UP Diliman Holds Symposium on Potential New GE Courses (update)
The Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA) held a symposium on the potential new General Education (GE) courses last 21 January 2016. More than 100 faculty members and university officials attended the symposium to listen to the presentations and comment on the 16 potential new GE courses from different academic units in the University. Held at the National Institute of Physics, the event is the third in the BALANGKAS symposium series of the OVCAA.
In his opening remarks, Chancellor Michael L. Tan said that changes in UP’s curricular offerings are imperative “in light of the movements in the educational system in the Philippines.” The University is expecting the first batch of K-to-12 graduates to enter UP by 2018 and adjustments are crucial, especially with the University’s GE program, because the High School curriculum is now different.
Chancellor Tan also pointed out that while some of the proposed courses featured in the symposium are indeed entirely new, such as Self and Society, Human Movement as a Phenomenon and the Junior Year Writing Courses, others are existing courses that are integral to the GE program, such as Kasaysayan and Mathematics, which are being redesigned in response to the implementation of the Senior High School curriculum.
The Chancellor reiterated that “Diliman’s horizon is August 2018” and in preparation for this, changes are needed in both the GE program and the different degree programs’ curricula. New GE courses could also be pilot-tested before full implementation in 2018. (The full text of the Chancellor’s message may be downloaded here.)
Aside from the oral presentations, there were also poster sessions during the symposium, to give the participants a chance to engage the course champions or advocates in an in-depth discussion regarding the proposed GE courses. The presentations on the proposed GE courses may be accessed through this link.
Dr. Benito M. Pacheco, Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, closed the event by stating that the symposium was not only a platform for elucidating the proposed GE courses but also a reaffirmation of UP’s commitment to continuously innovate its teaching in order to provide a holistic and nationalist GE program to its students. VC Pacheco also said that “UP as the national university is equally mandated to improve its GE program and improve such other offerings as minor programs, honors programs, graduate programs, researches and creative works, and extension works. Repeating the words of the Chancellor, we continually innovate to give the best options to our students and the nation.” (The full text of Vice-Chancellor Pacheco’s closing remarks may be downloaded here.)
Downloadable Reference Materials for the Symposium:
Draft syllabi of the System 11 courses
Draft syllabi of the UWCP courses
Course outline of Human Movement as a Phenomenon
Potential Resolutions on the GE Program (in Memorandum No. OVCAA-BMP 16-113)
UP General Educatioon through the Years: A Timeline (updated version)
Proceedings of the UP GE Conference 2015, available at the website of Office of the Director for Instruction (ODI) < http://odi.upd.edu.ph/post/proceedings-of-the-up-diliman-ge-conference-2015/>.