d

UP Diliman University Student Councils Position Paper on the ST

System
To be presented on the 3rd University Committee on Student Financial
Assistance (UCSFA)
AY 2014 - 2015
I. Introduction
The issue of tuition scheme has been a long debate within and outside the
university. It was in the year 2006 when tuition rates were increased from a
maximum of Php 300 per unit to Php 1,500 per unit. Inflation has been
pointed out as a reason behind this change. The rates were adjusted in
comparison with other top universities cost of education. However, various
groups criticize this primarily due to the financial barrier that it may cause
on students. At the time, the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance
Program (STFAP) was facing a lot of criticisms, wherein its ability to allow
students to study regardless of financial capacity was put into question. The
debate was re-ignited when KristelTejada, a UP Manila student, took her
own life after not being able to pay for her UP education. This put the
debate to national attention and the result is what we have today called the
Socialized Tuition System (ST System), introduced by the Pascual
Administration to respond to the problems raised regarding STFAP.
Efficiency is the main advantage of the ST System compared to its
predecessor. From the 14-pages that students needed to fill up in the STFAP,
it became two pages and applications can now be done online. Still, a lot of
issues were raised by the students regarding this mechanism.
The UP Diliman University Student Council, committed to its mandate to
empower its constituency of over 20,000 students, initiated a universitywide survey on all the students who experienced the new ST System. The
goal of the survey is to gather feedback on the newly implemented system.
The council would want to use this in order to present a comprehensive
proposal on how to ensure quality, accessible, and relevant UP education.
We do hope that this position paper is considered for policy decisions
regarding student financial services here in the university.
II. Survey Results
Method
The university-wide survey conducted by the University Student Council is
in partnership with the Office of the University Registrar (OUR), UnPlug,
and the League of College Councils (LCC).All UP students who are eligible
to answer the ST System application were emailed a survey form in which
they can input their responses. Each student was given unique passwords to

ensure the credibility of responses. The following is the list of questions

asked in the survey:
High School Type
Where is the nearest place where you are able to access internet to
apply for ST System?
Did you apply for a tuition discount through the STS?
How did you accomplish the Socialized Tuition (ST) application form?
How did you feel while answering the STS application form?
How difficult or easy was it to answer the following questions on the
STS questionnaire? (Student Profile, Household Characteristics,
Household Income)
Were you satisfied with the initial result of your STS application?
Why were you not satisfied with your initial tuition discount?
Did you appeal your initial results during the appeal period?
Why did you not appeal your initial STS results?
Were you able to pay your tuition even before receiving the results of
your appeal?
What sources enabled you to fund your tuition?
Are you satisfied with your final STS result?
Why are you not satisfied with your final STS result?
Respondents
The total number of respondents who answered the survey is 5,692
students. The following is the breakdown per college:
College
No. of
College
No. of
Respondents
Respondents
College of Arts
273
College of
449
and Letters
Business
Administration
College of Fine
109
School of
219
Arts
Economics
College of
102
Asian Institute of
118
Human Kinetics
Tourism
College of Mass
292
School of Library
74
Communication
and Information
Studies
College of Music
83
National College
111
of Public
Administration
and Governance
Asian Center
1
Technology
1
Management

College of
Education
Institute of
Islamic Studies
College of Law
College of Social
Work and
Community
Development
College of Social
Sciences and
Philosophy
TOTAL:

93
0
135
45

476

Center
College of
Architecture
College of
Engineering
College of Home
Economics
College of
Science

School of
Statistics

260
1748
315
538

250

5692

Results
a. High School Type
Out of all the respondents, 53% came from private schools, 21% from public
high schools, and 24% came from science high schools. The remaining 2%
comes from students who underwent an alternative learning system when
they were in their secondary education.
b. Internet Access
In this question, the respondent was asked about the nearest place where
they were able to access the internet to apply for the ST System online. 71%
expressed that they accessed the internet at home, 14% did it in a nearby
internet station, 10% accessed the internet in school, while the remaining
5% accessed it thru other means.
c. ST System Application
Here, the respondents were asked if they applied for a tuition discount
through the STS. The following graph is the result:

