The New Lasallian Core Curriculum (NLCC), which is set for full implementation by academic year (AY) 2018-2019, is the University’s variant of the new General Education Curriculum (GEC) required by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). The new GEC was formed in line with the K-12 program.
The framework committee served as the implementing body of the NLCC. This term, it was replaced by the NLCC committee, which comprises the vice deans of the different colleges. The NLCC committee’s selected head was History Department Chair Dr. Rene Escalante, who took the position only this first term.
Aside from the NLCC committee, the NLCC’s organizational chart is also composed of the various Curriculum Design Committees (CDC) and the Academics Council.
NLCC, explained
The NLCC is grounded on the main principlies of liberal education, interdisciplinarity, and Lasallian-ness. It was initiated to abide by CHED’s new GEC, as well as the academic standards proposed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Furthermore, the new curriculum fixes the issues with DLSU’s GEC, by making the said NLCC courses mandatory to all students.
As initially proposed in the NLCC framework, GEC courses, which are designed to be interdisciplinary, will be trimmed down to 36 units instead of 114 units. This is due to the reassignment of various GEC courses taught in college to senior high school (SHS).
Preparations and finalizations
Dr. Escalante reveals that the agenda for this AY is the preparation of the NLCC courses, which will be fully implemented by AY 2018-2019.
“We’re still in the process of preparing the NLCC courses, because these are new courses and this will be the approach. The methodologies will be different, because they will follow the OBE (Outcome-Based Education Framework),” Dr. Escalante emphasizes.
The objective for the first term of AY 2016-2017 is to finalize the syllabus. According to Dr. Escalante, there are two syllabi under consideration. The first one is the syllabus produced under Dr. Raymund Sison, the former head of the NLCC framework committee. The second one is the syllabus commissioned by CHED, which is currently used by DLSU.
As the NLCC head, Dr. Escalante told the committees to consider both the old syllabus by CHED and the new syllabus drafted by Dr. Sison, and then “come up with a synthesis or a summary of both.”
Afterwards, the CDC head will complete the initial synthesis of the two syllabi, and then present it to the members of the CDC committee. Next, the faculty members will convene and consult as far as the new syllabus is concerned. Once finished, the new syllabus will be submitted to the NLCC committee.
From there, Dr. Escalante explains that he will then submit the convened synthesis to the Academic Council for final approval. He clarifies that the whole process of synthesizing the two syllabi will be done throughout the current term.
For the second term of AY 2016-2017, the goal is to prepare the teaching materials. On the third term, training teachers will be the main agenda. Dr. Escalante says that, by AY 2017-2018, the first pilot testing will be done in some parallel courses.
“The system is still the same by next [AY], so we will be choosing two courses, and then we will pilot it, and then review, and do some fine tuning if we encounter problems,” Dr. Escalante shares.
Filipino subjects under the new curriculum
The new GEC previously excluded Filipino subjects to be taught in college through the CHED Memorandum Order No. 20, series of 2013. However, as per the new general memorandum by CHED last July, the Filipino subjects will be retained. Dr. Escalante explains that the University’s decision is “to respect the status quo ante order.”
“Now, if ever the court will rule in favor of the Filipino teachers, they stay. If the court will rule in favor of CHED, which means no more Filipino courses in college, then we will sit down again to discuss it,” Dr. Escalante expresses.
Furthermore, Dr. Escalante adds that the inclusion of Filipino subjects will affect the NLCC plan. “For the College of Liberal Arts (CLA), that’s additional nine units. For non-CLA majors, that will be six units. If the Filipino courses will no longer be part of college, it will also affect the department. Teachers will [also] be affected,” he explains.
The movement for the inclusion of Filipino subjects and other “remedial courses” was spearheaded by Tanggol Wika and Pambansang Samahan sa Linggwistika at Literaturang Filipino, who both conducted consultations and released
petitions, respectively.
Students’ perceptions
Leigh Josue (II, BSBCHEM) shares that she is satisfied with DLSU’s current curriculum. However, Josue adds that the 2.0 quota of certain degree programs such as Accounting and Chemistry must be lifted.
Charles Co (II, BSA) shares the same sentiment. “I believe the fast-paced curriculum helps [to] bring out the best [in] me. The curriculum plays a big part of teaching me the value of time and responsibility,” he shares.
In terms of the Filipino subjects being transferred to the SHS curriculum, Josue approves. “When the senior high [students] enter college, they don’t have to take [the Filipino subjects] anymore, [so] they can focus on their majors,” comments Josue.
Meanwhile, Co does not agree with the transferring of Filipino subjects to the SHS curriculum. “[I do not agree], because we need to go back and refresh our minds of our country’s language and culture,” he explains.
Throughout the past few years, the NLCC has undergone several developments and revisions due to not only the internal preferences of DLSU’s academic community, but also the concurrent changes in the educational needs of the country. As a response in part to the new GEC commissioned by CHED, the NLCC also seeks to promote a more effective learning environment for DLSU students.
