Distance learning students hold consultation dialogue with the new Online Programs Head

Dr. Deejay Lumanao, the newly appointed Head of the VSU Online Programs Office (OPO), recently conducted the first virtual consultation dialogue with the students of the Master of Agricultural Development (MAgDev) program as input to planning and future institutional development initiatives.

This event was attended by a total of 22 MAgDev students who freely expressed their views on work-school balance and other related challenges to distance education.

An important part of this virtual consultation dialogue was an orientation program on the different services of OPO. Mr. Jesus Freddy M. Baldos, Administrative Officer V, took the lead in this by discussing the academic policies of the university including the core strengths of the graduate distance learning program in VSU.

He also introduced the students to the graduate faculty members of the MAgDev program including the newly-reconstituted support staff of OPO.

Dr. Lumanao expressed her thanks to the students who actively participated in the virtual consultation dialogue.

“Thank you for joining this event. I personally understand the struggles that you had to go through just to participate today. It takes a lot of sacrifice to effectively balance work and your graduate education. This dialogue is very important for us because we see this as an opportunity to further improve our current services here in OPO and also represent your concerns to the top management of VSU,” the OPO Head said.

Presently, the MAgDev program has a total of 48 students with 44 students who are currently based in the Philippines while 4 of them are working overseas in Japan, Oman, Singapore and Thailand.

The MAgDev program of VSU enjoys a Level IV accreditation status from the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Universities and Colleges in the Philippines (AACCUP). It offers ten major fields namely agricultural education, agricultural extension, agronomy, animal production, language teaching, development communication, plant pathology, entomology, plant protection, and agricultural economics.

OPO is currently under the management of the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA). Plans are already in place to convert it to a full-fledged Open University with the aim of making graduate education more accessible to everyone.

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