VPLS memo: Additional measures in dealing with typhoon aftermath (15 November 2020)

Memo to          :           Loyola Schools community
From                :          Maria Luz C Vilches, PhD
                                   Vice President
Subject             :          ADDITIONAL MEASURES IN DEALING WITH TYPHOON AFTERMATH

Addressing Needs

The community has been reaching out to students and employees and addressing their needs as best we can.  Sanggunian has been faithfully proactive in touching base with students, through their Constituency Check, especially during the typhoons.  Some departments have also communicated with their majors. The Office of Admission and Aid (OAA) has been keeping track with undergraduate scholars in devastated areas in Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, and NCR to discuss options on where they could stay away from their current conditions. They have, likewise, arranged for additional financial allowance for those who lost their gadgets during typhoon Rolly or who needed generators in places where electricity was down.  OAA is prepared to give financial assistance as well to undergraduate scholars who were badly hit by Ulysses. The Office of the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs (ADGP) is equally poised to provide available assistance to graduate students in a similar situation. Those who may not have been reached out to may contact ADGP on their concerns.  

The Student and Administrative Services (ADSAS) Cluster together with the Residence Halls (RH) team and Campus Safety and Mobility Office (CSMO) provided assistance in various ways. The ADSAS sent out AKApp surveys to both students and employees to track their levels of need in the recent typhoon.  Based on the data we received, we did rescue coordination with the different LGUs whole day of November 12; have given free accommodation and meals at the University Dormitory (38 employees, students and family members as of Saturday, 14 November 2020); did actual rescue and provided transportation of employees and students to the UD; deployed clean-up brigades at employees' residences at Provident Village, Marikina and Dela Costa Homes, Rodriguez, Rizal on Saturday, 14 2020 (potentially a continuing assistance).

Through the DREaM Team, the university continues to do its best to help the typhoon victims beyond our vicinity.  Let’s support its efforts as well.

In addition to praying and giving donations, we in the academe should also bring into focus environmental issues, specially climate change, in our class discussions and other activities. We aim for such discussions to help us become better stewards of our common home and act accordingly.

Rearranging the Second Quarter

The last two days of class and work suspension have provided time for people to get some of their bearings back. However, the rehabilitation process in a lot of localities is still far from finished.  Water has not subsided in severely flooded areas.  Power has not been restored in lots of places.  Internet connectivity in many neighborhoods continues to be either spotty or nil.  Anxiety level is also high because the Second Quarter had not even fully taken off and all these environmental calamities just came crashing in.

In light of these realities, the Second Quarter has been rearranged, as follows, for both undergraduate and graduate classes:

16-21 NOVEMBER:

All synchronous and asynchronous classes and activities are suspended to give more time for both students and faculty to recover from the aftermath of all kinds of disasters around us.

23-28 NOVEMBER:

Synchronous classes/activities are still suspended but asynchronous activities resume.

These arrangements come with the following directives for teachers to comply and be able to extend utmost compassion, especially to students who have been severely affected by the typhoons:

1. Keep academic requirements to a minimum but carefully mindful that these allow students to achieve the desired learning competences.
2. Be extra considerate and flexible with deadlines for academic requirements; allow for submissions till the end of the second quarter for students who have been badly affected by the typhoons.
3. Organize asynchronous activities that allow reasonable pacing for students to be able to cope with other similar activities in all their other courses.
4. I would like to reiterate this general rule:  Do not hold activities (e.g., oral exams, oral presentations, etc.) nor ask students to submit requirements during Sundays and other holidays.

It is within the authority of the School Deans and Department Chairs/Program Directors to make sure that these directives are observed.  Students are encouraged to approach their department chairs or deans if they need anything addressed related to these directives – a right that is covered by their Magna Carta of Student Rights.

Graduate students with particular concerns related to their academic requirements need to contact the Office of the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs for further guidelines particular to their situations.

1-23 DECEMBER until A WEEK AND A HALF IN JANUARY 2021:

Classes resume with both synchronous and asynchronous activities accordingly in place.  Details on the January extension of the Second Quarter will be announced in due course.

Please note that any changes made of the calendar this second quarter will have a domino effect on the calendar and activities for the Second Semester and SY 2021-2022.  Rest assured that, with due consultations, administration is going to work on what is reasonable and compassionate so that we can advance the goals of Ateneo education even in the midst of the adversities that confront us.

Through all these changes, I trust that teachers and students keep open communication lines with each other so that transitions can be more efficiently and thoughtfully handled. The informal kamustahan has been shown to provide the needed cura personalis!  

Some Alternatives

If students who have been adversely affected by the typhoons have real difficulty continuing with their study in this Second Quarter, they may be given an INC subject to the necessary conditions under which that option is made available by LS academic policies. An earlier memo from the office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (ADAA) announced the deadline extension undergraduate students for the completion of an INC up to the end of the second semester.

Just a word of caution about the INC:  the student has to complete the requirements at the same time that he/she is enrolled in Second Semester courses. For a student with a heavy semestral load, the INC is an added burden. So if in the student’s estimation, it is really not feasible for him/her to complete the INC, requesting for a WP would be a better option. The deadline for WP is currently 21 November for semestral courses and 5 December for Q2 courses.  

A Necessary Posture

The world around us is unpredictable and volatile indeed.  Where can we get the stability that we need? When lots of options are vying for attention, we should exercise discernment and opt for that which is both compassionate and practicable and that will serve the common good.  

I wish everyone continued hope and courage.