UNO-R gears for virtual AY 2020-2021

SHIFTS AND TURNS

UNO-R gears for virtual A.Y. 2020-2021

by ROMCHELLE CHRIS DANIELLE WAMINAL

Classes are in session. The University opened its virtual doors to the students of academic year 2020-2021 as online classes ensued amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, following a new set of educational guidelines issued by the Vice President for Academics, Aug. 17.

Among the major features in the new scheme is the shifting of the University to a phasing system instead of the implementation of the usual terms per semester.

“[This is] to reduce the student’s course load given the shortened period of implementation [which is] six weeks per course,” Rev. Fr. Jose Alden Alipin, OAR, vice president for academics, said.

College departments are in charge of clustering the students’ subjects while

the Management Information System makes sure that the students won’t have a five-unit subject in a particular phase. Subjects with more than three contact hours may require two to three phases for completion, according to Engr. Christopher Taclobos, MEng, university registrar.

“CHED [Commission on Higher Education] prescribed that the total contact hours in a week should not be more than 36 [hours],” Taclobos said in the University-wide student forum on Sept. 20.

Other components of the new guidelines include the use of Schoology as the main Learning Management System (LMS) to aid instruction dissemination from teacher to student where class materials such as course

notes, book references, and slides presentations are to be converted into PDF format, video clips, audio recordings and links for further readings are placed in the platform, the use of a video conferencing software for teachers to facilitate the students’ learning as well as changes in the grading system that entailed conducting of only midterm and final examinations per phase.

STUD POP DROPS

With online classes pushing through, the first semester of the academic year 2020-2021 was greeted by 3,916 college students as opposed to last year’s 4,175 students representing a 6.2-percent decrease in the total tertiary student population according

AY 2020-2021 ...

to Taclobos.

“We can cite several factors but one obvious reason is their [students] connectivity. Not everyone is ready for the demands of online learning,” Taclobos said.

Melody Cauntod, a second year BS Social Work student shared how, despite the circumstances of online class, she still pursued in continuing her studies this school year.

“Despite the financial problems, for me it is still important to continue with my schooling and not miss a year to graduate soon,” Cauntod said.

However, Jade Christine Orquia, a former BS Business Accountancy student who stopped this school year, shared her thoughts on different circumstances brought by the new educational set-up.

“I had to stop because of how difficult it is to look for a good internet connection in our area. I know it sounds cliche but i think my mental state also had to do with my decision. Considering how everything has to be done online now, my mother also suggested to take a break for now,” Orquia said

According to Orquia, online classes can be fitted to everyone with has a good access to the internet; however it is not the same with students whose

learning capacity is not suited for the said kind of learning approach.

Moreover, having the most enrollees, the College of Engineering caters to 1,416 enrollees while the College of Business and Accountancy comes second with a total of 975 students.

The College of Allied Medical Health Sciences accommodates 495 students and 397 students in the College of Arts and Science with the colleges having positive increments of 17.6 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively. 360 students are enrolled in the College of Criminal Justice Education while the College of Education caters to 273 students.

Moreover, the overall student population, including those of the Integrated School, School of Law, and Graduate School, dropped from 8,696 enrollees in the previous academic year to 7,421 total enrollees, an overall 14.7-percent decrease for this academic year.

COPING WITH CHANGE

“Even though we experienced many challenges during online classes, I hope that we, your faculty members, didn’t fail to inculcate knowledge to the students during this pandemic,” Civil Engineering faculty member Engr. Mark Edwin Jereza shared.

going through phase one was difficult for him as he, at that time, did not have a laptop and was faced with signal interruptions during content delivery.

“I remember that I needed to travel to another city just to get a stable signal to upload the said video [for discussions] whenever I encounter signal interruptions,” he stated.

Moreover, Medical Technology student Alrenzi Esparagoza shared that going through the online learning set up took a toll on her mental health.

“I miss walking around campus and the company of my classmates. There’s also the anxiety of the possibility of graduating without actually mastering the concepts,” she elaborated.

Acknowledging the struggles faced by the students and faculty members in the online learning set up, Fr. Alipin shared that these challenges are gratefully accepted amidst the circumstances.

“They [students and faculty members] just have to embrace technology and be ready to unlearn, learn, and relearn,” he added.

Moreover, Taclobos shared that for the second semester, laboratory activities will be conducted via face-toface classes while lecture subjects will continue through Microsoft Teams as the LMS.