1. No category

Journal of Business & Management Studies
www.advancejournals.org
Open Access Scientific Publisher
Research Article
STUDENT AFFAIRS AND SERVICES AMONG SELECTED HIGHER
EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN BULACAN: A POLICY STUDY
Romulo B. Mercado Jr.1, Danilo S. Hilario1, Alvin V. Nuqui1
1
Bulacan State University
Correspondence should be addressed to Alvin V. Nuqui
Received April 07, 2015; Accepted April 17, 2015; Published April 19, 2015;
Copyright: © 2015 Romulo B. Mercado Jr. et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative
Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite This Article: Mercado Jr., R., S. Hilario, D., V. Nuqui, A. (2015). Student Affairs and Services Among Selected
Higher Education Institutions in Bulacan: A Policy Study. Journal of Business & Management Studies, 1(1).
ABSTRACT
The study aimed to analyze and determine the extent of implementation and compliance of selected Higher Education
Institutions (HEIs) in Bulacan based on the Guidelines on Student Affairs and Services (SAS) and its impact to the students
and institutions. The results of the study revealed that the assessment of the student respondents and student personnel
services produced similar results. They perceived that SAS programs among selected HEIs in Bulacan are “existing and
implemented.” However, Student Housing, and Services for Students with Special Needs are perceived by both groups as
“not existing but implemented.” Both groups consistently perceived that SAS programs are mostly implemented at “great
extent” by their institutions and implemented within the minimum standard and its impact are perceived by both groups
positively.
KEY WORDS: student affairs and services; policy study; student welfare programs; student development programs;
impacts; higher education institutions.
INTRODUCTION
S
tudent Affairs and Services (SAS) are the services and
programs in any university or college that are concerned
with non-academic experiences of students to attain total
student development. The Manual on Student Affairs
Services and Programs in Higher Education, developed by
the International Association of Student Affairs and
Services Professionals (IASAS) describes the purpose of
SAS in the Higher Education Institutions which is to
address the basic personal needs of students by providing a
comprehensive set of out-of-classroom student services and
programs commonly referred to as student affairs and
services. These efforts should be designed to enable and
empower students to focus more intensely on their studies
and their personal growth and maturation, both cognitively
and emotionally. They should also result in enhanced
student learning outcomes [1].
In the Philippines, every HEI has a unique SAS program.
They vary from one school to another and from different
hierarchical level of formal education and based on the
kind of values, interests, and social advocacies that they
intend to support and develop for their students.
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), through the efforts of
Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the SAS
programs among the HEIs have shown great improvement.
This happened through the CHED Memorandum Order
(CMO) no. 21 s. 2006 otherwise known as The Guidelines
for Student Affairs and Services Program. This
memorandum delineates policy, guidelines and standards
of implementation. SAS programs have two components,
the Student Welfare Programs and Student Development
Programs [2].
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However, from the year of issuance of the Guidelines on
Student Affairs and Services Program in 2006 to the
present, a lot of issues on SAS have been emerging from
various studies conducted. Tejido [3] and Villanueva [4]
cited similar issues from their studies on the SPS in the
Philippines. These are lack of funds, facilities, especially
computer hardware and software to support student
services, lack of personnel resulting in an overburdened
student services practitioners, the student affairs
practitioners are given a lower status than academic
personnel and lack of trained staff as a result of heavy
turnover of student affairs practitioners seeking "greener
pastures” in other professions. Furthermore, Cortez
presented in her study that the students perceived the
student selection, admission and retention, guidance
counseling and health services adequate and moderately
efficient while the housing and facilities were both
perceived by the personnel and students as missing and
inadequate respectively[5].
