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Mountain Province State Polytechnic College
April 2007

Steadfast in providing learning and lifetime experiences to its clientele

The first idea of having a college in Mountain Province is attributed to Mr. Alfredo Belingon, who was then the Social Studies Supervisor in the Bontoc, Ifugao, Apayao-Kalinga (BIAK) Division of the Department of Education. He started working for the establishment of the Mountain Province Community College (MPCC) and nursed it for more than two years before he was appointed assistant superintendent of Kalinga-Apayao. Dr. Allyson Belagan took over as officer-in-charge of the college for one year before handing it over to his full-time successor.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

In 1973, Mr. John "Kodoo" Daoas was pulled out from the Eastern Philippine Colleges to run the new college. Bringing with him his experiences as a professor and administrator of a tertiary institution, he harnessed whatever resource there was and continued the programs of his predecessor.

By 1992, four degree programs were offered: Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, B.S. in Commerce, B.S. in Accountancy, and Bachelor of Arts. The College also offered two non-degree programs Graduate Midwifery and Junior Secretarial.

Governance of the MPCC was in the hands of a Board of Directors headed by the Provincial Governor. The first Chairman of the Board of Directors was Gov. Jaime Gomez. The college, however, drew its main operating expenses from the fees paid by students. With the low paying capacity of students who mostly came from low-income families in the region, the collections were far from sufficient to meet the needs of the college. The college had been operating on a shoestring budget. It was this pitiful financial status of the community college that led people to work for its conversion into a State College.

As early as 1975, then Regional Director Telesforo Boquiren and his Assistant Regional Director Bernardo Reyes started talking of establishing a state college in the Mountain Province. Proposals were written and submitted to then Education Secretary Juan Manuel but without positive result.

When Engr. Victor Dominguez was elected to the Batasang Pambansa in 1978, he filed a bill for the creation of the Mountain Province State College but was overtaken by a moratorium imposed on the establishment of additional state colleges in the country.

After the reorganization of the Congress of the Philippines in 1987, Congressman Dominguez was re-elected and once more worked for the establishment of a state college in the Mountain Province. He requested two or three groups to draft a bill for the purpose. These drafts were synchronized and the final copy was filed in Congress when it opened for its session in 1991. This bill later became Republic Act No. 7182. With its approval on January 17, 1992, the dream of establishing the only college in Mountain Province was finally realized.

According to R.A. 7182, the MOUNTAIN PROVINCE STATE POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE (MPSPC) has four campuses. These are the College of Arts and Sciences in Bontoc, which is the former MPCC in Bontoc; the College of Engineering and Technology in Tadian, the former post-secondary of Tadian School of Arts and Trades; the College of Agriculture, supposed to be located at Paracelis; and the College of Forestry to be located at Barlig.

The Polytechnic had to take over the collegiate programs in these different campuses, which were turned over by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports.

At present, MPSPC has only two campuses: the Bontoc campus for arts and sciences degrees, and graduate studies; and the Tadian campus for engineering, technology and forestry degrees.

Dr. Marcelino Delson served as the first president of the College from 1992 to July 2004. National Economic Development Authority – Cordillera Administrative Region (NEDA-CAR) Director Juan Ngalob served as OIC-President from August 2004 to March 2005. Dr. Nieves Dacyon, who was elected College President in February 2005, took over the reins of the College in April 2005.

PRESENT TIMES

When Dr. Dacyon assumed presidency of the institution, she was faced with the herculean challenge of setting things in order to get the Polytechnic attuned to its new vision. Equally, she was faced with the great task of encouraging all sectors of the Polytechnic to attain not only institutional standards but national and international standards, as well.

The sheer plethora of issues and problems facing the Polytechnic necessitated a systematic approach in making the Polytechnic to perform better and to strengthen existing programs. In her two-year leadership, the College president introduced new innovations and encouraged the review of existing policies in the hope of developing College programs and governance.

Under Dr. Dacyon, MPSPC scored modest accomplishments, among them:

On instruction, several programs were reviewed and upgraded to keep abreast with the policies, standards and provisions of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). To enhance the competencies, attitudes and teaching skills of faculty members, they participated in trainings, conferences, seminars and fora conducted both inside and outside the Polytechnic. For continuing education, faculty and staff are encouraged to pursue advance training, aside from their masters and doctorate degrees. The College was able to secure full sponsorship from CHED for the funding of its Special Graduate Diploma Course on Higher Education Management, which is presently provided by Saint Louis University.

