SU President bares plans to continue digitalization, modernization
Dr. Betty Cernol McCann, SU president (Photo by Carmelle Eunice Mundo, SU Camera Club)
Dr. Betty Cernol McCann, Silliman University (SU) president, outlines in her message during the All-University Academic Convocation the University’s efforts to continue its digital transformation and modernization in response to the global, digital, and knowledge economy.
The convocation, held on September 28, 2022, at the Claire Isabel McGill Luce Auditorium, was the first in-person convocation since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
McCann enumerated three major changes in higher education: the need to respond to not only national issues but also regional and global issues; the shift from analog to digital technology; and the need to consider the knowledge-based economy in changing teaching models.
Students attend the first in-person All-University Academic Convocation since 2020. (Photo by Carmelle Eunice Mundo, SU Camera Club)
In an effort to make SU “responsive to the needs of the times,” McCann said SU is integrating and prioritizing global studies in its different academic programs to “prepare learners for global citizenship and worldwide engagement.”
McCann also mentioned SU’s achievements regarding its shift to digital technology, including the continuous retooling and upskilling sessions for faculty and staff; establishment of the Office of Silliman Online University Learning; the SU Library’s digitalization and modernization; online guidance and counseling services; holding of virtual conferences, training, and events; and the digitalization of university processes such as the online registration system.
As for catering to a knowledge-based economy, McCann said this requires educational institutions to focus more on the outcome and performance of learning, rather than the compliance to complete a course within a given time.
“This is paving the way to offer competency-based certificate courses and micro-credentials for purposes of immediate need-based, skills-focused employment. Human resource requirements in business and industry now demand marketable certificate courses on top of, and in some cases, in lieu of college diplomas,” said McCann.
SU announced last September 2, 2022, that it will establish the Dr. Mariano Lao Global Studies Center to offer short courses and certificate programs online, enabling students from anywhere in the world to experience SU’s whole person education.
New divisions
SU administrators and unit heads (Photo by Mecaila Miranda, SU Camera Club)
In response to the changing education environment, SU also set up new divisions in the University as mentioned by McCann in her message: the Organizational Development and Human Resource Management Division and the Information and Communication Technology Division.
McCann said SU also focuses on the following areas of concern: persistent connectivity issues; re-energizing psychosocial programs for students, faculty, and staff; continuing upskilling programs and learning assessments; upgrading tools and hardware; empowering units or divisions to strategize for needed changes without losing sight of the institution’s vision and collective welfare; dealing with the impact of a number of external forces, such as natural disasters; and meeting the changing expectations of university policymakers, administrators, teachers, staff, students and the external public.
SU’s priorities, said McCann, are guided by a roadmap adopted by SU at the height of the pandemic.
“(SU) adopted a roadmap that subscribed to a theory of change, which states: ‘If the internal capacity, systems, and culture are enhanced, and the policy environment and provision of support from various sectors are secured, then the level of readiness and quality of delivery for a 21st-century education will be assured,’” she added.
Moreover, McCann reported that SU experienced no layoffs among its personnel.
“Despite the onslaught of the health pandemic, I am happy to report that unlike in other schools, colleges and universities, Silliman experienced no lay off among its personnel, no one displaced; with salary levels and benefits improved within our resource and capacity. Student enrolment remained steady, even with or because of our digital or online learning capacity,” said McCann.
The All-University Academic Convocation is a bi-annual gathering of SU faculty, staff, and students held at the start of the semester for them to be informed about the latest developments in the University.
In his message during the convocation, Dr. Earl Jude Paul L. Cleope, SU vice president for academic affairs, welcomed students into the Silliman community.
“I hope that as you make your way through this place and become a worthy member of our community that you, too, will find your own ways to contribute to our culture of caring. As you do so in this particular time in our society’s life, please focus on ways to overcome our regional divisions, help heal our environment, and to be kind and compassionate to one another,” said Cleope.
