University of the Philippines Los Baños

The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UP Los Baños or UPLB; Filipino: Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Los Baños) is a public university and a constituent university of the University of the Philippines System, primarily located in Los Baños, Laguna. Founded by law in 1908 and established as the UP College of Agriculture (UPCA) in 1909, it is one of the founding campuses of the UP System and has been an early center for agricultural education and research in Southeast Asia.

UPLB was reorganized in 1972 as the first autonomous constituent university of the UP System and has since developed into a multidisciplinary institution offering 171 degree programs across the life and physical sciences, engineering, social sciences, and the arts.

It is the largest campus in the UP System and in the country by land area, managing the Mount Makiling Forest Reserve, a designated ASEAN Heritage Park. It also operates units outside Los Baños, including the UP Rural High School in Bay, Laguna, and the UP Professional School for Agriculture and the Environment in Davao del Norte

The university comprises nine colleges and two schools, with nine of its academic programs recognized by the Commission on Higher Education as Centers of Excellence.

UPLB hosts several local and international research centers, including the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), ASEAN Center for Biodiversity, and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).

History

Early History (1908-1930s)

UPLB was originally established as the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture (UPCA) on March 6, 1909, by the UP Board of Regents to promote agricultural education and research in the Philippines. Edwin Copeland, an American botanist and Thomasite from the Philippine Normal College in Manila, was its first dean. Classes began in June 1909 with five professors while 12 students initially enrolled in the program. UPCA was the first college to be organized in UP following the enactment of the University Act of 1908.

In 1910, the Forest School was established as a branch of the College of Agriculture. Staffed initially by American instructors from the Bureau of Forestry, the school represented the earliest formal efforts to institutionalize forestry education in the Philippines.

In 1912, Dr. Charles Fuller Baker, an accomplished agriculturist and scientist, joined the College as professor and head of the Department of Agronomy. Baker played a pivotal role in strengthening the academic and research foundations of the college. In 1918, the College of Veterinary Science was transferred from Pandacan, Manila to Los Baños. By the early 1920s, enrollment had increased to 621 students, representing most provinces of the Philippines as well as several foreign countries, including China, Siam, Guam, Java, India, and Japan. This growth placed the UPCA among the larger units of the University of the Philippines during that period.

World War II and Its Postwar Reconstruction (1940s)

During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, UPCA was closed and the campus converted into an internment camp for allied nationals and a headquarters of the Japanese army. For three years, the college was home to more than 2,000 civilians, mostly Americans, that were captured by the Japanese. In 1945, as part of the liberation of the Philippines, the US Army sent 130 11th Airborne Division paratroopers to Los Baños to rescue the internees. Only four paratroopers and two Filipino guerrillas were killed in the raid. However, Japanese reinforcements arrived two days later, destroying UPCA facilities and killing some 1,500 Filipino civilians in Los Baños soon afterwards.

UPCA became the first unit of the University of the Philippines to open after the war, with Leopoldo Uichanco as dean. However, only 125 (16 percent) of the original students enrolled. It was even worse for the School of Forestry, which only had nine students. Likewise, only 38 professors returned to teach. UPCA used its ₱470,546 (US$10,800) share in the Philippine-US War Damage Funds (released in 1947) for reconstruction.

Organization and Administration

Colleges and Schools

UPLB is composed of 9 colleges and 2 schools offering a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs. These colleges specialize in fields such as agriculture, forestry, engineering, human ecology, veterinary medicine, arts and sciences, economics, and development communication, providing academic and research opportunities.

Administration

As part of the University of the Philippines System, UPLB is governed by the 11-person UP Board of Regents, which is jointly chaired by the head of the Commission on Higher Education and the UP president.

The Board of Regents has the authority to approve the institution, merger, and abolition of degree programs as recommended by the UP president. It also has the power to confer degrees. The UP president, who is appointed by the Board of Regents, is the university's chief executive officer and the head of the faculty.

UPLB is administered by a chancellor who is elected by the UP Board of Regents to a three-year term. The chancellor may only serve for up to two terms. Under him are six vice-chancellors specializing in academic affairs, administration, community affairs, planning and development, research and extension, and student affairs.

