Kwentong Kolehiyo

Irregular Students, Victims of Rigid Change

This is to speak about a minority group that is very well known, yet no action is quite significant for them. They call us, Irregular Students, and we came from different stories. Some are from the lazy part of the academe, some are placed in courses they are not really interested and plan to use the course as a stepping stone, while some have personal issues, from family problems, financial problems, to exceptionality. I could never tell all of their stories, but this is my story, our story, from the College of Science.

I started studying in the University of Santo Tomas in the year 2009, as a student in the Faculty of Arts and Letters. I stayed there for 2 years and shifted to the College of Science, at A.Y. 2011-2012. This was during the time when the so called R.A. 10029 or the "Psychology Act of 2009" was being pursued and was enforced during January 2013. There was a strong movement to push a licensure examination that would be under the PRC. It was so strong, that the Psychology Department changed their curriculum for the incoming freshmen of A.Y. 2012-2013, even before the publication of the Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR) during December 2012. Hence, the old curriculum, and new curriculum, were made. I belong to the old curriculum.

By comparison, here are some of the changes, with examples.

1. The subjects in our curriculum are full of subjects that are 3 lecture units, and for them new students, those subjects are dissected in to 2 lecture units with 1 laboratory unit

a. PSY 220: Test Construction

i. 3 Lecture Units for OLD

ii. 2 Lecture Units with 1 Laboratory Unit for NEW.

2. Some subjects also changed name, while retaining the course code

a. PSY 208

i. Psychometrics for OLD

ii. Psychological Assessment for NEW.

3. Other subjects lost laboratory units, thus an increase in lecture units

a. PSY 214: Psychodiagnostics

i. 2 units for OLD

ii. 3 units for NEW

4. Other subjects are removed.

a. PSY 235L: Behavior and Measurement Analysis II Lab

Oh yes, it was a very exciting time for the Department of Psychology and the College of Science, they can again assert their position in the nation as one of the top university through the licensure exams. Too excited, they forgot the consequence that may affect those left with the old curriculum. For example, those who recently graduated, batch 2015, had their own set of problems with the registrar. The registrar recognized the new names of subjects for the new curriculum while disregarding the fact that there are still people who are with the old subject name. Of course, regular students had less of a problem than the irregulars.

The irregulars had to face tough adversity with the curriculum change. They had to face longer hours for subjects that were divided into lecture and laboratory units, instead of having 3 hours for 3 units per week of lecture class alone, they must enroll the lecture class of 2 hours with 6 hours of laboratory summing up to 8 hours per week in order to equate to 3 units. Changed name subjects must be advised to the registrar, and in some cases, the subject cannot be enrolled for the subject's content changed, resulting to a petition class. And totally removed subjects must be requested through a petition and a petition class is definitely not cheap.

Although change is a must for a developing discipline, especially in the face of new paradigms, there must be certain amount of consideration for such cases. The department, the College of Science, even the Registrar's office may have overlooked, or took for granted, the status of the irregulars. For many times our approach to each of this authorities rejected our humble requests of considering the cash involved with the petition classes, that we may be allowed to cross enroll at some other time for it is offered at other colleges, or to take subjects without the prerequisite to the subject for a petition class may take an ample amount of time, as such, we are forced to petition a subject to enroll our practicum, simultaneously for this summer.

I've been in this school for 6 years, and hopefully finish at 7 years. I may have the resources to abide by the costly petition class that we are forced to take due to our deficiencies, but how about those who would not? Yes we are aware of our shortcomings as an irregular student, however it is not entirely our fault that we have been in the time those changes were made. I know the status of the College of Science as being objective and highly follows a protocol, however I cannot discount the fact that we suffer because we had been overlooked as they proceed forward, leaving us striving, crawling, to that evasive diploma.

They never considered our talking and pleading to them, heck, they never even made a consideration of how those students who will fail at the changed subjects be able to graduate on time. I mean, they can make this set of considerations like waiving off pre requisite subjects, less expenses for petition classes, or even allowing to take subjects in place of the lost one. Student councils may repeatedly state that they are willing to help irregulars, well hello there, this is one problem you may have not seen, yet.

How can we irregular students, move with the excellence that one may expect from a student, if they keep making us feel we are irregular students? There may be programs for us, activities, societies, but some, or not all would prefer to stay at other places, many of which had Navarra billiards, Rosarito billiards, TAPSI, ViewPoint, or other else. Motivation is the key for us irregs, and partly, and sadly, the administration itself provides nothing for that motivation. Will this ever be resolved? Maybe, or maybe not, unless a true irregular speaks out. But for now, who are who to the administration really. Are we seen as part of the population, or a sample to neglect.