San Beda College now a university

San Beda College was officially granted university status after its bid was approved by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Tuesday.

San Beda said that the Commission en banc approved its application for the grant of university status at 11:43 a.m.

Located in Manila's university belt, San Beda was established in 1901 by Benedictine monks. It has two other campuses in Rizal and Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

The commission said San Beda has complied with the requirements stated under CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 46, Series of 2012 titled "Policy-Standard to Enhance Quality Assurance (QA) in Philippine Higher Education Through an Outcomes-Based and Typology-Based QA."

"As a university, San Beda College-Manila is expected to contribute to nation-building by providing highly-specialized educational experiences to train experts in the various technical and disciplinal areas, and by emphasizing the development of new knowledge and skills through research and development," CHED said in a press release.

"San Beda is expected to produce experts, knowledge, and technological innovations that can be resources for long-term development processes in the globalized context," it added.

A university status is granted upon higher education institutions (HEIs) that "have proven their excellence in the areas of instruction, research and extension."

Under CHED Memorandum Order No. 48, Series of 1996, a HEI "must have a Level III accreditation (or the Commission's equivalent) for at least four (4) of its undergraduate programs (one of which must be in the Arts and one in the Sciences) and for two its graduate programs."

In terms of research, CHED said that the HEI "must demonstrate a track record of not less than three (3) years in maintaining high research standards as evidenced by a dynamic research program manned by qualified and competent faculty members and supported by an adequate budgetary allocation. The results of these researches must have been published in referred journals."

CHED had also granted Mapua Institute of Technology university status in May last year.

President Rodrigo Duterte is among the notable alumni of San Beda College of Law. He has also appointed to key government posts his fellow San Beda alumni including Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade. — Marlly Rome Bondoc/BM, GMA News