These and more other issues on student affairs and services
prompted the interest of the researcher to conduct a policy
study to inquire on the real status of SAS programs when it
comes to the implementation and compliance with C.M.O.
no. 21 series of 2006 and the outcomes of these SAS
programs to the students .
p. Leadership Training Programs;
q. Student Publication;
r. Sports Development Programs;
s. Cultural Programs;
t. Social and Community Involvement; and
u. Multi-Faith Services?
iii.What are the outcomes of the SAS programs to the
students and to the institution as perceived by the
SAS implementers and SAS beneficiaries?
iv.Is there a significant difference between the perception
of primary stakeholders and
secondary
stakeholders in the implementation and
compliance with the Guidelines on Student
Affairs and Services Programs of selected HEIs in
Bulacan?
v.Is there a significant difference between the perception
of primary stakeholders and
secondary
stakeholders on the impacts of Student Affairs and
Services Programs among selected HEIs in
Bulacan?
vi.What measures may be proposed to the SAS program
administrators based on the results of the study to
continuously monitor the:
a. students’ welfare and development;
b. SAS staff performance;
c. program components; and
d. overall SAS program progress and success?
RESEARCH PROBLEM
Generally, the objective is to study the policy on Student
Affairs and Services based on C.M.O. no.21 s. 2006 as by
analyzing the extent of implementation, compliance, and
outcomes of SAS programs among selected HEIs in
Bulacan.
Specifically, the study sought answers to the following
questions:
2
i.What are the existing Student Affairs and Services
programs of selected HEIs in Bulacan as assessed
by the primary and secondary stakeholders, in
terms of:
a. Student Welfare Programs and Services; and
b. Student
Development
Programs
and
Services?
ii.How may the extent of compliance to the Guidelines
on Student Affairs and Services Programs of
selected HEIs in Bulacan be described in terms of
the following SAS programs as perceived by the
primary and secondary stakeholders; to wit:
a. Information and Orientation Service;
b. Scholarships and Financial Assistance;
c. Health Services;
d. Guidance and Counseling Service;
e. Food Service;
f. Career and Placement Service;
g. Safety and Security Services
h. Student Discipline;
i. Student Housing;
j. Services for Students with Special Needs;
k. International Student Services;
l. Admission;
m. Research Monitoring and Evaluation of SAS
n. Student Organizations and Activities;
o. Student Council/ Government;
JBMS 05|Volume 1|Issue 1|2015
RELATED LITERATURE
Lewin’s Theory of Change served as the platform of this
study, especially in proving that change plays an important
role in transforming an individual’s personality. This
theory gives light on the issue that change does not happen
overnight. It has to pass through certain stages before the
person or organization learns to accept the change [6]. In
the same manner that an academic community, particularly
the faculty members and students, adhere to the concept of
change only after the intention is fully presented and
understood. Driving forces, restraining forces and
equilibrium are three stages, normally, are part of this
process of change [7].
Change in one’s behavior takes place the moment an
individual is exposed to a certain stimulus. Skinner
expounded that learning is a function of change in overt
behavior. Changes in behavior are the result of an
individual's response to events (stimuli) that occur in the
environment. When a particular Stimulus-Response (S-R)
pattern is reinforced (rewarded), the individual is
conditioned to respond [8]. Watson extended study of
Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Theory to human being
proved that a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a
response that was originally evoked by another stimulus in
a reflexive or automatic type of learning [9]. Similarly,
applying these theories to the subject being studied,
programs in student affairs serve as stimulus that generate
reaction or response, thus change takes place to an
individual’s personality.
The implementation of the CHED Memorandum Order 21
series of 2006 otherwise known as Guidelines on Student
Affairs and Services Program provides guidelines and
standards for the implementation of the SAS programs.
Journal of Business & Management Studies
The details of the said policy clarify the input, the process,
and output of the SAS programs among the students and
HEIs. Hence, in this study, C.M. O. no. 21 series of 2006,
otherwise known as Guidelines on Student Affairs and
Services Program, depicts how certain policy changes the
life of every student in the academic community.
The early concept of Student Affairs and Services started
from the primary role of a teacher in the school. Evans
(1998) discussed in his book that teaching and taking care
of students’ welfare and development while in his custody
during the learning process defines the concept that a
teacher or instructor stands in loco parentis to his students.
This was developed early in English common law. Under
the paternalistic regimen enforced during the seventeenth
century, students in the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge
were expected to observe a long list of restrictions.
Similarly, the early American colleges accepted
responsibility for the student’s moral as well as intellectual
life. The college presidents, usually members of the clergy,
put strong emphasis on the religious life of the student
body. Compulsory chapel attendance was quite common
even in the early part of the present century and is still
often the rule [10].
