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As universities in the Philippines move to blended learning, faculty need to be empowered to make the transition as smooth as possible

Students and staff in the Philippines’ higher education sector must be encouraged to upskill and innovate to thrive in the new era of blended learning, agreed the panellists at a ̽����Ƶ round-table discussion in partnership with Coursera for Campus.

The round table, titled “Supporting faculty in the Philippines to develop skills and innovate with online teaching and learning”, brought together experts and innovators from the Philippines’ higher education realm.

Eklavya Bhave,��regional director at Coursera, said that employers were moving to “skills-first hiring”, recognising that degrees are not the only way to validate knowledge. A 2020 found that 40 per cent of the core skills sought by employers will change by 2025.

“If I’m a first-year engineering student in 2021, by the time I graduate nearly half of the skills will have changed,” Bhave said. “There are many global reports that say anywhere between 40 to 60 per cent of students coming out of campuses are not employable or don’t have the skills the industry is looking for.”

Chair Ashton Wenborn, special projects deputy editor at THE, said it was clear that students could not be upskilled without first upskilling faculty.

Franco Teves, vice-chancellor for academic affairs at Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, said that when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, staff were given “crash courses in online teaching”. The university is now successfully delivering about 80 per cent of its courses online.

Johnny Go, dean of the School of Education and Learning Design at Ateneo de Manila University, said teachers were offered training in response to the move to online teaching. “The faculty were very anxious, but they really stretched themselves and that was quite inspiring. Upskilling faculty was a big thing this year and, of course, students also had to adjust to a different environment,” he said.

Reynaldo Vea, president and CEO of Mapúa University, said it was not enough to simply move physical course material online to keep students engaged. The university paid for teachers to take Moocs on instructional design, helping them see online learning from a student’s perspective while gaining knowledge to develop their own courses for remote learning.

Maria Cynthia Rose Bautista, vice-president for academic affairs at the University of the Philippines Diliman, said the institution’s 3,500 faculty members had become “more open” to different ways of teaching since the move to remote learning.

“Covid actually facilitated or catalysed the changes we were already starting to do. There had been a lot of faculty resistance but Covid dissipated the resistance because everyone was forced to do it,” Bautista said.

Several round-table participants said that their institutions were exploring – or already offering – microcredentials, either incorporated into courses or as stand-alone offerings.

Roberto Yap, president of Ateneo de Manila University, said that microcredentials could be added to curricula to address skills gaps and support lifelong learning.

Joan Largo, assistant vice-president for academic affairs at the University of San Carlos School of Business and Economics, said in the new normal of university education, student accessibility was a key issue.

“It pertains not only to their internet connectivity but also the way technology is being used to address various learner conditions,” Largo said.

The panel:

• Maria Cynthia Rose Bautista, vice-president for academic affairs, University of the Philippines Diliman
• Eklavya Bhave, sales lead, Coursera
• Johnny Go, dean of the School of Education and Learning Design, Ateneo de Manila University
• Joan Largo, assistant vice-president for academic affairs, University of San Carlos School of Business and Economics
• Franco Teves, vice-chancellor for academic affairs, Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology
• Reynaldo Vea, president and CEO, Mapúa University
• Ashton Wenborn, special projects deputy editor,��̽����Ƶ��(chair)
• Roberto Yap, president, Ateneo de Manila University

Watch the round table on demand above or on the��.��

��about Coursera.