Challenges and Prospects for

Whole Person Education in the

context of the Indigenous People

Confronting the
challenges
Development of the Universitys Eight-Year
Strategic Plan, specifically in the areas of
Accreditation, Curricular Updating, Faculty
Development, and Institutional Conformity to
national and international standards.
actively advocate for Service-Learning which has
now been successfully institutionalized across
the different disciplines in the University.

Guided by its VMG

Vision of SILLIMAN UNIVERSITY
a leading Christian institution committed to total
human development for the well-being of society
and environment.

 tri-logical ministry of teaching, healing and

preaching that is further strengthened by an
approach to a holistic, whole person education
transforming classrooms as conduits for a fuller
appreciation of socio-political and socio-economic
realities.

RESOURCE PLANNING FOR

GRADES K-16

in the context of ASEAN movement

Ben S. Malayang III, PhD; Betsy Joy Tan, PhD;

Earl Jude Cleope, PhD; and Gloria Basa, EdD
Silliman University

Schools Balancing Act

DELIVERY OF
HAVING A VIBRANT & SOUND
GOOD EDUCATION
INSTITUTIONAL LIFE
Good curriculum
Sound Vision, Mission & Goals
Good faculty & staff Sustainable budgetary infrastructure
Good facilities
Solid funding & financial infrastructu
Good alumni (outcomes)
Supportive friends

Whats K-16 About?

3 more years of Basic Ed (1 yr K & 2 yrs Senior HS)
Relocating some baccalaureate courses to Senior HS
Offering a mix bag of pre-college, tech-voc &
additional HS courses in Grades 11 & 12 (in Senior HS)
Modifying the curriculum from K to 10
Reconfiguring the landscape of courses in
baccalaureate degree programs (and so also beyond)
In short: K-16 is a comprehensive & complex reform
that will disturb our traditional balancing act of
giving the best education to students, best pay to
faculty & staff, & lowest costs in tuition & fees

What are the Resource

Issues Involved?
At least 4 years of enrolment losses in college
At least 13 years of new costs for Basic Ed schools
To offer new competencies prescribed in the new
curriculum
To have additional teachers
To have new competencies for teachers
To have additional facilities (classrooms, labs,
equipment)
Increasing social & political distortions of the
education market (i.e., new demands but because of
politics & other reasons, less ability of schools to make
sound ROI from investments on quality programs)
In general: more costs but less ability to earn (to pay
for the costs)

What Might Christian

Schools Do?
Plan
AHEAD
(From
how
we see it in Silliman)
Objectively
Systematically
Sympathetically
Gain SUPPORT
from Board
From students
From faculty, staff & administrators
From alumni
From the public (regulatory agencies
& friends)

Objective Planning
Base plans on VMGs
Use most current data
Do multi-level and participatory
assessment of strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities & threats

Systematic Planning
Include the points of view (and stakes of):

Students
Faculty & Staff
Administrators
Alumni & Friends
Board
Regulations & regulatory agencies

Integrate (interrelate) the aspects of:

Curriculum & Pedagogy

Faculty & staff preparations & competencies
Existing facilities & facilities needed
Financial support structures
Support of alumni & friends

Sympathetic Planning
Identify whats to be done (objectively,
systematically, clearly)
Anticipate what gains & pains might be incurred by:

Students
Parents
Faculty & staff
Administrators
Alumni & friends
Board
Public

Gingerly balance the two strategize to maximize

the gains and minimize the pains
Always remember the goal: our Christian schools are
committed to the pursuit of a sound & sustainable
ministry of excellent education

Gaining Support
Keep high levels of:

Transparency
Accountability
Participatory Leadership & Decision-Making
Predictability

To do all these for all constituencies &

stakeholders

Students
Parents
Faculty & staff
Administrators
Alumni & friends
Board
Regulatory agencies

What Were Trying to Do in

Silliman
(Our Ecology of Efforts)

Planning Ahead Objectively

SWOT
Strategic
Frequent
Frequent
Frequent
of Risks

Plan
review of economy & markets
review of global & national situation
identification of changing landscape

Institutional
Legal & Regulatory
Political
Social & Cultural
Fiscal & Financial
Physical & Environmental

Planning Ahead
Systematically
Anticipate curricular changes: anticipatory re-

landscaping of tertiary offerings; put up more certificate

programs & short-term extension courses; instituted a School of
Agro-Industrial & Technical Education

