The Palawan State University (PSU) has extended its college enrollment, as students took to social media to complain about the school’s admission schedule policy.
Dr. Ramon Docto, university president, said Tuesday they have extended their enrollment for college students until January 7 following a meeting with the leaders of the PSU student government concerning the admission schedule.
Docto belied the claim of the students that they imposed a stricter enrollment procedure due to the university’s recently-acquired International Organization for Standardization (ISO) accreditation.
“When the students enrolled late, nala-late din ‘yong submission natin ng billing [and other documents] sa Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Nasanay kasi ang mga students na chill lang which is dapat mabago na ‘yong ganoong behavior since mga iskolar na sila ng bayan,” he said.
Docto said their strict enrollment policy was not due to fear of losing their ISO accreditation but because they wanted to submit documents as early as possible or on time to CHED to avoid delaying their budget for three months.
The statement was made after several anonymous Facebook posts surfaced last week claiming that the university’s stricter enrollment policy was attributed to its fear of losing its recently acquired ISO accreditation, sacrificing the welfare of the students.
Dr. Eva Jimenez, PSU vice president for academic affairs (VPAA), cried foul saying the allegations were baseless.
She explained that several university personnel even compromised their holiday breaks to accommodate the students.
“November 12 pa lang, nag-post na kami ng schedule. We even informed the student council na sabihan ‘yong students na uuwi sa different municipalities na puwedeng makisuyo sa friends, relatives, or other students to enroll on their behalf. The university registrar was open Decembers 23, 26, 27, and January 3—even late at night. Nasaan sila?” Jimenez said.
However, Jimenez clarified that the enrollment extension will only apply to those who have “valid excuses”, explaining that the social media outrage does not automatically trigger the university’s attention and consideration.
Excuses, she added, will be accepted on a case-to-case basis.
“‘Yong mga nagkaroon ng medical issues or pre-requisite grades na late nabigay ng professors are just some excuses we will allow, pero case-to-case basis. Karamihan kasi ng maiingay and mostly harsh comments sa social media, galing pa sa mga privileged students. Hindi naman tama ‘yon,” she added.
Meanwhile, Elijah Daniel Geanga, University Student Government (USG) president, admitted that there was a miscommunication between the students and the administration, explaining that enrollment by proxy was allowed at the onset.
“Wala naman kasing extension dapat, wala na rin naman kasing excuse not to be on time kasi free tuition and miscellaneous naman na, especially when information was disseminated properly,” Geanga said.
The PSU administration confirmed that following the strict enrollment calendar only applies to undergraduate studies and excludes postgraduate courses and the School of Law.
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