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Fernandez Colleges
July 2007
Passion for excellence
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
The Fernandez Colleges, initially called the Fernandez Institute of
Technology, was a brainchild of spouses Marcelo and Lourdes Fernandez. The
couple came home after spending 13 years abroad as university professors and
manager of Coopers & Lybrand, then the biggest management and accounting firm
in the world. Realizing the incipient rise of technology for global
competition, the couple decided to return and devote their energies to
technology - based education in the country.
The Fernandez Institute of Technology, true to the mission of the spouses,
initially started with seven TESDA vocational – technical courses – Welding,
Automotive, Mechanical Technology, Computer Secretarial, Electronics and
Computer Service Technician. About 400 students responded to its clarion call
when it opened on May 17, 1994.
Additional TESDA courses were opened as more students flocked to the school.
Courses added were Basic Seaman Course, Business Technology, Physical Therapy,
Hotel and Restaurant Management, Certified Nursing Assistant and Maritime
Transportation Technology.
The school became very active in TESDA affairs. Mr. Fernandez even became the
Chairman of the TESDA Regional Committee, Regional Competency and Assessment
Committee and Vice Chairman of the Regional Skills Training and Development
Foundation.
In addition, Mr. Fernandez was elected President of the Regional Association
of Technical Schools from 1995 to 2006, as well as the Bulacan Association of
Technical Schools from 1996 – 2004.
The students were very active in skills competition, winning provincial as
well as regional awards. Within the school, Quiz Bowls were regularly held,
honing up their knowledge and skills.
In 1995, the school opened a branch in Baliuag to cope with its expanding
population. Through a school loan from Plantersbank, a five–storey building
was constructed in the center of Baliuag, Bulacan, the thriving Business
Center of Northern Bulacan. This enabled the school to cater to more students.
By 2000, the Fernandez Institute of Technology was awarded the Centennial
National Kabalikat Award, together with the Meralco Foundation Institute, for
outstanding performance in technical education.
Over the years, the school’s graduates have shown their outstanding
performances in competitive exams in various examinations for jobs in
Australia, Austria, Germany and the United States. This is a proof of the
school’s success in its mission to provide more access to foreign jobs to the
Filipino youth.
By 1999, more and more graduates of the school asked management to offer four
– year courses to enable them to continue their schooling. Management
responded vigorously to this dream of its technical and vocational graduates.
Upon application with the Commission on Higher Education the school’s name was
changed to Fernandez College of Arts and Technology. Courses applied for were
BS Accountancy, Business Administration, BS Computer Science, Computer
Engineering, BS Education, Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Mass
Communication.
PRESENT TIMES
Already, the Fernandez College has established a good record in the
professional board examinations: Criminology, about 40 percent passing rate,
Physical Therapy, 100 percent; Education, about 50 percent and Certified
Public Accountancy, about 30 percent. Its first batch of Nursing students are
waiting for the Board results which are expected in August.
The College’s HRM, BS Accountancy and BSBA trainees in Singapore have been
rated excellent by their respected employers. To date, about 200 students have
done their training abroad, and about half have been asked to return to work
permanently in Singapore and elsewhere.
The College expanded further its CHED-approved courses to include are:
Bachelor of Laws, BS Nursing, BS Maritime Education, Midwifery and Hotel and
Restaurant Management.
In keeeping with the need of the times, the college opened the Caregiver
Course and set up the first and the only Caregiver Assessment Center in
Bulacan. In addition, Assessment Centers in Household Services NC II (for
Supermaid in Europe and the Middle East), Health Care Services NC II (for
Certified Nursing Assistant and Practical Nursing graduates), Food and
Beverage Services and Bartending NC II (for HRM graduates/students) were also
set up.
For its joint CHED – TESDA ladderized courses program, Fernandez College was
the first college in Bulacan to offer ladderized courses in Information
Technology and Hotel and Restaurant Management. The certificates for the
courses were handed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in Malacañang last
July 2006.
The College continues to be active in TESDA Committees, as well as
professional associations like the Central Luzon Association of Higher
Educational Institutions (CLASSHEI) as Vice President; Central Luzon Council
of Business School Administrators (CLOBA), President; Philippine Association
of Higher Education and Technical Institutions (PAHETI), Past President and
now Board Member; and Bulacan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vice President
for Planning and Development.
The College continues to be an RQAT for CHED, assisting in inspecting colleges
and universities which are putting up courses in Accountancy and Business
Administration.
With all its achievements a corporate plan has been adopted for the College to
achieve university status in 10 to 12 years. Apart from its two campuses, the
plan envisages an additional campus, as well as a hospital for its medical
courses. Research plans and faculty development programs are now being put up.
FLAGSHIP COURSES
Currently, the College has six flagship courses recognized by CHED: 1. BS
Hotel and Restaurant Management 2. BS Criminology 3. BS Maritime
Transportation 4. Bachelor of Laws 5. BS Accountancy and 6. BS Nursing.
On TESDA’s courses, The College has four flagship courses: 1. Automotive
Servicing 2. Hotel and Restaurant Management (which will be soon changed to
eight skills qualification areas) 3. Basic Seaman Course and 4. Certified
Nursing Assistant.
The six CHED flagship courses are the nucleus of its bid to become a
university.
With globalization and the terrorism boom, the College expects HRM graduates
to benefit from worldwide as well as local tourism. On terrorism, The College
expects more Criminology and Law graduates to be on the high list of needed
personnel in the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation
as well as the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The increase in global business, including sea cargo business, th College
expects more Seamen and Maritime officers riding on the high crest of demand
for them, especially the graduates of Fernandez Colleges.
The greying population of the US, Canada, Australia, Japan and Europe is
expected to increase the demand for more nurses and allied personnel.
Realizing this, Fernandez Colleges is boosting its courses for nurses and
allied medical professionals.
Source: Manila Bulletin Online
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