Soon, however, the types and number of students coming
to higher education began to swell (many of them women
who were being admitted to higher education for the first
time in several centuries). Academics who were previously
handling these functions, even though they knew next to
nothing about administering such initiatives and counseling
students, began calling for more assistance in carrying out
these non-instructional duties.
Thus, the birth of a new profession came: student affairs
and services. These staff members were now in charge of
not only housing and feeding students, but also physical
and mental health care became a necessity on many college
campuses.
In the Philippines, Tejido (2006) mentioned in his study
that the role of student affairs is very much one of in loco
parentis, a role codified by law to meet its own national
needs to provide nurturing and tender care to its students
who are much younger than university students in Europe
and the United States.
Moreover, Villanueva (2009) presented in her paper the
status of Student Affairs and Services programs in the
Philippines in an international convention hosted by
International Association of Student Affairs and Services
(IASAS) in cooperation by UNESCO, accordingly, as of
December 2007, most of the 2,016 private and public HEIs
have student affairs offices, albeit with different names.
She mentioned that the mission of student affairs offices,
generally, is to provide support to the academic and
research functions of the university. The number of student
affairs personnel varies according to the organizational
structure.
services, student publications, testing and placement/career
services, student discipline and student development
programs.
No formal academic training in student affairs
administration is available in the Philippines. In general,
the head of a student affairs office is a dean or director of
student affairs reporting to a vice-president or a chancellor,
depending on the structure of the university.
In 2006, cognizant to the following conditions of SAS, the
Commission on Higher Education issued CMO No. 21 or
otherwise known as Guidelines on Student Affairs and
Services Program.
The said policy orders all HEIs to adopt in their institutions
the implementing standard for Student Affairs and Services
Program. The CHED, on its part, set the guidelines aims to
set the minimum standards on student services among
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in order to improve
the quality of Student Affairs and Services Programs
among HEIs to promote access to quality, relevant,
efficient and effective student affairs and services, support
student development and welfare, and ensure that all HEIs
provide holistic approach for Student Affairs and Services
and comply with the minimum requirements for student
affairs and services. Hence, the quality of SAS programs
output and outcomes may now be measured based on the
minimum standard set for the SAS program.
It defines Student Affairs and Services as the services and
programs in any university or college that are concerned
with non-academic experiences of students to attain total
student development. Non-academic services are twopronged: those that relate to student welfare and those that
relate to student development. Implementation to these
services can be unique to an institution. The Student
Welfare Programs and Services are basic services and
programs needed to ensure and promote student wellbeing. These are Information and Orientation Service,
Scholarships and Financial Assistance, Health Services,
Guidance and Counseling Services, Food Service, Career
and Placement Services, Safety and Security Services,
Student Discipline, Student Housing, Services for Students
with Special Needs, International Students Services,
Admission Services, and Research, Monitoring and
Evaluation of Student Affairs and Services. The Student
Development Programs and Services refer to the services
and programs designed for the exploration, enhancement
and development of the student’s full potential for personal
development, leadership and social responsibility through
various institutional and/or student-initiated services which
include Student Organizations and Activities, Student
Council/Government, Leadership Training Programs,
Student Publication, Sports Development Programs,
Cultural Programs, Social and Community Involvement,
and Multi-Faith Services.
3
Specific programs and services include supervision of
student activities, counseling and guidance, scholarships
and financial assistance, health services, food service,
residence halls, learning assistance, international student
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RESEARCH PARADIGM
The research paradigm depicts Program Logic Model
(PLM) of Kellogg Foundation. It graphically planned work
and how that planned work leads to the program’s intended
results or outcomes. PLMs create a roadmap for
understanding how program resources are used to
implement key strategies and activities and how their
implementation contributes to expected short and longerterm outcomes.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The following are the findings of the study:
4
i. The six selected Higher Education Institutions in
Bulacan namely, Bulacan State University,
Baliuag University, Meycauayan College, St.
