by Joshua Enrick D. Tatlonghari
Despite the reduced number of enrollees on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, the College of Commerce and Business Administration still managed to improve its roster of students by 337.
PHOTO BY: Mark Daniel F. Pareño
Enrollment figures revealed by the Office of the Dean showed that 2,467 students enlisted for the First Term of Academic Year 2020-2021. This surpassed the 2,130 registrants in the same term of 2019, when the College had a normal population for the first and second year levels in all majors but only had a handful of Marketing Management and Financial Management sections in the higher years due to the nation-wide implementation of the K-12 program.
A boost was expected this year as only the senior classes remained affected by the K-12 aftermath that caused college enrollment to drastically dwindle while junior high school graduates spent an additional two years in senior high school. However, many students ended up not enrolling in college this term as the COVID-19 pandemic wrought economic havoc among the mostly middle-class families of Thomasians.
Further complicating the dilemma was the University’s decision to switch to an online mode of course delivery, which required students to have suitable gadgets, reliable internet connection, and enough self-discipline to manage their academic duties at home.
Ian Ong of the Financial Management Department (2FM2) said he still doubts the effectiveness of purely online classes.
“ [I]f ako naman [papipiliin], ... takot din naman ako mahuli pero [sa] tingin ko [rin] naman [hindi] gaano [ka-worth] it ang online class. Mas [madali] [ang] [face-to-face] class [para] sa akin,” Ong stated.
On the other hand, Jesse Mariz Barcena of the Business Economics Department (2E3) said it is better to accept the shift to distance learning.
“[Nag-enroll] ako this year kasi parang walang certainty kung kailan matatapos [itong] pandemic kaya parang kailangan din natin [mag-adjust] kasi ito na [ang] new normal, which is distance learning,” Ms. Barcena said.
The University requires the use of the Blackboard Learning Management System in the delivery of courses for the First Term. Online classes are conducted via synchronous and asynchronous modes, as faculty members upload lectures and other learning materials and also assign coursework for the students to complete.
Collaborative activities among the students are also encouraged, in order to maximize the features of Blackboard and at the same time attain the goals of Outcomes Based Education.
To prepare the faculty for the new mode of course delivery, the University conducted online seminars during the Special Term of A.Y. 2019-2020. All UST teaching staff were trained to efficiently use Blackboard in their classes. They were also apprised on the pedagogical approaches appropriate for teaching in a virtual learning environment.
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