Enrolment up by 4.3%
Teamwork and effective strategies seen as big factors
Everyone’s efforts at helping increase enrolment in Adamson seem to have paid off.
The perennial downtrend has finally been arrested this school year as statistics released by the Office of the Registrar show. Mrs. Nilda Ibañez, the University Registrar, happily announced that the total enrolment for the first semester, SY 2009-2010 stands at 15,881 as of July 1, 2009. This is an increase of 655 students over last year’s 15,226 enrollees in the first semester, or a 4.3% increase. The number of freshmen is 4,721 while transferees total 791. Last school year’s freshman population in the first semester was 4,162 and transferees 739.
The increase, albeit slight, is very significant as it comes after a steadily declining enrolment figure over a nine-year stretch that began in SY 2000-2001, which then boasted of 19,861 students; previous to that, there were 20,034 enrollees.
The College of Engineering remains the biggest college, with a total of 5,231 enrollees. The Electronics and Communications Engineering program is the most preferred among the ten programs of the College of Engineering. The College of Science comes next with 3,847 enrollees, closely followed by the College of Business Administration which has 3,385 students. B.S. Information Technology is the most preferred among Science courses while Marketing Management is the choice of many B.A. students. Liberal Arts ranks 4th in terms of number of enrollees, followed by Architecture, Nursing, Pharmacy, Education, Law, and Graduate School. The Basic Education Department also posted an increase in enrolment.
An increase in the number of foreign students was also noted, from 115 in the second semester last year to 154. The Chinese are still the biggest group. Impressed with the University’s facilities, the ambassador of the Republic of Timor–Leste chose Adamson for 22 East Timorese students to enroll in.
Given the economic downturn that also gripped educational institutions in early 2009, the increase is a welcome development as it somehow assures the University of financial stability. As early as January this year, University president Fr. Gregg L. Bañaga, Jr., C.M. had been appealing to the university community for cost-cutting measures and for help in attracting more enrollees. In relation to the latter, the administration set the tone by taking the bold move of freezing the tuition fee.
Mr. Benjamin Urbano, Jr., head of the Scheduling and Automation Section of the Registrar’s Office, explained that after the formation of the all-too important Enrolment Committee, several strategies were adopted. Formed for the first time, the committee served as a core group that had direct access to the president and the vice-presidents for quicker execution of plans, resolution of problems and for daily assessment. It was composed of deans, chairpersons and some directors whose offices’ services were considered crucial.
The effective strategies included:
-The scrapping of the entrance exam fee when exams were conducted in selected feeder schools to attract high school graduates.
-The online, real-time availability of subjects and schedules in the university websites which allowed students advanced selection of subjects before coming for actual enrolment.
-The block section enrolment scheme which grouped students according to the General Weighted Average (WGA) of their grades. This allowed students to reserve as early as summer for the block they wanted to be included in and cut the enrolment process by more than 50%.
-The strict observance of the 4-day enrolment schedule and the Php500 penalty for late enrollees which stopped the old habit of enrolling in the last minute.
-The “pilot centers” established in different colleges which accepted payments from students with no back accounts, thus eliminating the usually long lines at the cashier’s office.
In addition, the enrolment was made as convenient as possible through improved facilities and procedures. The Admissions Office under the Office of the Registrar was redesigned to serve as a one-stop shop wherein new students and transferees got enrolled without going anywhere else. The ST quad, where subject lists were posted on acrylic sheet-protected display panels, was covered with a huge tent to foil the summer heat and provided with ambient music.
Asked what he thought about the enrolment, Fr. Bañaga had this to say: “Despite the crisis, I am happy to note we have increased enrolment. I’d like to believe this is because people recognize the quality and affordability of our educational programs and services.” He also acknowledged the way the administration, faculty, staff and even the student government (AUSG) worked together. Indeed, the record-breaking rise in enrolment is the result of cooperative and collaborative action by the different sectors of the university community. If the school’s IQUAME bid mustered the collective muscle of the community, it seems that the same has lingered long enough to be flexed again for the enrolment campaign. Many, if not everyone, pitched in an effort or two, from school-to-school campaign, to hanging “No Tuition Fee Increase – Adamson University” tarp banners in their houses, to word-of-mouth invitations. by Raul Agner