The current chancellor is Dr Jose Camacho, the tenth to hold the office. Moreover, UPLB, through the UP System, is a member of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, a consortium of leading research universities in the Asia-Pacific region.

Student government

The University Student Council (USC) is the "highest governing body of all UPLB students." Together with college student councils (CSCs), it assembles as the Student Legislative Chamber and acts as the highest policy-making body of the USC. The USC is composed of a chairperson, vice-chairperson, 10 councilors, a representative for each college/school with less than 500 students, and an additional college representative for every 500 students in excess of the first 500. Members are given one-year terms. CSCs have a similar structure, but with a different number of councilors based on the student population.

The Student Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT), under the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (OVCSA), is responsible for sanctioning erring students. Common offenses include student misconduct and fraternity rumbles. The SDT is composed of a chairperson, two appointees of the chancellor, a student juror, and a parent juror.

Degree Programs

UPLB offers 148 undergraduate and graduate degree programs spanning the natural and social sciences, agriculture and environmental fields, engineering, communication, and human ecology through its nine colleges and two schools. It also awards high school diplomas through the University of the Philippines Rural High School (UPRHS), a subunit of the College of Arts and Sciences, which acts as a laboratory for its BS Mathematics and Science Teaching students.

Undergraduate Programs

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Postgraduate Programs

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Some graduate courses are being offered at the UP Professional School for Agriculture and the Environment (PSAE), an extension campus of UPLB in Panabo City, Davao del Norte. Dual degree programs are also being offered with UPLB's partner foreign universities.

Academics

Admission and graduation

UPLB admits more than 2,500 students and produces about 1,800 graduates every year. Undergraduate admission is determined by the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT). Examinees that select UPLB as their preferred campus and garner a University Predicted Grade (UPG) within the standard cut-off are automatically eligible for admission. Those who do not automatically qualify may file an appeal for reconsideration if their UPG is within the actual cut-off, though the appeal process does not guarantee admission. The cut-off scores may be adjusted according to a variety of factors. In 2010 and 2011, UPLB had a standard UPG cut-off of 2.42 while the actual cut-off was 2.8. But in 2014 and 2015, UPLB had a standard cut off score of 2.3. Seventy percent of slots are given to incoming freshmen with the highest scores, while the remaining thirty percent are given to public high school students and members of minority groups. Before the UPCAT was used for admission, UPCA only admitted the top 5 percent of Philippine high school graduates.

High school freshman admission, on the other hand, is determined by the eight-hour-long UPRHS Entrance Examination. Only the top 125 examinees are admitted. Sophomore transferees take the two-day UPRHS Validation Examination, and are admitted depending on the available slots.

Normally, a student who completes the program may graduate with honors if his general weighted average (GWA) is 1.75 or above. The title summa cum laude is awarded to graduates who obtain a GWA of 1.20 or above, magna cum laude to graduates with a GWA of 1.45 to 1.20, and cum laude to graduates with a GWA of between 1.75 and 1.45. As of 2011 there have been 30 summa cum laudes who have graduated from UPLB.

Tuition and financial aid

With the passage of Republic Act 10931, tuition and fees have been waived for students pursuing their degrees for the first time in exchange for return service, although it is possible to opt out and pay the full tuition instead.

Before this law was passed, the base tuition fee per unit in UPLB was ₱1,000 (US$23). Along with other UP constituents, UPLB implemented the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP), wherein students with annual family incomes between ₱1,000,000 (US$23,000) and ₱500,000 (US$11,500) were charged the base tuition fee; students with annual family incomes between ₱500,000 and ₱135,000 (US$3,110) were charged ₱600 (US$14) per unit; those whose incomes fell between ₱135,000 and ₱80,000 (US$1,840) were charged ₱300 (US$7); while those whose incomes fell below ₱80,000 were not charged any fees. Those with annual family incomes above ₱1,000,000 were charged ₱1,500 (US$35) per unit.

Campus

The UPLB campus consists of 14,665 ha (36,240 acres) spread across the provinces of Laguna, Negros Occidental, and Quezon.