STS Application
1433; 25%

Yes
No

4259; 75%

We can see that there is an overwhelming number of students (1,433 or

25%) among the respondents who did not apply for a tuition discount.
d. Manner of Accomplishing the ST System Form
In this question, the respondent was asked how they accomplished the ST
System Application. The following summarizes the responses:

Accomplishing the STS Application

Direct and with no asssistance from anyone

Direct and with some assistance from parents/guardians in some questions

426; 10% 603; 14%
Downloaded the ST form first, studied it alone, before accomplishing online
432; 10%
53; 1%
Downloaded the ST form first, studied it with parents/guardians, before
accomplishing online
2747; 64%
Accomplished the form first as a draft to be reviewed by parents/guardian prior to
submission online

Here, we can see that the manner by which the respondents answered the
ST application varies a lot. Some chose not to be assisted by anyone while
others were more cautious. This can have a potential effect on the resulting
tuition discount that they received during the online application.
e. Respondents Feeling while answering the ST System Application

Perception in Applying
Anxious
Confused

214; 3% 894; 13%

1315; 20%

Indifferent
Cautious

1215; 18%

Confident

83; 1%

Others

2911; 44%

It is clear that a significant number of respondents (a total of 38%) were

either anxious o confused in answering the survey forms. This can be
attributed to the difficulty of understanding the expected answers to the
questions.
f. Difficulty of Answering the ST System Application
In this part, the respondents were asked to rate the difficulty of answering
the ST Application questionnaire. They were asked to rank the difficulty
from 1 to 10 with 10 being the most difficult and 1 being the easiest. We
divided this question into the three parts of the ST Application questions
the Student Profile, Household Characteristics, and the Household Income.
On the average, the difficulty of these parts is summarized by the following
table:
Category
Student Profile
Household
Characteristics
Household Income

Difficulty (on the

average)
2.94
5.48
5.35

From here, we can say that the Student Profile is the easiest to answer
while some struggled in the Household Characteristics and Household
Income part. This must be a point of study and intervention.
g. Satisfaction from Result of ST System Online

Satisfaction with Initial Result

Yes
2072; 49%

2169; 51%

No

The chart summarizes the satisfaction of students from their initial tuition
discount from the online application. We can see that theres only a small
margin between those who were satisfied and those were not.
h. Reasons for those who werent satisfied with the Initial Tuition Discount
In this part, most of the respondents pointed to the following reasons why
they said that theyre not satisfied with results of the online application:
Existence of a medical condition in the family which contributes
greatly to their household expenses
Inadequacy of the income of their parents/guardians to pay for the
initial tuition
Outstanding loans
i. Decision to Appeal Initial Tuition Discount
Among those who werent satisfied with the initial tuition discount, only
47% actually appealed. The following reasons are the top answers as to why
they didnt appeal:
Unaware that appeal is possible
Uninformed on how to appeal
Note that among all who appealed, only around 46% were able to pay their
tuition with the initial tuition discount. Most of which depended on their
family savings to be able to pay.
j. Satisfaction with Final ST Result

It is alarming that even after the appeal process, 60% is still not satisfied
with the result due to unforeseen circumstances and inability to pay the
rates.
III. Recommendations
Entry to UP
According to the data obtained by the University Student Council from the
Office of the President, there is an alarming number of students who pass
the UPCAT but do not choose to study here in UP. In the 2013 data, only
66%* of all the passers enter the university (See Table 1). The distribution
of their family income is somewhat skewed towards the higher income
brackets. This proves two things. First, there are strong deterrents to
entering the university given that even some of the UPCAT passers do not
choose to study here. Second, among those who enter, we can see that most
of them come from middle to higher family income brackets. In the
Philippines, those coming from public schools are at a disadvantage.
Besides the fact that the quality of education they get is poor compared to
those coming from science and private high schools, most of them cant
even afford to pay for the entrance exam of UP. In this part of our position
paper, we provide recommendations on how to increase, not only the
number of students who actually go to UP, but also those coming from the
low-income family brackets, far-flung areas, and public high schools.
a. Accessible UPCAT
We recommend that the UPCAT fees be waived for those coming from
public high schools. The USC believes that UP should exert extra effort in
finding the best of the best from the high school students of the country. We
cant take the risk of losing a good student just because he/she cant pay for
the UPCAT. Waived fees will encourage students from low-income family to
take the test. Also, we believe that we cant assign a blanket policy even for
private high schools. Even there, there are still students who belong to lowincome families. Therefore, we suggest that the UPCAT fees be socialized
for private higher institutions. Those who cannot pay, based on their
income level, must have their fees waived by the university.
b. Free Review Sessions
We recommend that the university must institutionalize free UPCAT
review sessions for low-income students. Besides the fact that their
schools are disadvantaged due to the lack of budget that the government
gives them, theyre further marginalized by the fact that those coming from
private high schools are the ones who have access to UPCAT review
sessions. Usually, review sessions cost around Php 4,500 to Php 6,000. In
essence, this becomes an income-generating scheme, when in fact; all high
school students must be given an equal playing field. If possible, online
reference materials must be made available in the UP website.