At present, the College has a teaching force of 126 faculty members, 18 percent of whom are doctorate degree holders and 48 percent are master’s degree holders.

The second semester of the current academic year accommodated a total of 4,610 undergraduate and 130 graduate students. For the March 2007 commencement exercises, 865 students were conferred their degrees.

The continuing efforts of all employees towards quality placed MPSPC in the limelight in terms of board examinations and other students’ significant achievements. The result of the 2006 Criminology Board Exam plucked the College from obscurity when Florida Loya placed 13th in the National Licensure Examination for Criminologists. This feat likewise made MPSPC the fourth top performing criminology school nationwide in terms of board examination passing rate in category B as adjudged by the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC).

On student services’ development, the procurement of library and other learning resources, such as books, computers, other facilities and equipment have been prioritized. Book acquisitions through linkages have also been encouraged. Various student co-curricular/extra curricular activities are conducted, such as student orientation, consultation, forum/symposium, leadership training, socio-cultural competitions and the like. MPSPC also got first place in the Regional Annual Administrative Performance Evaluation competition in 2006.

Also last year, Rep. Victor Dominguez of the Lone District of Mountain Province provided a subsidy, which covered all the tuition and miscellaneous fees of students, to go down in history as the only state institution providing free tuition and miscellaneous fees for students.

Research, one of the thrusts of the College, is given attention and full support by the administration. Through the efforts of the faculty and staff, researches have been conceptualized, approved and conducted. Most of the ongoing researches are attuned to addressing institutional and rural development concerns.

The Extension Services of the College are geared towards self-help projects, hoping to become a demo-farm and training center. On-going competency trainings are integrated in various ladderized programs. Short courses offered under the Industrial Technology, Information Technology, Forestry and other programs of the institution are allied to the Ladderization Education Program under Executive Order (E.O.) No. 358.

MPSPC entered into memoranda of understanding (MOUs)/ memoranda of agreement (MOAs) to strengthen its relationship with line agencies, non-government organizations, other state universities and colleges (SUCs) and private universities. These linkages spell out the integrity that the College itself carries.

The administration and general management of the College is focused on re-directing VMGOs, development programs, fast tracking of systems, setting policies, standards and guidelines, like manuals on administration, faculty, scholarship and student, and on new scheme of the performance evaluation system. The CSC program on job rotation and transfer was implemented in response to manpower utilization and maximization of resources. The programs under the human resources department are amplified for the re-tooling of personnel toward the efficient and effective accomplishment of their functions. The automation of records, especially for students, were undertaken with the integration of the Student Information and Accounting System (SIAS). Data or information is being generated from the system so as to comply with the reports, as required by the institution and other agencies. For development of other services, support and commitment from local officials were obtained.

FLAGSHIP ACADEMIC COURSES

The Mountain Province State Polytechnic College is the premier higher education institution in the Mountain Province geared towards rural development, excellence and global competitiveness.

It now offers seven graduate and 22 undergraduate programs. It has seven ladderized programs in compliance with E.O. 358: B.S. in Hotel and Restaurant Management, B.S. in Tourism, B.S. in Civil Engineering, B.S. in Industrial Education, B.S. in Industrial Technology, B.S. in Hotel and Restaurant Services, B.S. in Office Administration, B.S. in Agroforestry and Bachelor of Agricultural Technology. There are 17 embedded competencies in the programs, which answer the needs for employment and individual sustainability.

Of all courses offered by the Polytechnic, B.S. in Criminology made a mark in quality instruction with the 13th place national ranking of Loya in the 2006 Licensure Examination for Criminologists, leading the other 44 students. This feat also made the College fourth place in category B.

In accreditation, the Teacher Education programs in both Bontoc and Tadian campuses have been awarded Level II Re-accredited status.

The Nursing course on the other hand, passed the requirements of the Regional Quality Assessment Team from CHED, thereby, confirming MPSPC’s authorized operation and implementation of the program. It willfinally perfect its MOA with PLT and Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center this month for its nursing students.

Hand in hand with the incessant support of the management, faculty and staff and other stakeholders, the College is steadfast in providing the learning and lifetime experiences expected by its clientele.

Source: Manila Bulletin Online