The Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) hosted the Viewfinder SAMAHAN Student Summit 2019 in the afternoon of Wednesday, 13 February 2019, at the Finster Auditorium, Jacinto campus. This summit is an avenue for students to address their concerns to the University administration. Information submitted to the forum was obtained through a survey conducted among the student body.
SAMAHAN Viewfinder Ambassador JV Velasco gave a report regarding the “Methodology” of the survey, and the answers gotten from the survey question “Reasons Students Chose Ateneo de Davao University.” SAMAHAN Secretary General Mina Limbaga followed with her report on the “Importance of Specific Issues Identified,” as well as her data regarding “Satisfactory ratings of student services and school Facilities.” Lastly, SAMAHAN President Jerry Huerbana reported on the “Importance of Other University Concerns.”
According to the Viewfinder annual report, the subject “Degree or Program Offerings” was the survey question with the most answers, with at least 365 respondents. Following this were the “Reasons Why Students Enrolled in AdDU,” garnering a percentage of 21%; while the subject of “Co-Curricular Activities” came in last, with a percentage of 3% of the student body responding.
The most number of respondents identified the “Enrolment Process” as their primary issue. Most of the respondents from different clusters found that a solution to the difficulties of the enrolment process needed to be proposed and delivered immediately. Arising from this issue was the complaint that the pre-registration process does not serve the purpose.
Secretary General Limbaga said that “Students find the pre-registration problematic because of multiple concerns regarding the Student Information System (SIS).” On the day of pre-registration, students cannot access their SIS accounts because the system became overloaded with traffic from students who want to choose their own schedules.
“The pre-registration serves as a chance for students to be able to select their own subjects that are available to them, along with their major subjects, so that they can come up with their own schedules.” she said.
The report assembled from the Viewfinder surveys recommended that pre-registration should be introduced three weeks before the enrolment period through proper dissemination of information. Another recommendation was also that enrolment blocks should be lifted per division so that students may be able to enroll in their required subjects per semester.
Also sparking concerns among the students was the prospective Tuition and Other Fees Increase (TOFSI). According to the Viewfinder report, most students did not know where the money they pay for their miscellaneous fees is spent, and they also wondered whether the tuition fee increase was reasonable to begin with.
Chairperson of the AdDU Research Council (URC) Dr. Loudesita Sobrevega-Chan raised issues on procedure that lead to inconsistencies in the final Enrolment survey report, for the report compiling responses to the survey choice “ enrollment process was complicated” for the during second semester was the complete opposite of the gathered idea. She claimed that the students found the enrolment process satisfactory during the second semester.
“These points added to what the President said that the interpretation was problematic. It says that half of the students are not satisfied, but the interpretation says they are,” she said.
On Student Services, the students reported a high satisfaction rating for the University LIbrary, while the College Bookstore reported a moderate satisfaction rating.
The University Chapel and the various prayer rooms scored the highest satisfaction rating under the category of University facilities, while the comfort rooms got the lowest satisfaction rating.
The Viewfinder SAMAHAN Student Summit is conducted once a year to gauge the feelings and opinions of AdDU students on the facilities, policies, programs and other components of University operations. It is also the main opportunity for students to air their concerns directly to the University central administration, including the University President, who also make suggestions and propose solutions to the different issues raised. The Ateneo de Davao University is the only university in Davao City to allow its students to engage in direct dialogue with the university administration.
Written by Maiko Angelo Guino-o, AB Comms IV
Photo credit: Atenews