c. PalugitSystem
Believing in the principle that the university should be open to all
regardless of class, race, gender, or ethnic background, we believe that UP
should put prime importance on ensuring the diversity of its students. We
therefore recommend that the UPCAT scores of those coming from farflung areas be given a bit more adjustmentor palugit. This is to
ensure that UP education is enjoyed, not only by students from capital
cities, but even those from far provinces.
d. On-Ground Orientation
One of the potential reasons why students who pass the UPCAT still dont
enrol is the possibility that theyre not aware of the financial services
available for students. In the media it is often misconstrued that all UP
students are paying Php 1,500 per unit in tuition. Other financial services
such as loans and student assistantship are not disseminated well especially
for those who just passed the UPCAT. We therefore suggest that there
should be orientations done in strategic cities for those who just
passed the UPCAT in order to inform them on these things. Those
coming from far-flung areas must be provided with transportation allowance
in order for them to attend these orientations. We further suggest that the
university must tap local government units in order to help finance this
initiative. Student councils and volunteers must also be tapped for added
manpower.
e. Transportation Allowance
Even for those students who are guaranteed free housing, free tuition, and
stipend, one restraint preventing these students to enter the university is
the issue of transportation. This is an issue especially for those coming from
far provinces that definitely cant pay for air fare and other means of
transportation. We recommend that the university must shoulder these
transportation costs. This must include all the modes of transportation
needed by the student.
Applying for ST System
The UP Diliman University Student Council believes in a socialized tuition
scheme. This means that those who can pay must pay, and those who cant
pay must be duly subsidized.By the principle of social justice, we believe
that UP must make extra efforts in providing financial assistance to those
who need it the most.This applies not only on the tuition fees that we pay,
but also on other student services such as housing, stipends, scholarships,
and student assistant positions. The current ST System provided a more
efficient tuition scheme compared to its predecessor, the STFAP. However,
as we have seen from the survey results, theres still a lot to be done to
improve its effectiveness in providing the right tuition discount for the
students.

a. ST Survey Requirement
A huge number of students totally ignored the ST Application. In the current
system, those who did not really answer whether they need the ST System
or not are automatically placed in the No Discount category or Php 1,500
per unit. This puts a lot of risk when it comes to targeting the most needy.
One can assume that those who ignored the online application totally are
the ones who dont need it. However, there can be other factors that
hindered the students from answering the ST System. According to our
survey, theres a significant amount of students who are not familiar with
the system. The University Student Council even encountered a group of
varsity players who werent able to apply because they have no idea that
such a program exists. They were placed in the no discount bracket, but
when the student council appealed for their brackets in the second
semester, some of them were actually in the Full Discount with Stipend
category. Given these facts, we recommend that answering the ST
System be mandatory for students. This will lessen the risk of students
not being able to be given the right tuition discount. Also, extra effort must
be exerted by the administration to those students who dont have access to
the internet during the time of application.
b. Uniformity of the Local Committees on Student Financial Services
One of the salient features of the new ST System is the fact that decisions
on appeals are already made on the unit level. This provided a more
efficient way of solving appeal cases. However, the conduct of solving
appeals in different campuses varied. In UP Diliman, the local committee
used a trust-based system wherein the committee only relied on the written
statement of the students in granting tuition discount appeals. This
provided an easier appeal system for students because they need not to
provide documents to prove their narratives. This is especially important
especially for those who really cant afford the documents being required by
the predecessor of the ST System which is the STFAP. Also, the appeal
process was hastened in Diliman because the committee was able to set
multiple meetings within a week (going beyond the number of meetings
necessary). There were cases wherein the Diliman committee had to
interview the student if the narrative they sent is not clear. This however is
the exception rather than the rule. Thats why it is in Diliman that all
appeals were resolved the fastest among all campuses. Unfortunately, this is
not the practice in other units. Some units prefer to interview all the
students who appealed. Some also required everyone to submit the
documents they need.
Among all the students that we provided assistance through our registration
grievance desks, these practices are some of the reasons why students are
discouraged to appeal their tuition discount. Aside from the fact that a lot of
misinformation has been circulating when the ST System was initially
implemented, students fear that their tuition discounts will not be