Stretch the pool of faculty talents: focused faculty

development; ease cross-level faculty mobility; research load;

publications; have many visiting scholars, artists, researchers &
faculty (VSP)

Improve facilities: set aside annual CAPEX allocations for

multi-year facility improvements; 4-day class days

Strengthen the financial backbone: open &

competitive bidding; intensified treasury operations, zero-based

budgeting; multi-level cost controls & accountabilities; wider
student recruitment where theres already K-12 basic education;
contract of payments

Widen friendships: intensify alumni relations; constant

reporting to alumni & friends; emphasized friend raising as

approach in fund raising; moved from donations to investments

Planning Ahead
Sympathetically
Estimated (& shown) the anticipated costs to Silliman of
the K-16 reform (About 750M pesos from 2016-2020)
Clearly laid out the risks to Silliman: financial, institutional,
legal
Developed a basket of strategies to lower the risks

On
On
On
On
On

keeping (even upping) enrolment & revenue levels

lowering cost margins
improving institutional efficiency & sustainability
strengthening the corporate foundation of the schools VMGs
buffering Silliman from regulatory & political risks

Set up student-sensitive tuition & fee structure

Laid out (with unions) a plan for a sustained & sustainable
annual improvement of faculty & staff pay & benefits
Kept activities for listening to the concerns of alumni &
friends

Gaining Support
Created a University Leadership Council
Widened our discussion & decision communities & circles
Kept a schedule of frequent reporting (web, others) to the Board,
alumni, parents, and friends (donors & supporters)
Kept being involved in institutional bodies, linkages, public affairs
Kept a predictable response to complaints & discipline cases
Improved compliance to regulations on faculty credentials
Intensified efforts to have a neat & safe campus-wide landscape
Strengthened our student recruitment, selection & retention
system (including harmonizing inter-unit grading protocols)
Strengthened systems for serving the needs of our alumni
Open the university for joint ventures & co-investments

 And, of course, we pray,

all the time!
. . . Confident that despite ourselves (our fears,
pretentions, false pride & cynicisms) we have a
God in Christ who, with even just five loaves & two
fish, could feed five thousand!

Whole Person Education

The 5Cs of Silliman Education

GOAL AND BELIEF

Silliman's goal of building
competence, character and faith
anchored on the Gospel of Christ aims
for the development of the whole
person.
It believes that success and
fulfillment are achieved when one
views himself or herself in relation to
the larger community.

Silliman envisions . . .
Genuine quality Christian education as a
result
of an interaction of experiences from at least
five venues:
the classroom,
the Church,
the cultural center,
the (athletic) court, and
the community.

The Classroom
The classroom is a major component of the
"second home" of students.
Teaching at Silliman is made to challenge
students to question prevailing concepts
and theories, and find meaning in them in
their day to day activities.
Important to Silliman University is a
mentoring system that walks students
through the learning process of life.

The Church
Christian faith is foundational to Silliman education.
Various activities for faith nurture, education, worship,
fellowship, and service are in store for Silliman
students all year round.

These are activities that are receptive to the changing

needs and preferences of students.

Church activities are designed and organized in a way

that does not discriminate students from other
religious denominations.

The Cultural Center

Every semester, the University Cultural Affairs
stages five shows that put value on the
appreciation for the arts at what most consider
as the "cultural center of the south": the Claire
Isabel McGill Luce Auditorium.
Silliman students get a taste of the works of
nationally- and internationally-acclaimed
literary, visual and performing artists
throughout the school year.
Season tickets at subsidized rates are made
available to students.

The (Athletic) Court

Sports play an equally important part in the life of a
Silliman student.
The campus boasts of facilities for ball games,
swimming, contact sports, and archery.

In the field of archery, Mark Javier, the lone Filipino

male archer in the Beijing Olympics, is a fresh addition
to the list of Sillimanian Olympians:

archers Jennifer Chan and Lisa Ygnalaga and long

jumper Simeon Toribio.

The Community

Service-learning and volunteerism are vital components of

all academic disciplines in the university.

Students are challenged to test theories and principles

through actual community work.

With identified partner communities, Silliman students

develop projects and programs, integrating expertise in
business development, health care, legal management, and
environmental advocacy.

Sustaining this thrust on an international level, Silliman is

active in an international service-learning program that
aims for cultural understanding and a multi-sectoral
approach to addressing social concerns.

DAGHANG SALAMAT
THANK YOU.