Out of several programs pipelined by the administration, Mindanao State University - General Santos (MSU-GenSan) introduced five new programs through its Office of Admission, on June 27.
These new programs available to this year’s System Admission and Scholarship Examination (SASE) passers are Bachelor of Science (BS) in Psychology, Bachelor of Public Administration in Policy and Administration, BS in Agriculture major in Horticulture, BS in Agriculture major in Agricultural Extension, and Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies Major in Shariah.
Why these programs?
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Mishell D. Lawas, explained the rationale behind offering these new programs in an interview with Bagwis dated February 28.
She explained that the BS Psychology program aims to address the university’s need for professionals to aid in the implementation of national mandates concerning mental health, as well as act as a feeder program for the MSU College of Medicine.
“So 'yun ‘yung isang reason dyan—para ma-support natin ang ating [Office of] Guidance and Counseling when it comes to the implementation of the mental health awareness. Para matutukan talaga natin ‘yung psychological needs ng ating mga estudyante,” VCAA Lawas exaplained.
On the other hand, the BS Public Administration program will act as a feeder program to its advanced programs, the master’s and doctorate degrees in Public Administration, and the MSU College of Law.
“It is ironic na meron tayong mga advanced program pero wala tayong BS, wala silang bahay, or the Bachelor of Science in Public Administration in the Policy and Administration government. So ‘yun ang reason doon, but aside from that, madami talagang mga estudyante na gustong kumuha ng Bachelor of Public Administration as the feeder program as well to our College of Law,” the VCAA said.
Moreover, the two new programs in the College of Agriculture (COA) are part of the college’s development initiative.
VCAA Lawas expressed that the management supports the intention of the COA to call for the need for these two new majors—Horticulture and Agricultural Extension, as it also addresses the university’s need to adhere to the Program Standards and Guidelines (PSG) from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
“Meron tayong mga pagbabago when it comes to naming our program, when it comes to majoring of our program. So this is one way of addressing the challenge when it comes to that, coming from the Commission on Higher Education and ‘yung sa ating agricultural sector,” VCAA stated.
Classroom availability
With the announcement of the new programs, MSUans voiced sentiments about the availability of classrooms given the absence of academic buildings being built in the university.
According to Ahron James Apsay, a student from the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, he is not against the idea of adding programs but noted the problem that may arise from this move.
“Siguro 'yung problema rito eh handa ba ang pamantasan na mag handle ng dagdag na population at kung sapat ba 'yung kakayahan ng pamantasan para mabigay 'yung mga kinakailangan ng estudyante, gaya ng classroom and technologies,” Apsay said.
Moreover, Ramzel Delloro from the same college also believes that the university would be challenged to cater to these programs given the wavering facilities and the limited number of conducive classrooms.
“I think the best mechanisms for this is to expand the faculty composition and really to invest more in our facilities like adding more buildings that the students can really utilize and to have a proper and logical class scheduling,” Delloro stated.
Nathalie Rivera from the College of Business Administration and Accountancy also pointed out that while she was expecting new programs to be offered for the next academic year, she was not expecting it to be this many.
“Although the intent is good, I still don't think that the campus is ready to cater to the new programs given that we lack facilities and rooms. The gym is ancient, students had to conduct their classes in kiosks because rooms are occupied, and the ventilation in rooms is terrible,” Rivera noted.
When asked about the availability of classrooms relative to these new programs, the VCAA mentioned that there are already measures to address this matter such as the extension of class hours up to 7 PM, aligning with the practices of other tertiary institutions.
“Meron na tayong mga retrofitting of our buildings. Ibig sabihin, we have repairs and we see to it that we have inventory of our number of classrooms. Because marami naman talaga, namimili lang ng oras yung ating mga classes lang. That is why we expanded until 7 PM,” VCAA Lawas said.
Lawas also shared that there is a possibility that classes would even reach until 9 PM as the university continues to expand its offering of degree programs.
Furthermore, the Vice Chancellor for Planning Development (VCPD), Sheila J. Loable, has previously stated in an interview with Bagwis on March 16 that there is no classroom shortage.
Loable stressed that the problem lies in the management of class schedules and not in the quantity of classrooms, explaining that all the rooms could be utilized if all classes started as early as 7 AM instead of 10 AM, among other factors.