corrected. We therefore recommend that the local committees adopt

the trust-based system that was followed in Diliman. We believe that
the appeal stage is crucial since the initial step of online application is not
enough to take into consideration all of the economic factors affecting a
students capacity to pay. Therefore, the administration must put all efforts
to ensure that the students maximize the appeal system and not be
discouraged to do so.
c. Guidelines on Online Survey
One of the resounding feedbacks in our survey is the fact that the online
questions of the ST System are ambiguous for the students. They cant
accurately pinpoint which among the choices really reflect their actual
economic conditions. We suggest that guidelines on answering each
question be posted together with the survey. This is to ensure that the
students accurately answer the online ST System survey.
d. Flexibility of ST System
In Diliman, we encountered cases wherein students need a tuition discount
adjustment due to extraordinary cases that suddenly hinder them from
paying in the middle of the semester. An example is the case of a student
whose parents suddenly lost their jobs or became victims of natural
disasters. There should be a system of taking these appeals in the
middle of the year/semester so that the tuition discounts assigned to
students are flexible enough to adjust to their actual economic
conditions.
e. Transparency in the Appeal Process
The decisions on ST appeals are actually based on the discretion of the
committee members in the unit level. We believe that the rationale of these
decisions be transparent to the students so that they may respond if there
were some mistake in taking their conditions to consideration. There must
be a system wherein students may request how the decision on their
appeal was handled.
f. Information-Dissemination
One alarming issue raised in our survey is the lack of information when it
comes to the ST System. Being new, it is not a surprise that a lot of students
are not aware of it. We suggest that the administration make efforts in
disseminating pertinent information about the ST System through
various means such as thru social media, publicity materials, and
college orientations. There should be strong coordination with the college
councils to ensure that proper information is being disseminated to the
students.
Affordability of UP Education

One key result of the survey that we have conducted is the feedback that
despite the efficient process of applying for the ST System, many students
still find it unaffordable. There must be adjustments and reform to be made
in order to ensure that these fees are not deterrent to the accessibility of
UP education.
a. Progressive Tuition Fee Rates
Currently, the tuition rates in UP follow the 2006 rates wherein those who
are categorized as part of the high-income families pay Php 1,500 per unit
while those who fall to the low-income families dont pay tuition and receive
monthly stipend. Students are given tuition discount based on their familys
economic conditions. However, concerns regarding the affordability of these
rates still occur based on the feedback on our survey. Looking into the rates,
we learned that the current tuition rates paid by the different income levels
are regressive. By using the term regressive, we mean use it in terms of
the percentage of family income being paid as tuition by the students. To
understand more clearly, we look at table below. Here, we can see that as
we go down on the income levels, the tuition rates being paid by the
students are actually going up in terms of percentage of income with the
exception of those paying no tuition fees. Theres a high chance that this is
the reason why students actually think that they still cant pay the fees
collected from them. We therefore recommend a progressive tuition
rate for all the income levels. An initial proposal can be seen on the third
column of the table below. Here, if we are to maintain the Php 1,500 rate for
the highest income families, then we need to adjust the other rates. Note
that this proposal is being recommended without calling for the increase in
the rates. As it is, students are already burdened highly by the current rates
and increasing it would be unjust as far as accessibility is concerned.
However, we are open to the idea of reducing the Php 1,500 rate for the
highest income owners so long as the rate for the other income levels are
adjusted based on progressivity.
Current Tuition Rates
(Regressive)
Rates per
Income
Tuition as
Unit
Range
a % of
Income
Php 1,500 >Php 1.3M
0.11%
Php 1,000
Php 800

