As the COVID-19 outbreak continues, so is the indifference of University of the East (UE) towards their students upon the implementation of an unannounced scholarship guidelines which denied students who have a history of failing grade from the past semesters to obtain a scholarship for the first semester.
UE Admission Office told the students that a new system is in place, any failing marks from their previous semester would disqualify them from receiving scholarships despite obtaining the general weighted average (GWA) for the scholarship policies.
Following the university’s website and student manual, scholarship is awarded for one semester and renewable on a semestral basis. Students need to acquire the Grade Point Average (GPA) with an academic load of at least 18 credited units, with no failing grade or mark of “D” in any subject.
This drew ire among students and alumni as they slammed the university’s unfair and inconsiderate changes in the scholarship guidelines. Despite the hardships students have suffered from shifting to online classes and blended learning, they could not recoup their grades because of the new policy.
“Grabe, kawawa yung mga nagsipag talaga last sem kasi gusto pa makapag-aral sa susunod na sem kaya gusto maging scholar, tapos dahil lang may failing grade sa previous semesters di na pala qualified. Plus hindi sila aware sa sudden change,” a UE graduate shared on her Facebook post.
Another student posted on his Facebook account with a photo of his current grades, “I’m at a loss for words. I thought aiming for the scholarship is a driving force to persevere in studying. Suddenly the university drops a big middle finger in our face, which removes our right to avail for scholarship because of our past history having a failed remark in one of our subjects, I am an idiot for expecting so much in UE.”
The Central Student Council (CSC) and University Student Council (USC) along with the college councils has filed a letter to the President and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Ester Garcia regarding the sudden change of scholarship guidelines demanding the administration to explain the new system without prior notice.
The councils also appealed for reconsideration to the students who obtain the general weighted average to receive the academic scholarship program for the 1st semester of the school year.
“If no acceptable clarification is made regarding the matter, the administration will be deemed to have compromised the promise of the university and the supposed policies outlined in the student manual,” the CSC said.
Amid the pandemic, the University also impose 4.3-percent tuition and other fee increases. The Administration also decided to remove the student assistantship program and some sports programs in which these students rely on the scholarship.
The UE Administration has not yet issued a memorandum or guidelines about the new system implementation.
