Digital Learning Environment in the Philippines :
Perspective From The U.P. Open University *
By
Prof. Felix Librero
Introduction
Like in many parts of the developing world, digital learning in the Philippines is of very recent vintage, full of problems, brimming with exciting prospects, a growing population of enthusiasts, and a continuing arrogance of the non-believers whose number, we are happy to report, is getting smaller. Yet, this experience is hardly enough basis for making final decisions as to which directions we should go. We have, however, detected certain problems and prospects that we believe could lead to some kind of a trend which we might want to assess further to determine how these might influence the development of digital learning in the country.
To highlight these problems and prospects, therefore, is what this paper intends to do.
By way of providing backgrounder for this presentation, I wish to give a very brief description of the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) as an institution of distance education in the Philippines , and its limited experience in digital learning.
The UP Open University
The University of the Philippines System is comprised of seven (7) constituent universities and the Open University (UPOU) is the fifth. It was established by act of the U.P. Board of Regents on 23 February 1995 . Mandated to deliver academic degree programs in the distance mode, the UPOU is acknowledged as the cyber campus of the University of the Philippines System, now known in the league of open universities in the Asian region, and leading in the formulation and testing of cutting edge innovations in the delivery of quality education services in the distance mode in the Philippines, with an apt slogan, Lifelong Learning for Every Filipino, Lifelong Learning for All.
The UPOU's foundation and development were influenced by a series of events starting with the first school on the air broadcast originating from the U.P. Los Baños (UPLB) in 1967. This was followed by the testing and implementation of a project titled Science Teaching Using Distance Instruction (STUDI) in 1984. As a result of the successful STUDI, a formal degree program called the Diploma in Science Teaching was instituted by UPLB in 1988. In 1991, the President of the University of the Philippines System organized the U.P. Distance Education Program. Then on 23 February 1995 , the U.P. Board of Regents approved the establishment of the UPOU as the 5 th Autonomous University of the U.P. System. The Offices of the Chancellor, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, and five faculties were created: Faculty of Education, Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Management Science, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Faculty of Science and Technology. A couple of years later in 1997, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Support Services was created.
In 1999, the UPOU was reorganized and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Development was created, together with the Audio Visual Learning Laboratory (AVTELL) and the Online Teaching and Learning Laboratory (ONTELL). In January 2004, a second reorganization was implemented, this time with only two vice chancellors and three faculties. The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration were retained. The five faculties were reduced to only three, as follows: Faculty of Education (FED), Faculty of Information and Communications Studies (FICS), and the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS). And the AVTELL and ONTELL were merged to form the Multimedia Center (MC). Also, a Management Information Systems Office (MISO), as well as the Office of the Legal Counsel (OLC) were created.
The UPOU was designed to provide the mechanism for a wider access to U.P. education for more Filipinos without watering down the quality of education that it delivers. It was felt that U.P. was in the best position to offer instruction through distance education in the country given its top caliber human resources, expertise, and experience.
There are 20 academic degree programs offered by the UPOU at present, broken down as follows: one undergraduate program, nine post-baccalaureate Diploma programs, nine Master's programs, and one PhD program. Some of these are ladderized. The specific programs are as follows:
Associate in Arts (AA)
Diploma in Computer Sciences (DCS)
Diploma in Environment & Natural Resources Management (DENRM)
Diploma in Language Studies for Teachers (DLST)
Diploma in Social Studies Education (DSSE)
Diploma in Mathematics Teaching (DMT)
Diploma in Research & Development Management (DR&DM)
Diploma in Science Teaching (DST)
Diploma in Social Work (DSW)
Diploma in Women In Development (DWD)
Master of Arts in Education (MAEd)
Master of Arts in Nursing (MAN)
Master in Development Communication (MDC)
Master of Environment & Natural Resources Management (MENRM)
Master of Hospital Administration (MHA)
Master of Information Systems (MIS)
Master of Public Health (MPH)
Master of Public Management (MPM)
Master of Social Work (MSW)
PhD in Education (PhD)
The UPOU has been designated by the Philippines ' Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as the national center of excellence for open and distance learning, and by the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) as the Philippines ' e-Learning Competency Center. It is also completing this year its second and last three-year term as member of the Executive Board of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU). And the UPOU Chancellor also sits on the Governing Board of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Council Regional Center for Open Learning (SEAMOLEC).
complete paper in PDF file format
*Presented at the Symposium on Digital Learning, Keio University , Japan , 11-13 December 2004. Prof. Librero is Chancellor, University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), Los Baños, Laguna , Philippines . Email: flibrero@upou.org ; Website: www.upou.org .