Mary’s
College
Meycauayan,
Bulacan
Agricultural State College, and La Consolacion
University Philippines have existing units of
Student Affairs and Services which implement the
SAS programs. Their existing SAS units and
programs are based on the Guidelines on Student
Affairs and Services Program.
ii. The HEIs in Bulacan complied with the Guidelines
on Student Affairs and Services (CMO 21 s. 2006)
at “great extent” or the SAS programs are
implemented within the minimum standard.
iii. SAS programs have positive outcomes to the
psycho-social development of the students.
Relatively, the institutions are benefitted from the
quality of clienteles they produced. Prominent
outcomes observed among the areas evaluated are
those in the Student Activities and Organizations,
Student
Government/Council,
Sports
Development, Student Publications, and Cultural
programs. While the impact or long term
outcomes of the SAS programs analyzed and
JBMS 05|Volume 1|Issue 1|2015
identified from the output and outcomes of the
study are the following:
a. Formation
of
peaceful
academic
environment brought by just and peaceful
culture existing in the community.
b. Establishment of partnership between
administration and students in achieving
excellence in the quality of education which
realized from the confidence and respect
gained by one another in school
governance.
c. Establishment of encouraging environment
for campus journalism.
d. Assume an active role in their personal
wellness
(emotional,
physical,
and
spiritual) that supports a healthy lifestyle.
e. Successful achievement in work-related
skills i n t h eir s oc ia l activities brought
by good physical health which developed
through Sports Program.
f. After participating in the Department of
Recreational Sports programs and services,
students will be able to demonstrate
positive leadership skills that contribute to
the organizational effectiveness of their
respective club sport.
g. Discovery and development of talented
students of different genré like music,
visual arts, dance, theater, etc.
h. Development of creative community and
shape a commerce of ideas, artifacts,
images and experiences brought by
collaborative practice of SAS personnel and
students.
i. Building a value of cultural leadership in
shaping the talents of the students in the
21st century.
iv. The Guidelines on Student Affairs and Services
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Programs established uniform standards of
implementation of Student Affairs and Services
among the selected Higher Education Institutions
in Bulacan, thus produced similar output and
outcomes based on the set objectives of the CMO
no. 21 s. 2006 for the students and for the
institutions.
However,
gleaming
at
the
comparative results, some significant findings on
the outcomes were identified:
v. The extent of knowledge, age, interest, experiences,
social status, familiarity, and a lot more issues on
demographic variables determine the preferences
and decisions one makes. All these variables affect
the perceptions of an individual in making
decisions or choices. Hence, the dichotomy of
respondents produces significant results.
vi. The following measures are proposed to the SAS
program administrators based on the results of the
study to continuously monitor the students’
welfare and development, SAS staff performance,
program components, and overall SAS program
progress and success: a continuous research and
monitoring concerning the success of the
programs should be undertaken by the SAS
administrators, a report on staff’s performance
must be monitored regularly, an accomplishment
report must be prepared and submitted regularly
by the SAS staff to document the stages of
development of every SAS program implemented.
The program components must always be
reviewed and studied to determine its
applicability, relevance, effectiveness, and
efficiency in the present time. And the overall
SAS program progress and success may be
monitored best by building a strong team of SAS
personnel and establishing good relationship with
the student groups or leaders and academic units
of the institutions. These propositions were made
based on the assumption that no institutional
program will succeed unless the members are
involved and have established commitment to the
attainment of common goal, which is success.
iii.
iv.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In the light of the foregoing findings and conclusions of
this study, the following recommendations were made:
i.
ii.
The institution should develop a program
or produce information materials that will
clarify the Student Affairs Services
program to the students. This will address
the uncertainty of the students on some
aspects of Student Affairs and Services
programs available in their institution.
Hence, they will develop an awareness
and later interest in involving themselves
to various SAS programs to their
benefits.
The institution should revisit its policy on
admission for the students with special
needs and those migrating students who
have housing needs. With the increasing
numbers of universities which have
v.
growing population and diverse quality of
learners every academic year, there is a
need to re-assess whether these concerns
of the students are addressed promptly.
