PanCAH-Iwan | Vol 2 Issue 2 | Jan to June 2023

The Second Semester, School Year 2022-2023 marks the return of the “full face-to- face classes” of the University students and faculty, undergraduate or graduate school/ advanced studies here at BSU Main and other Campuses. In so doing, major and/or minor adjustments – whether positive or negative have to be made. These could be on the part of the students, faculty, school officials and non-teaching personnel whose central clienteles revolve around the University studentry that we’ll carefully look into.

For the students and faculty, “full face-to-face classes” meant going back to the usual classroom set-up situation/ condition, wherein literally the lack of buildings and classrooms has been one of the major challenges encountered since time immemorial due to the increase of Colleges, degree programs offered and enrolment of students. Consequently, classes scheduled MWF must meet twice a week, MW only and TTH classes, once a weekTuesdays or Thursdays as the case may be for the students and faculty concerned to share the use of the same classroom assigned to them on weekdays.

Further the remaining days of the week are for Online classes. Hence, University Officials, should consider seriously constructing more buildings to be used by students and faculty to solve this pressing problem. On the other hand, the lack of teachers is addressed by hiring more Contract of Service Teachers this Sem in the different Colleges including the College of Arts and Humanities (CAH). But, there is an immediate need to recruit permanent faculty to fill up the vacant positions left by those who already retired from active government service in order to maintain quality instruction among others in the University. Also, it is but proper

and appropriate to reward those faculty who continuously performed well, served the University for quite a while already and whose service, loyalty and dedication are unparalleled. We really hope for their immediate appointment to permanency the soonest.

Further, the students have to get used to the old wayswake-up early, attend their classes “in-person” with their classmates and teachers, do all the learning tasks/activities like having quizzes or seatworks, performing laboratory experiments or projects and taking required examinations (Midterms or Finals) in “flesh and blood,” they say and no longer purely Online-which they got used to. Indeed, this is a major transition for them, but they’re young, so they’ll get by just fine. Moreover, the Online classes cannot be totally eradicated as there is still the continuing pandemic and the Blended Learning Approach adopted/ advocated by the CHED-CAR to help address the demands, needs and concerns of higher education this Contemporary times.

On the part of the University Officials and nonteaching personnel, constant inperson or online meetings have been conducted from the start to finish of this Sem to address the pressing issues, concerns,

demands, needs and challenges of adjusting to the “full face-toface” turn of classes.

University Officials up-to-date adjustments to school policies, regulations, memoranda among others and have re-adjusted, re-aligned or re-issued for implement-ation to guide, direct, supervise and provide immediate resolutions to the faculty and the students concerned to suit the times. Some worked, however some didn’t. These remain a working progress-to do and follow up. For the non-teaching personnel/ staff, they focused on working and processing students’ and faculty’s needs and concerns, provided support to all their learning-teaching activities/ tasks, cleaned and maintained their classrooms and endeavored to advance the benefits and rewards as well of both students, faculty and fellow non-teaching staff concerned.

Going back to the “full face-to-face classes” is definitely not easy. It has many challenges – lack of school buildings and classrooms as the primary one that needs to be addressed, followed by the recruitment/ appoint-ment of more permanent faculty to ensure and maintain quality instruction and updated school policies and regulations for better implementation and compliance. All these to be

addressed/acted upon by the combined forces of the BSU School Officials students, faculty and non-teaching personnel to maintain order, discipline, harmony, peace and love to all concerned. It’s a balance of all forces to make things right and going amidst the challenges of the continuing pandemic and changing times and space. We can only hope for the best to come.