UP PAC oks int’l mobility track guidelines for UPLB academic programs
This is good news for undergraduate students of UPLB who desire to take some courses abroad and have these credited toward completing their degree programs!
The University of the Philippines (UP) Presidential Advisory Council approved the Implementing Guidelines for an International Mobility Track in UPLB Academic Programs on April 13, 2023.
Chancellor Jose V. Camacho, Jr. pushed for the approval of the guidelines to clarify the crediting of courses completed by UPLB students in foreign universities and facilitate the university’s internationalization initiatives.
The guidelines expound on the UP Academic Transfer System (UP ACTS) Guide and the revisions of the University Code provisions related to student mobility and academic transfer approved by the UP Board of Regents (UP BOR) at its 1351st and 1352nd meetings on April 16 and May 21, 2020, respectively.
These policies govern the crediting of courses taken by students who desire to enrich their college experience through the completion of some courses in universities abroad without compromising their college residency.
The guidelines clarify the definition of allied courses as opposed to substitute courses.
Allied courses are those taken outside UPLB that may not have content directly equivalent to existing courses but can be credited because they are aligned with the learning objectives of the field of specialization the student pursues.
These guidelines explain the criteria for course substitution in the UP Code, expand the course choices for outbound students, and maximize the crediting of courses that these students take when on mobility.
The approval of these essential policies and their guidelines are projected to facilitate student mobility and encourage students who want to enrol in foreign universities to experience different cultures and worldviews, learn emerging disciplines and specializations, and experience the use of state-of-the-art facilities and services.
It aims to provide students with opportunities to develop global citizenship skills while ensuring that “the best and the brightest” serve as the University’s ambassadors to the world.
UPLB pushed for the approval of the international mobility track because it believes that dynamic and flexible curricula are essential to incorporating an international, intercultural, and global dimension to student learning in higher education.
