3,314 freshmen enrollees projected next AY 2019-2020
3,314 freshmen students are forecasted to enroll in the following academic year (AY) 2019-2020 according to the Center for Student Admissions (CSA) data based on the number of sections per program being offered by the respective deans of the seven colleges.
Despite the gradual normalization of the freshmen enrollee count after the complete adaptation of the K-12 program, there is still an estimated 7,248 enrollees next AY, a lower count from the 7,516 enrollees this AY. The 7,248 students is comprised of the remaining students from the second semester of AY 2018-2019 and the additional projected freshmen less the tentative count of graduating seniors this July.
The College of Business Administration and Accountancy has still the highest projected freshmen count with 912 students, 266 of which comes from the Accountancy program.
In an article published in The HERALDO FILIPINO broadsheet volume 33 issue 1 titled Number of undergraduate students ‘lowest in years’ – Registrar, University Registrar Paulino Gatpandan said that the university population will normalize starting AY 2021-2022, when there will be undergraduate enrollees from first year to fourth year.
However, Gatpandan said that it will be expected that the undergraduate student population will not be the same due to the implementation of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act which aims to offer free tuition to student from local colleges and state universities.
Transition period
On the other hand, the current AY 2018-2019 marks as a transitory period considering both the graduating seniors on July, leaving only the incoming first year, second year, and fifth year, along with irregular students.
First year Business and Operations Management Ernand Luiz Legaspi, expressed his perspective on the issue, stating: “I could say that the lack of upperclassmen can be the same to a lack of student leaders. It is true that our current fourth years will be graduating soon and their responsibilities will soon be pass[ed] upon us (incoming second year students).”
He added that the absence of graduating students might affect first years, stating that this is a huge leap to take duties and responsibilities as early as next AY.
Meanwhile, Office of the Student Services Dean Arch. Antonio Gutierrez Jr. shared that student organizations are also currently experiencing hardships this AY 2018-2019.
“Wala tayong third year, wala tayong second year, so ‘yong mga normally [na] gumagawa sa isang organization, wala. Ang first year bago pa lang, tapos ang mga student leaders, fourth year [on their] OJTs [and] thesis so definitely we should also look on that context,” Gutierrez said.
