MANILA, Philippines – It’s so far, so good for the first year that the University of the Philippines (UP) is implementing the academic calendar shift.

In fact, some campuses saw an improvement in their international linkages, UP vice president for public affairs Prospero de Vera said in an interview on Wednesday, June 17.

“[UP] Los Baños is hosting a lot of students [from] Indonesia, other ASEAN countries…because of [the] practicality of the calendar. The problem of Los Baños is they have to rapidly improve their facilities,” he added.

Starting school year 2014-2015, the UP System has adopted an August to July school calendar for 8 of its constituent units: UP Diliman, UP Manila, UP Los Baños, UP Baguio, UP Visayas, UP Mindanao, UP Open University, and UP Cebu College.

The university pushed through with the shift despite opposition from several groups within the system. (READ: UP school calendar shift: Who benefits?)

University president Alfredo Pascual said the new school calendar will help UP not only to maximize opportunities brought about by the ASEAN integration, but also to develop into a regional and global university.

According to De Vera, UP campuses in Los Baños, Visayas, and Diliman saw improvement in their linkages in the past year. 

In preparation for the influx of foreign students – especially as ASEAN countries integrate by the end of 2015 – UP Los Baños is already building a new international center. 

“Dumami na rin ‘yung mga exchange professors sa UP at saka mga visiting professors kasi mas madaling i-program,” De Vera said. (The number of exchange professors in UP increased, as well as visiting professors because the exchange is easy to program.)

Although there were reports of students and faculty members fainting because of the intense heat during summer classes, De Vera said the worst fears “did not happen,” and so there is no major reason to revert back to the old academic calendar. (READ: CHED: Academic calendar shift not advisable)

“In terms of sending the signal to potential partners abroad, to other universities, and even to UP that we are ready to link up with the region and with the world…of course it’s positive,” he said. – Rappler.com

Calendar image from Shutterstock