shift was “consistent with the provision of UP’s charter to be a regional and global university and addresses current developments in the region and the world.”

Most member-countries of the Asean University Network as well as US, China, Japan, Korea and the European Union start classes in August.

“Moving the classes to August will allow for greater synchronization of our academic calendar with that of Asean, Northeast Asian and the American and European universities as well. There will be less problem with semestral overlaps and students can easily get credit transfer on a per semester basis,” the proposal noted.

De Vera added that high school graduates accepted as incoming freshmen would enjoy a longer break before the start of classes in August.

The shift would not affect the university’s usual release of the UP College Admission Test results in February. However, the Upcat may be moved from its usual August schedule to July.

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