Los Baños campus

The 1,098 ha (2,710-acre) Los Baños campus houses UPLB's academic facilities, as well as experimental farms for agriculture and biotechnology research. The more prominent buildings in the Los Baños campus, such as the Dioscoro L. Umali Hall, Obdulia F. Sison Hall (formerly the Continuing Education Center), and Student Union were designed by National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin. Other notable landmarks include the iconic Oblation, UPCA Alumni Plaza (known to locals as "Carabao Park"), Dioscoro L. Umali Freedom Park, and Baker Memorial Hall.

UPLB is designated as caretaker of the 4,347 ha (10,740-acre) Makiling Forest Reserve (often referred to as the "upper campus," in contrast to the "lower campus" set at the foot of Makiling). It houses facilities of the College of Forestry and Natural Resources, College of Public Affairs, UPLB Museum of Natural History and the University Health Service, among others. The reserve is home to diverse flora and fauna, and has more tree species than the continental United States (an area 32 times bigger than the Philippines). It serves as an outdoor laboratory for faculty and students of the university.

Land grants

UPLB has three major land grants: the Laguna-Quezon Land Grant, La Carlota Land Grant, and Laguna Land Grant.

The 5,719 ha (14,130-acre) Laguna-Quezon Land Grant is located in the towns of Real, Quezon, and Siniloan, Laguna, and was acquired in February 1930. It covers some portions of the Sierra Madre mountain range, and currently hosts the university's Citronella and lemongrass plantations. The 705 ha (1,740-acre) La Carlota Land Grant is situated in Negros Occidental, a province in the Western Visayas region. Acquired in May 1964, it houses the PCARRD-DOST La Granja Agricultural Research Center, which serves as a research center for various upland crops. Meanwhile, the 3,336 ha (8,240-acre) Laguna Land Grant located in Paete, Laguna, also acquired in 1964, is mostly undeveloped. Numerous parties have expressed interest in developing the land grants; however, UPLB has not entertained the potential investors due to the "lack of a solid development plan."

UP Professional School for Agriculture and the Environment

The UP Professional School for Agriculture and the Environment (UP PSAE) in Panabo City was established in 2016 to cater to agribusiness professionals in the Davao metropolitan area. Supervised by the UPLB Graduate School, UP PSAE was established through a grant by Damosa Land Inc., a leading property developer in Mindanao.

Research

Research centers

Six research institutes were named Centers of Excellence in Research via presidential decree: Institute of Plant Breeding, Institute of Food Science and Technology, Institute of Animal Science, National Crop Protection Center, Farming Systems and Soil Resources Institute, and National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology.

UPLB hosts a number of international research institutes, including the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity, the International Rice Research Institute, the World Fish Center, the World Agroforestry Center, and the Asia Rice Foundation. The APEC Center for Technology Exchange and Training for Small and Medium Enterprises (ACTETSME), established in 1996 through the initiative of then President Fidel V. Ramos during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting in Seattle, USA, is also located at the university's Science & Technology Park.

Local research institutions such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau, Department of Science and Technology's Forest Products Research and Development Institute, and Department of Agriculture's Philippine Carabao Center are headquartered or have offices at the university. The main office of IRRI's Philippine counterpart, the Philippine Rice Research Institute, used to be located at UPLB but was transferred to Muñoz, Nueva Ecija in 1990. It continues to maintain a research office at the university.

Scientific journals

Three UPLB-published journals, the Philippine Agricultural Scientist, the Philippine Journal of Veterinary Medicine, and the Journal of Environmental Sciences and Management are listed in the SCImago Journal Rankings. SCImago gave these an h-index (a measure of "actual scientific productivity" and "apparent scientific impact") of 18, 6, and 12, respectively. These journals are also listed in the ISI Web of Knowledge, along with two other UPLB-published journals: the Philippine Entomologist and the Philippine Journal of Crop Science.

Biotechnology research

One of the earliest innovations of UPLB was the production of CAC 87 sugar cane in 1919. This high-yielding variety is resistant to fiji and mosaic viruses, and produces more sucrose than other varieties. Its derivatives significantly increased sugar cane production in the Philippines. Between 1921 and 1939, cattle, poultry, and swine breeding programs produced new breeds, namely the Philamin (a hybrid of the Hereford, Nellore and native cattle), Berkjala (a variety of the Berkshire and local Jala-Jala pig, resistant to hog cholera) and the Los Baños Cantonese chicken, which produces more eggs.

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)