ILOILO CITY -- The Iloilo City Community College (ICC) is looking forward to benefit from Republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act which was signed into law last August.
School administrator Ma.Mathilde T. Octavio on Wednesday said that ICC was the only local college in Western Visayas recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in 2016.
“Since the program will be coursed through CHED, one of the requirements is that the school has to be recognized by the commission,” she explained.
She added that they are just waiting for guidelines since the free tertiary program was first implemented in state universities and colleges. She hoped that it would be next school year.
ICC’s population this school year is below 500 due to the full-swing implementation of the K to 12 program. Way back 2015, its population reached almost 800.
Students are paying a minimal fee of PHP100 per unit or around PHP3,000 per semester. The remaining fees are being shouldered by the city government.
Students can also avail of academic scholarship provided they meet the grade requirement or apply as working students by rendering some 200 hours of volunteer service in exchange for free tuition.
Private sector is also helping students under the Adopt-A-Scholar program. Majority of students in ICC are from indigent families in the city.
ICC offers Bachelor of Arts in Office Administration and Bachelor of Science in Travel Management.
Octavio said that the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act would further help lessen the dropout rate of the college which is less than 20 percent.
Currently, ICC is working to become a member of the Association of Local Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation, a private body that accredits local colleges and universities and lobbies for benefits that are available at the Commission on Higher Education, she added. (PNA)
