Upon the approval of the University President Dr. Hernando D. Robles, the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) now operationalizes its proposal to restructure its Liberal Arts Division. CAS Dean Dr. Bettina Joyce P. Ilagan confirmed the approval thru her Office Memorandum No. 07, S. 2021 dated 29 April 2021, “Restructuring of the Arts Division of CAS.” With this new set-up, the College is now composed of five departments, namely: Department of Biological Sciences, Department of Communication, Department of Humanities, Department of Physical Sciences, and Department of Social Sciences.
A three-fold proposal to restructure the Liberal Arts Division, to revise its College Goals and Department Objectives, and to include the Sentro ng Pasalita at Pampook na Kasaysayan or the Oral and Local History Center in the College’s Organizational Structure was submitted and approved by the CAS Academic Council, Council of Academic Affairs Heads, University Administrative Council consecutively. The establishment of the Sentro ng Pasalita at Pampook na Kasaysayan was approved earlier by the Office of the University President.
Among the legal bases and references for this restructuring are the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) CMO No. 44, S1997: Policies and Standards for Humanities, Social Sciences, and Communication Education, Article 2, Section 2, which states that courses in the Liberal Arts are generally classified into three areas, namely: Humanities (Languages, Literature, Philosophy, Arts and Music); Social Sciences (History, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, and Economics); and Communication (Broadcasting, Journalism, and Communication Arts); CHED Memorandum Order No. 20, Series of 2013: General Education Curriculum: Holistic Understandings, Individual and Civic Competencies; and J. Kagan’s 2009 article The three cultures: Natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities in the 21st century.
Alongside restructuring the arts division, the existing college goals were also revised with the inclusion of the primary function of the College of offering general education courses and reflecting the instruction, research, extension, and resource generation functions, as well as the revision of department objectives. Truly, CAS, being the Carriers of Truth, Advocates of Excellence, and Stewards of Service continuously commits to the vision and mission of the University.
