On March 24, 2014 at GT Toyota Center, 456 faculty members of the UP Diliman University Council voted on whether the

academic shift should be implemented for academic year 2014-2015. 284 tenured professors voted yes, 164 voted no and 8 abstained on the measure. We are disappointed that the University Council will now be endorsing the academic shift to the Board of Regents (BOR). The March 28 BOR meeting will determine the fate of the proposed academic calendar shift. We, the UP Diliman University Student Council (USC), challenge the Board of Regents to answer all questions and contentions associated with the calendar shift before pushing through with such a major decision. While we recognize the merits of synchronizing our schedules with other universities, there are legitimate logistical, academic and organizational concerns that have yet to be addressed by the administration. We are alarmed that no concrete plan has been presented to the students on how the shift will be implemented. Such a major policy change will have drastic effects on the universitys major stakeholders and should not be made lightly. The costs of internationalization should not be passed to the students in the form of higher tuition rates or prioritization of marketable courses. We also continue to condemn the lack of genuine consultation that the UP administration has repeatedly demonstrated on various instances such as this one. Until the procedural and substantive issues with the academic shift have been resolved, the academic calendar shift should be deferred to another school year. For March 28, we reiterate our call that the BOR settle this issue once and for all. We Demand Greater Support for Education. No to Rationalization of Courses and Tuition Fee Increases. Postpone the Academic Calendar Shift Now.