NEWS | UP BOR resolute to continue the sem amid calls to immediately end it
By Emilio Escudero
Despite strong calls by student councils, various organizations, and professors from its constituent universities to immediately end the semester for the welfare of the students, the University of the Philippines Board of Regents (UP BOR) still decided to go on as scheduled. The BOR extended the deadline for submission of grades to accommodate students who were affected by the recent typhoons, as well as those who are having challenges in the remote learning set up to finish their requirements. This extension also prompts modification in the academic calendar of second semester and midyear, which will start in later dates.
Continuation of the semester
According to the OVPAA Memorandum №2020–143 released on November 26, the BOR, in its 1356th meeting, approved the endorsed guidelines of the President’s Advisory Council (PAC). Included in the guidelines is that the first semester AY 2020–2021 will end as scheduled but the submission of grades will be extended until January 22, 2021.
Moreover, faculty members are enjoined to adjust their course requirements, it may be further reduced to what is vital to the course. On top of that, no additional requirements should be imposed after the original date of ending of the semester but bridging activities can be done as long as the students agree and that it is approved by the Faculty Assembly of the College.
Guidelines regarding the grading system being numerical in the first semester is also included in the memo. The BOR reasoned out that the whole system is now two weeks away from the scheduled last day of classes unlike in the second semester AY 2019–2020 wherein the pandemic strikes just a couple of weeks after the start of classes thus the university was unprepared.
They also mentioned that students need grades for scholarships, licensure examinations, future studies, and employment, among others and that no other universities are deviating from the numeric grade system to date.
Furthermore, no grade of “4” or “5” shall be given this semester in consideration in the spirit of compassion and flexibility. This is due to the pandemic and effects of typhoons and knowing that the first semester is a transition towards the next normal mode of learning delivery.
Additionally, students who would not be able to attend synchronous classes and communicate with their professors within the semester will be given an ‘INC’ . Students will then be given a year to comply with the requirements, after which the INC will be removed and the student shall be given a final grade based on his/her performance. If the student would not be able to comply, he/she will be given a ‘DRP’.
Academic calendar modification and suspended rules
The BOR also decided to modify the academic calendar for second semester and midyear of academic year (AY) 2020–2021 to cater to the extension of grade submission in the first semester and give more time in preparing and distributing the course packs that includes the course and study guides, as well as the curated references and learning materials for the students.
Second semester of AY 2020–2021 will start on March 1, 2021, and end on June 11, 2021. Whereas, midyear 2021 will commence on July 5, 2021 and end on August 20, 2021. Additionally, reading and wellness breaks are scheduled April 29-May 5 and July 29–31, respectively.
Meanwhile, the memo reiterated the suspension of certain academic rules. These rules include the suspension of the deadline of dropping and filing for leave of absence, the suspension of some rules on scholastic delinquency, the consideration of a 12-unit course load as a regular load for undergraduate students, the non-inclusion of the first semester AY 2020–2021 in the maximum residency rule (MRR), and that students enrolled in a prerequisite course this semester should be allowed to enroll in the latter course despite having no grades yet because of the grade extension.
Students are being left behind
This decision was finalized by the BOR despite the strong calls by the UP community to immediately end the semester due to the recent onslaught of the typhoons which exacerbates the current situation brought by the pandemic making remote learning harder for students.
In fact, more than 15,000 individuals signed petitions across the UP system to end the semester, mass promote the students, and demand accountability from the national government. Additionally, the hashtag ‘#EndTheSemUP’, a student-led online protest, even trended at the top spot on Twitter on November 25.
Almost a month after Typhoons Quinta and Ulysses slammed parts of Luzon, some students still face challenges considering that electricity and internet connections are not yet fully restored, their learning resources were heavily damaged, and some families are still in evacuation sites.
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