UE COLLEGE ENROLLMENT UP BY 3.36% IN 2ND SEM Battad urges UE community to help in school marketing

THE UNIVERSITY of the East (UE) saw a slight increase in enrollment turnout as it reopened its doors for more face-to-face classes in the second semester of the academic year 2022–2023.

According to data from the Information Technology Department (ITD) as of February 10, the Manila and Caloocan campuses have a total of 12,601 students enrolled in the current semester. This is a 3.36 percent increase over the previous academic year’s second semester enrollment turnout of 12,191 UE Manila has 7,707 students enrolled, while the Caloocan Campus has 4,894. The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) had the most students enrolled at the Manila Campus, with 2,268 students. It was followed by the College of Business Administration (CBA), which had 1,808 students, and the College of Dentistry (CDent) with 1,688. Furthermore, 859 students enrolled at the UE Manila College of Engineering (CEng’g), while 839 students registered at the College

by Marie Gold Vivien M. Totanes & Mae Rocelle D. Sulit

of Computer Studies and Systems (CCSS).

With only 245 students, the College of Education (CEduc) is the smallest College on the Manila Campus.

Meanwhile, CEng’g has the most students at UE Caloocan, with 1,898, followed by CBA and the College of Fine Arts, Architecture, and Design (CFAD), with 1,178 and 1,133 enrollees, respectively.

Unlike the counterpart College on the Manila Campus, the UE Caloocan CAS has the smallest population, with only 685 students enrolled in the second semester.

Despite the improved enrollment results, the Dawn observed that enrollment in half of UE Manila’s colleges had slightly decreased, including CDent, which now only offers face-to-face, onsite classes.

Three of the four colleges on the Caloocan Campus, on the other hand, saw significant increases in enrollment. CFAD was one of them, with a 35.53 percent increase in enrollment. CFAD, like CDent, offers full-fledged in-person classes.

During an interview with University President Zosimo Battad, he praised the Caloocan Campus for its high enrollment turnout over the previous four academic years.

“It was the Caloocan Campus that has been saving the University for the last four years sa enrollment. Ngayon, university-wide, we are about seven percent [higher] compared to last year, basically because of the higher enrollment turnout in Caloocan,” revealed Battad, who previously served as Chancellor of UE Caloocan for 11 years.

The UE President also stated that the decline in enrollment turnout in some undergraduate programs was caused by “difficulty many of our citizens are experiencing.”

“Mabuti nga sa UE nag-survive tayo because of, probably, the strength of our academic programs. ‘Yun ang nag-save sa’tin. The resilient courses saved us.” According to Battad, many private Higher Education Institutions (HEI) were forced to close due to the pandemic.

As a result, the UE President encouraged the UE community to help in promoting the University, emphasizing that everyone in the institution—not just the marketing director—is responsible for doing so.

“Trabaho rin ‘yan ng chancellor, trabaho ng deans, trabaho ng mga faculty, at trabaho ng mga student leaders. We are all marketers of UE, and we should [it] carry with pride always,” he said.

Battad also stated that he has always worn and carried something associated with UE, believing that this can help in the “direct marketing image of the University.”

“Kaya nakikita ninyo lahat ng uniform ko, may UE dito. Kung wala ‘yung barong, naglalagay ako ng pin. I carry that everywhere, even if I go to another country. I always have my handbag with me na may UE,” he said.

“That is how you should model the University. The whole studentry [and] the whole faculty—that should be their attitude towards the University,” the UE President added.

UE’s F2F classes spur mixed reactions from students

THE UNIVERSITY of the East (UE) has implemented more face-to-face classes in the second semester of the academic year 2022-2023, but students have had mixed reactions.

Mae, a Multimedia Arts student from the UECaloocan College of Fine Arts, Architecture, and Design (CFAD), has been perplexed by the “immediate changes” of the learning environment.

This semester, CFAD and the College of Dentistry (CDent) have returned to a fully onsite learning mode, while other colleges have implemented hybrid classes, which combine onsite and online sessions.

“It would be more convenient if they settled into one [learning] setup per school year only,” the Multimedia Arts student suggested.

Similarly, Lia, a Psychology student from the UE-Caloocan

by Florieghin A. Sanglitan & Amariah C. Dimatangal

College of Arts and Sciences, stated that the new arrangement has resulted in additional costs for the students.

“Mas naging magastos ngayong hybrid setup, almost pa-fully F2F (face-to-face) na kaya magastos talaga. Also, mas tiring and exhausting ‘yung schedule kasi may mga inaabot na ng gabi and ‘yung iba malayo pa ‘yung bahay nila sa school,” she attested.

The Psychology student also claimed that the University was not prepared to offer full onsite and hybrid classes. She stated that UE needs to improve its facilities and services, such as its Internet connection and faulty projectors.

“Hindi fully ready ang University for hybrid and full F2F, marami pa dapat i-improve sa facilities at classrooms, like their WiFi and classroom projectors,” she underscored.

During a dialogue with the University Student Council (USC), UE President Zosimo M. Battad admitted that the Caloocan Campus has been experiencing Internet problems, particularly in computer learning centers, due to its limited Internet speed of 200–250 megabits per second (Mbps).

He did, however, say that UE’s Internet bandwidth is “okay” as long as there is no concurrent usage.

“The bandwidth is okay if the students are not using it at the same time. There is traffic when the students and the faculty are using it at the same time,” Battad explained.

Despite the difficulties caused by the new setup, the Psychology student sees a bright side to the situation.

“It’s fine naman for everyone kasi may mas matututunan [ang] students with face-to-face interaction rather than online, and makakapagcommunicate pa with each other,” she told the Dawn.

Jean Gabrielle, a Dentistry student, has similar problems with the University’s “slow” Internet connection.

“We still have to load data on our phones to get a proper connection because sometimes the connection on campus is slow, so the students and teachers are having a hard time getting a proper connection,” she reiterated.

Meanwhile, Andrew, an Architecture student, prefers the new learning modality because it allows students “more time to do their activities.”

“I see myself learning further with this setup because it is easier to understand my professor’s instructions because you can ask them personally,” he stated.

Likewise, Catherine, an Accountancy student from the UE-Manila College of Business Administration, said that the hybrid setup allows students to have a more convenient learning experience.

“The face-to-face classes enable us to attend lectures and ask questions. Asynchronous sessions are when I usually catch up on my readings or review subjects that I have difficulty understanding,” she said.

However, the Accountancy student expressed how difficult it is for her to commute to school during on-site classes.

“Coming to the University during face-to-face classes to attend a 7:30 a.m. class is tiring for me since I have to wake up earlier to avoid traffic and the rush hour,” she lamented.