UPCAT 2018 Update: 14,354 Qualifiers and other FAQs Answered by the UP Office of Admissions

Office of
REGENT SPOCKY FAROLAN
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES SYSTEM
Quezon Hall, U.P. Campus, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

11 April 2018

PROF. AURORA ODETTE C. MENDOZA
Director
Office of Admissions
University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City

Dear Prof. Mendoza:

Warm greetings!

I have recently been in contact with a number of parents, guardians and applicants who took the UPCAT for academic year 2018-2019. They raised several issues, concerns and queries which, in my assessment, would indeed require our immediate attention, response and clarification.

In line with these, may I respectfully request the official response and policies of the U.P. Office of Admissions relevant to the following queries and concerns:

1. How many incoming first year students would the University of the Philippines accept this coming AY2018-2019? How does the number compare with admissions in 2015 and 2014?

2. There are some universities which require incoming freshmen students to enroll on dates prior to the expected release of the UPCAT results. Can a student who enrolls in a different university prior to the release of the UPCAT results still be accepted as a student of U.P. if said student passes the UPCAT and withdraws his enrollment from the other university? Would the student be not disqualified?

3. In relation to question no. 2, what are the required documents, original or certified true copies, which a student qualified to enroll in U.P. must submit? What are the deadline for its submission? Does current policies allow an extension for the submission of said documents in case the qualified student previously enrolled in a different university and would require time to retrieve the said documents?

4. Is U.P. covered by R.A. 10648, otherwise known as the Iskolar ng Bayan Act of 2014, which grants the top 10 graduates of public schools automatic admission to state universities? If covered by said law, what are the guidelines of U.P. in implementing this law? When can qualified students start to apply in U.P. under this program?

5. In relation to question no. 4, would a student who graduated among the top 10 of his school during Junior High School but failed to make the top 10 in Senior High School still be qualified to receive the benefits provided under the Iskolar ng Bayan Act?

6. Where, when and how can an UPCAT non-passer get his or her UPCAT grade?

7. As of receipt of this letter, how many UPCAT examination papers and grades have been computed?

8. Do we foresee any challenges that could force U.P. to miss the target of releasing the results on or before 30 April 2018?

It would be greatly appreciated if the response to my queries are made within two (2) days from receipt of this letter. You may course it through the Office of the University Secretary.

Also, these are just some of the concerns raised which I think need to be immediately responded to and clarified. A number of concerned parents, guardians and examinees have also provided suggestions and other concerns which we can discuss at a later time.

Finally, you may have heard about issues regarding my social media outbursts in response to some unsavory remarks made about the UPCAT results and U.P., especially the people toiling to check and have the results released. I apologize for my temper and allowing my raw emotion to publicly come out unfiltered. Please do not let this distract you in the service you have been painstakingly doing for U.P. and the thousands of UPCAT applicants and their families. Rest assured that, though things may not always be ideal, you and your office will always have my support in this continuing process of improving our services.

Thank you.

Very truly yours,

ATTY. FREDERIC MIKHAIL "SPOCKY" I. FAROLAN

Member, U.P Board of Regents

OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
1101, Diliman, Quezon City

12 April 2018

ATTY. FREDERICK MIKHAIL "SPOCKY" l. FAROLAN
Member. Board of Regents
University of the Philippines
Diliman. Quezon City

Dear Hon. Regent Farolan,

In relation to the queries and concerns presented in your letter dated 11 April 2018, I am providing the following responses:

1. Number of Freshman admissions: (the data are for the entire up System and are based on the degree program quotas submitted by the different CUs which were used to process the selection of qualifies)

UPCAT years – System Qualifiers
2014 – 13,028
2015 – 14,988
2016* – 1,558
2017* –  1,591
2018 – 14,354

*Transition years for K+12 program in which Grade 10 HS students were required to take Grade (in AY2016-2017) and Grade 12 (in AY2017-2018); UPCAT2016 and UPCAT2017 applicants were limited to students coming from HS that had DepEd-approved transition programs.

4. Is UP covered by R.A. 10648, otherwise known as the Iskolar ng Bayan Act of 2014 (INB ACT), which grants the top 10 graduates of public high schools automatic admission to state universities?

Yes, UP is covered by R.A. 10648.

However, the provision for automatic admission under this Act has a limited period as stated by the following condition, under Sec.4.:

Provided: That for the next six years in the implementation of this Act beginning SV2015-2016, admission their SVCs of choice within their region shall be automatic for the top ten (10) graduating students of public high schools.

5. In relation to no. 4, would a student who graduated among the top 10 of his school during Junior High School but failed to make the top 10 in Senior High School still be qualified to receive the benefits provided under the INB ACT?

No, because a HS graduate must have completed Grade 12 along with other eligibility requirements.

TO be eligible, the applicant to the Iskolar ng Bayan Program must comply with the following requirements:

1) must be a Filipino citizen;
2) must be enrolling for the first time in college and has no credited previous college work;
3) has completed Grade 12 and graduated from any public high school in the country within two years prior to 2018-2019;
4) must provide a certification from his/her public high school, duly signed by the school principal, that he/she belongs to the Top 10 of the graduating class; and
5) the applicant must choose the UP CU located in the region where s/he resides or where his/her high school is located (for more info please go to upcat.up.edu.ph.)

6. Where, when and how can an UPCAT non-passer get his/her UPCAT grade?

For UPCAT Non-Qualifiers, the notices are sent to their high schools which they can get even though they have already graduated. For those who wish to also get a second copy from the System Office of Admissions located in UP Diliman (there is a Php50.OO fee for the second copy).

7. As of receipt of this letter, how many UPCAT examinations papers and grades have been computed?

All the exam papers (n = 78,974) have been checked, validated and have undergone item analysis. I cannot give a number to say how many grades have been computed. The HS final grades are being processed using 3 stages of operations to ensure integrity & validity before merging with the exam scores to compute the UPG.

8. Do we foresee any challenges that could force UP miss the target of releasing results on or before 30 April?

No major challenges, except the sheer volume of data and the recent brownout last Tuesday from around 4pm-8pm (our generator is out of order but we already started the procurement process).

Please see attached for answers provided by the UP Diliman OUR to Question numbers 2 and 3. 
(The Office of Admissions does not deal with enrollment other than providing each CU its list of

Qualifiers and admission notices.)

Thank you.

Respectfully,

Aurora Odette C. Mendoza, Ph.D.
Director