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February 12, 2014 10:10am
The University of Santo Tomas (UST) has moved its academic year to start in July and end in May, its official publication The Varsitarian said.
The Varsitarian, quoting UST Secretary General Fr. Winston Cabading, said the university will adopt the new academic calendar starting the school year 2014-2015 "as a gradual transition to a much later date for the opening of the school year in 2015-2016 and onwards."
A copy of UST's new academic calendar showed that the Mass of the Holy Spirit, which marks the start of UST's school year, will be held on July 7 while the start of regular classes will be on July 14. This is a month-long difference from the previous calendar.
It likewise said there will be 104 school days for the first semester (July to November) and another 104 for the second semester (January to May), giving a total of 208 days for academic year 2014-2015.
The Varsitarian, however, said that the change will only apply to UST's tertiary and post-graduate programs and that faculty members are still required to report for work starting June 2.
Earlier, the Ateneo de Manila University and the University of the Philippines system also announced that they are shifting their academic calendars from August to May, aligning their schedule with their overseas partners and ensuring that their graduates will have a global outlook.
But aside from Ateneo, UP and UST, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines had also said that De La Salle University and Adamson University were also considering changing their school calendar. Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ, GMA News