Academic and Non-Academic Subjects

Academic subjects are governed by the policies enumerated in the academic code. In particular, they are governed by the University policy on retention of students. Grades in academic subjects are included in the computation of the general weighted average (GWA) and the weighted average (WA). All the liberal arts program subjects are considered academic except for Physical Education (PE), Introduction to People Development (IPD), National Service Training Program (NSTP), and APEC Language subjects.
PE subjects are regarded as non-academic. The retention policy does not apply to non-academic subjects, but the policy released by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) states that the two-unit PE subjects are included in the computation of the GWA.
Introduction to People Development (IPD) is a three-unit non-academic course that exposes junior students to issues in corporate social responsibility (CSR): corruption, genetically modified organisms, child labor, health and safety, freedom of association and right to collective bargaining, environmental sustainability, discrimination, working hours, compensation, stakeholder participation, and NGO activism, among others. The course introduces students to various corporate initiatives in mitigating issues through a highly interactive session in the classroom that entails analyses of case studies. Students are then deployed to leading CSR organizations to document CSR-related issues using analytical tools taught in the classroom, and to analyze their approaches to resolving these issues.
At the end of the course, students are required to submit an Assessment Report and Written Analysis of Cases. Likewise, students are required to document company responses to CSR issues and the means of measuring costs and benefits of CSR strategies. Today, more than ever, students must be sensitized to the idea that social objectives can be met in various settings: individual, community, and corporate. In this way, IPD serves to further achieve the University’s goal of instilling civic-mindedness and social solidarity in its constituents.
The National Service Training Program (NSTP) is a program for tertiary-level students aimed at enhancing civic consciousness and defense preparedness in the youth by developing in them the ethics of service and patriotism while they undergo training in any of the following three program components:

• Reserve Officers Training Course (ROTC) is a program designed to provide military training to tertiary-level students in order to motivate, train, organize, and mobilize them for defense preparedness.
• Literacy Training Service (LTS) is a program designed to train students to become teachers of literacy and numerical skills to school children, out-of-school youth, and other segments of society in need of their services.
• Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS) refers to programs or activities that contribute to the general welfare and the betterment of life for the members of the community or the enhancement of its facilities, especially those devoted to improving health, education, environment, entrepreneurship, safety, recreation, and morals of the citizenry. It is also aimed at articulating basic concepts of social responsibility, civic consciousness, and community development, and applying these development concepts in community-based fieldwork.

IPD and NSTP are handled by the Center for Social Responsibility (CSR), an extension unit within the University that maximizes the synergy of the faculty, students, and partner institutions in uplifting the social and economic conditions of marginalized groups in society. CSR’s mandate is to promote the idea that every person has the social obligation to reach out to those in most need of help in society.
The pertinent provisions of the law and the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the NSTP adopted and issued on 10 April 2002 are as follows: