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UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES DILIMAN

UNIVERSITY STUDENT COUNCIL
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE STUDENT COUNCIL


Joint Position Paper on the
Institutionalization of Tuition and Student Fees for
Professional Masters in Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management


Background

The Professional Masters in Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management (PM-TMEM)
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is a
collaborative graduate program proposed by different departments within the University of the
Philippines (UP) System, namely the Marine Science Institute of the College of Science, UP Diliman,
Institute of Fisheries Policy and Development Studies of the College of Fisheries and Ocean
Sciences, UP Visayas, and Graduate School of the School of Environmental Science and Management
and the College of Forestry and Natural Resources, UP Los Baos. The program, which is designed
for professionals in the government, civil service organizations and private sector who are involved
in the management and governance of tropical marine ecosystems, focuses on the applied sciences
for the development of professional skills and practical analyses of practitioners, especially in
marine protected areas (MPA), the programs initial area of specialization.

The new program was approved by the University Council of UP Visayas on April 10, 2014, and the
University Councils of UP Diliman and UP Los Baos on April 21, 2014. With the approval of the
program during the UP Board of Regents meeting last June 30, 2014, the program is set to
commence by September 2014, which is the first trimester of its academic calendar.

The Professional Masters in Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management will be implemented
following a modular, sequential approach. The program, which is composed of 20 units of lecture
and 15 units of laboratory, will be offered for 4 trimesters in modules, each module spanning 18-21
straight days. Table 1 shows the graduate course offerings for PM-TMEM.

Table 1. Graduate course offerings for Professional Masters in Tropical Marine Ecosystems
Management.
Course No. Course Title Class component No. of units
TMEM 201 Tropical Marine Ecosystems Lecture
Laboratory
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1

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information regarding the Professional Masters in Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management is based on the
proposal for tuition and students fees for a new academic program by proponents from the three constituent
universities of the UP System
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TMEM 202 Dynamics of Tropical Marine Socio-Ecological
Systems
Lecture
Laboratory
2
2
TMEM 203 Marine Environmental Planning and
Management
Lecture
Laboratory
2
2
TMEM 210 Intercultural Understanding in the
Management of Tropical Marine Ecosystems
Lecture 1
TMEM 211 Communication in Tropical Marine Ecosystems Lecture 1
TMEM 220 Marine Protected Area Management and
Governance
Lecture
Laboratory
2
1
TMEM 221 Strategic Planning for Marine Protected Areas Lecture
Laboratory
3
2
TMEM 222 Marine Protected Area Management Plan
Implementation
Lecture
Laboratory
3
2
TMEM 223 Marine Protected Area Networks and Large
Marine Ecosystems
Lecture
Laboratory
3
2
TMEM
296/299*
Seminar Lecture 1
TMEM
297/290*
Special Problem Laboratory 3
* course code number counterpart for UPLB

The laboratory component of the program refers to intensive field work in various marine
protected areas (MPA) demonstration sites in the Philippines and Southeast Asia to enhance and
demonstrate learning applications, in view of the trans-disciplinary nature of the courses. Each
course will have a multidisciplinary team of faculty members and resource persons from within and
outside the UP system, and will be conducted through relay teaching for the lectures, and a
combination of relay and team teaching for the field classes.

Institutionalization of tuition and student fees for PM-TMEM

In finding out the acceptable program cost for PM-TMEM, surveys were conducted with
TMEM/MPA practitioners via electronic mail, and attendance in regional Marine Protected Area
fora organized by Marine Protected Area Support Network, and in MPA Management Effectiveness
and Assessment Training organized by Worldfish Center. Electronic mail containing invitation
letters to participate in the Needs Assessment survey for the intended program were sent from
September 2012 to February 2013 to TMEM and MPA professionals in the Philippines, Southeast
Asia and the Pacific, as well as heads of some government agencies and heads of non-government
organizations (NGOs) involved in marine conservation. Surveys were also conducted among MPA
managers from provincial and municipal government units who attended the Marine Protected
Area forum series nationwide held on March 2013, and among MPA managers, mostly from
Malaysian Department of Marine Parks, who attended the MPA Management Effectiveness and
Assessment Training held on February 21-22, 2013 at Penang, Malaysia. Table 2 shows the results
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of the survey among TMEM professionals regarding appropriate program cost. A total of 152
professionals within and outside of the country responded to the survey.

Table 2. Results of the survey among TMEM professionals regarding appropriate program cost.
Appropriate program cost
TMEM Professionals
Total Percentage
Philippines International
P41,000 to 205,000
($1,000 to 5,000)
17 3 20 13
P246,000 to 328,000
($6,000 to 8,000)
19 14 33 22
P246,000 to 410,000
($6,000 to 10,000)
34 18 52 34
P328,000 to 410,000
($8,000 to 10,000)
5 4 9 6
No answer 26 12 38 25
TOTAL 101 51 152 100

Based on the cost analysis for the said program, shown in Table 3, the tuition fee for PM-TMEM is
computed at P2,500.00 per unit for lecture classes, and P3,500.00 per unit for laboratory classes.
The tuition fee for the whole program is P102,500.00 ($6,000.00 for international students;
approximately P270,000.00), which is below the program cost chosen by a majority of the
respondents to the survey. The total tuition for the program is set to cover the program cost, which
is computed at P102,281.14 per student.

Table 3. Proposed tuition for PM-TMEM courses and cost analysis for each module per student.
Schedule MPA sites Units Fee per student Cost per student
1
st
Trimester
Module 1 - 12 days
TMEM 201
TMEM 210
Batangas
3 units lec
1 unit lab

7,500.00
3,500.00

4,988.10
2,800.00
Module 2 - 28 days
TMEM 202
TMEM 203
Pangasinan:
Alaminos, Bani,
Anda, Bolinao

4 units lec
4 units lab

10,000.00
14,000.00

9,939.12
12,013.33
2
nd
Trimester
Module 3 - 12 days
TMEM 220
TMEM 211
Batangas: Mabini,
Calatagan

3 units lec
1 unit lab

7,500.00
3,500.00

12,142.03
8,537.33
Module 4 - 20 days
TMEM 221
TMEM 296
Cebu
4 units lec
2 units lab

10,000.00
7,000.00

9,596.10
7,260.00
3
rd
Trimester
Module 5 - 18 days
TMEM 222
Panay 3 units lec
2 units lab
7,500.00
7,000.00
15,226.46
11,746.67
Module 6 - 18 days Malaysia 3 units lec 7,500.00 15,226.46
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TMEM 223 2 units lab 7,000.00 11,746.67

4
th
Trimester
Module 7 18 days
Special Problem
18 days
Students field
work
Presentations: UP
MSI

3 units lab

10,500.00

9,032.00
TOTAL
20 units lec,
15 units lab
35 units
total
102,500.00 102,281.14
Note: Incidental living cost expenses are shouldered by the students

With a target of 15 local students and 3 international students for admission to the said program,
the funds collected per cycle is projected to be at P1,537,500.00 for local students, and $6,000.00
for international students, exclusive of miscellaneous fees. The funds to be collected from the
students will be used for communications (10%), supplies (10%), services (20%) and
transportation (50%). The international fees will constitute an Educational Development Fund for
both faculty and curriculum development.

As agreed upon by the overall management body of PM-TMEM, which consists of heads or deans
from the proponent academic units of the three constituent universities, the miscellaneous fees to
be paid by the students will be standardized. The proposed standardized fee is shown in Table 4.

Table 4. Proposed miscellaneous fees breakdown for PM-TMEM students.
Component Fee
Miscellaneous Fees
Library
Athletic
Medical
Cultural
Registration Fund
1,415.00
1,200.00
75.00
50.00
50.00
40.00
Student Funds
Publication
Community Chest
Student Council
Journalism
95.50
72.00
0.50
8.00
15.00

According to the Office of the Student Regent, it is a policy approved by the Board of Regents to ask
for the position of the local college student council and the university student council regarding the
institutionalization of tuition and student fees
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. Hence, the stand of both the UP Diliman University
Student Council (UPD USC) and the UP Diliman College of Science Student Council (UPD CSSC) will
be presented in this position paper.

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Based on the letter from the Office of the Student Regent addressed to Dr. Marie Antonette Juinio-Meez,
Director, Marine Science Institute dated June 26, 2014
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The position of the UPD USC and the UPD CSSC

The UP Diliman University Student Council (UPD USC) and the UP Diliman College of Science
Student Council (UPD CSSC) recognize the need to conserve and protect marine ecosystems,
especially in the Philippines which is considered the worlds center for marine biodiversity. Hence,
UPD USC and UPD CSSC commend the Marine Science Institute of UP Diliman College of Science and
other departments in different constituent universities of the UP System for coming up with a
program that aims to train professionals for the conservation and protection of such areas.

However, the UPD USC and the UPD CSSC register its opposition to the proposed tuition and
student fees for the said program. While there are surveys conducted regarding the appropriate
program cost, the range used in the survey is disputable since the P246,000 to 410,000 range
encompasses both the P246,000 to 328,000 range and the P328,000 to 410,000 range, which may
have misled the respondents of the survey. Also, with a rate of P2,500.00 per unit for the lecture
component, and P3,500.00 per unit for the laboratory component, the tuition fee is higher than the
standard P1,500.00 per unit charged by the university, even for a graduate program. The allocation
of the funds collected from the tuition fees is also contentious, as there is a missing 10% component
for the intended use of these funds.
Moreover, the total tuition for the program covers the estimated program cost, thus the expenses
during the duration of the program are shouldered entirely by students, and none of the budget
comes from the national government. If the University of the Philippines is indeed the countrys
national university and the premier research institution in various fields of expertise and
specialization, as mandated by Republic Act 9500, the national government must provide state
subsidy to finance the program, and must not pass the burden to the students.

With these concerns raised, the UPD USC and the UPD CSSC will not endorse the institutionalization
of tuition and student fees for Professional Masters in Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management.