Php 500K
Php 1M
Php 250K
Php
500K

0.15%
0.25%

Sample of Progressive Tuition

Rates
Rates per
Income
Tuition as
Unit
Range
a % of
Income
Php 1,500
>Php
0.11%
1.3M
Php 400
Php 500K
0.08%
Php 1M
Php 135
Php 250K
0.06%
Php
500K

Php 300

0
0 Plus
PhpPhp
3,500
Stipend

Php 135K
Php
250K
Php 80K
Php 135K
<Php 80K

0.24%

Php 41.25

-2.425%

0 Plus Php
3,500
Stipend

Php 135K
Php
250K
Php 80K
Php 135K
<Php 80K

0.033%

0
-2.425%

b. Removal of Academic Requirement for the Stipend FDS Students

We were informed that in the current ST System, those who belong to the
Full Discount with Stipend (FDS) category need to comply with certain
academic requirements in order to receive their stipends. This model seems
to follow that of an academic scholarship. The UPD USC believes that such
a practice is not in line with the goal of the ST System of providing for the
neediest. We suggest that these academic requirements be removed.
c. Equal Application
A consistent concern about the ST System is the fact that its not applicable
for students taking graduate courses or double degrees. According to Pres.
Pascual in a dialogue with the UPD USC last year, this is so because they
have the capacity to pay for their tuition fees. This, however, is not
completely true. If we really want to encourage students to pursue graduate
studies or go for their true passion in another degree, then financial
barriers must be lifted. In the case of the College of Music and the College
of Fine Arts, most of their students are double degree majors and find it so
hard to pay for their tuition fees. We believe it is just to equally apply
the socialized tuition scheme to graduate students and double
degree majors.
d. Revolving Funds for all UP units
One of the problems encountered by various UP campuses is the lack of
revolving funds to be used for the added stipends of students in the FDS
category. We recommend that there be revolving funds for these
stipends that are taken from a percentage of the universitys income
from the rental of our idle assets.
Loans and Other School Fees
Aside from the ST System application, one major concern from the students
is how to pay for other fees aside from tuition that need to be settled during
enrolment. Also, several issues were raised when it comes to the current
implementation of the loan system.
a. Other School Fees Review and Transparency

There is a growing concern due to the fact that there are fees other than
tuition that are not fully explained to the students. To make it worse, these
fees are being paid by all regardless of their tuition discount classification.
In the spirit of transparency and accountability, we believe that the
administration should present a report summarizing all these fees
and explaining why such fees are being collected. Also, we believe that
these fees must not be equally applied to all. Discounts on these fees
must be given based on the tuition discount classification that
students get from the ST System.
b. Unsettled Loans
An issue during the registration for AY 2014 2015 has arisen due to the
instructions regarding students with outstanding loans from the previous
semesters. They were told to settle even a portion of the previous loan to
loan again for the new semester. However, we believe this is in contrast to
the promise of removing Article 330 in the university code. It comes with an
amendment in the tuition loan system as well. We believe that this
practice of requiring the settlement of outstanding loans prior to
enrolment must be stopped.
c. Removal of Interest Rates
Currently, 6% per annum is being collected from students who dont pay
their loans within two months. We believe that these interest rates must
be removed in order to lessen the burden being passed to students.
These students who avail loans are the more vulnerable when it comes to
financial incapacity and the university must do all it can to ease them of that
burden.
Other Student Financial Services
a. Increasing the Cap for Scholarships
Currently, the maximum amount of support that a student can get is limited
to Php 7,000 for undergraduate students. Due to inflation, this amount has
been eroded in terms of real value. We believe that this cap should be
increased to cater to actual needs of the students.
b. SA IRR
Recently, the BOR approved the proposal to increase the wage received by
Student Assistants (SA). However, the Implementing Rules and Regulation
(IRR) document of the said policy is yet to be done. We urge the
administration to hasten the drafting of the IRR of the increase in
SA wages.
Recommendation for Further Studies
We believe that the university must look into the reason as to why UPCAT
passers dont enter the university. The UPD-USC thinks that this can give
light to possible solutions to make the crme of the crop enter the national

university. Also, the MORES-1sec must be reviewed when it comes to its

capacity to measure the students economic status. A partnership with the
School of Statistics will shed light into this instrument and possible
improvements.