Quota Courses: The wrong perception

The perception of prospective students entering in different universities in the country is that there are some degree programs that are harder to get in than others. The term ‘quota courses’ pertains to courses that are harder to get into and require a higher score in the admissions test than other degree programs.

As such, the practice of prospective students to get in the University, is to choose a degree program they know would be easier to get into, and shift at the first chance they get to the degree program they really want. This practice is well known and documented in many high schools.

For De La Salle University educators, the term quota course is misleading and presents a wrong perception.

In a sense, all degree programs in any given institution is, as students would refer to it, a quota course. College of Education Dean Dr. Voltaire Mistades clarifies that all degree programs have certain cut-off scores that need to be met for a student to be accepted. It is just that some programs have higher or lower cut-off scores than others.

“I see it as quota as a certain standard.” Dr. Mistades explains. “What would determine the cut-off would be the expected level of competency of the student entering that particular degree program.”

The standard is set by the different colleges to set a minimum competency that the students need to successfully finish a degree program. The University does not just accept students for the sake of having more enrollees, but accepts students because they have met the standard of the University and the degree program a student wants to enter.

College of Computer Studies (CCS) Vice-Dean Kai Fernandez explains that the College of Computer Studies does not just take the standard into consideration. The college also looks into the college’s ability to house the students because of its limited number of facilities and laboratories. She adds that the college wants to cater to the students as best as they can with the facilities they have.

With regards to students shifting to the course that they really want, Dr. Mistades explains that the standard a students needs to meet is still there. He furthers that when a student shifts and he or she is accepted, then it means that the student’s stay in the University has nurtured the student to meet the standard of the program that he or she shifted to.

“When you look at the numbers then it is one college losing a student and another college gaining, but in another perspective you look at the student,” Dr. Mistades adds. “The student grows because he or she is in the course that he or she really wants and he nurtures for the better.”

Dr. Mistades concludes that many perceptions such as the idea that the College of Education (CED) is being used as a terminal for students who want to study at DLSU is wrong. He concludes by saying that many of the students who enter CED chose the college as their first choice. This, however, does not address the issue that high school students may be treating their first choice as their terminal course.

DLSU currently has more than 17,000 students and has consistently been increasing its enrollment in the past few years.