In the absence of Housing Services unit,
the institution should have an alternative
unit that will manage and facilitate the
housing needs of the students, therefore
assuring the security of the students who
rent apartment units or dormitory outside
the school premises. While for students
with special needs, in the absence of SAS
unit to implement such program, the
institution should have a grip on the
figures of their clienteles belonging to
this class. In this manner, services for
students will be enhanced for the benefit
of the students especially in this era,
where education’s holistic vision focuses
on quality education, equity and
sustainable development for all learners,
regardless of their background and
circumstances, with a particular focus on
vulnerable and marginalized groups.
The Bulacan HEIs involved in this study
may reconcile the results of this study by
comparing them to the actual and existing
status and condition of their SAS
programs especially the programs on
Housing Services, International Services,
and Services for Students with Special
Needs which were assessed by the
students negatively. Any discrepancy or
consistency in the results of the study
against the actual practices may be useful
as a basis in improving the Student
Affairs and Services of HEIs.
From the positive impacts gathered from
the Primary Stakeholders and Secondary
Stakeholders of the Student Affairs and
Services Program, it is recommended that
SAS program implementers develop a
model for their SAS program which may
be theory based or based on their
institutional philosophy. This concept
will help the implementers assess the
desired output and impact from their
clienteles based on the direction of their
SAS programs which are considered the
key result areas in evaluating the output
and impact of the SAS programs. These
outcomes are the qualities for students
holistic being which manifest in their
knowledge,
attitude,
skills,
and
aspirations (KASA).
The Student Affairs and Services
Personnel or future researchers should
pursue continuous research works similar
to this study to further verify the
consistency of the positive results of this
study. The study may be leveled and
focused on regional or national level to
validate even more the findings of this
study. In this sense, from the numbers of
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vi.
vii.
viii.
findings on SAS program, better
development on the implementation of
SAS program may be adopted to improve
the quality of service for the students.
A provincial consortium of Student
Affairs Practitioners among public and
private HEIs in Bulacan should be
established to create a venue for the
discussion of issues, problems, and
concerns on SAS and sharing of best
practices on SAS which are more focused
on unique cultural qualities of Bulakeños.
The Commission on Higher Education
should conduct an actual monitoring and
similar evaluation of SAS programs of
HEIs regularly. The results of their
research study may be used in contrast
with those existing.
The Commission on Higher Education
after realizing the positive impacts of the
implementation and compliance of
Higher Education Institutions on the
Guidelines on Student Affairs and
Services Program should incorporate in
their monitoring program a special
recognition scheme of granting an
“Excellent Student Affairs and Services
Program Provider” (ESASPP) award that
may include monetary and non-monetary
incentives
to
provide
positive
reinforcement to maintain and improve
their SAS program. Hence, the institution
that will be recognized becomes a model
and the multiplicity effect will spread.
REFERENCES
6
[1] International
Association
of Student
Affairs and Services. IASAS Student Affairs and
Services in Higher Education: Global Foundations,
Issues and Best Practices. Retrieved May 21, 2012 from
http://unesdoc.unesco.
org/images/
0018/001832/
183221e.pdf.
[2] Commission on Higher Education (2009, May).
Guidelines on Student Affairs and Services Program.
Retrieved May 21, 2009 from http://www .ched.gov.ph/
chedwww/index.php/eng/Information/CHEDMemorandum-Orders/2006-CHED-MemorandumOrders.
[3] Tejido, M. M. (2000). “The Role of Student Affairs
and Services in Higher Education in Selected Asian
Countries.” Retrieved May 21, 2012 from
http://unesdoc.unesco. org/images/.../ 128118e.pdf –.
[4] Villanueva, B. M. (2009). Student Affairs and Services
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e.pdf
[5] Cortez, A. G.O. (2005). “The Student Personnel
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Implications
for
Student
Affairs
Program,”
(Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Nueva Ecija
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City).
[6] Change-Management-Coach.com (2012). Kurt Lewin:
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from http://www.change-management-coach.com/kurt
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JBMS 05|Volume 1|Issue 1|2015
[7] Kritsonis, A. (2005, August). Comparison of Change
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http://current
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[8] Skinner, B.F. (1954). The Science of Learning and the
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[9] Learning Theories Knowledgebase (2012, December).
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http://www.learning-theories.com/classicalconditioning-pavlov.html.
[10] Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., et.al. (1998). Student
development in college: Theory, research, and practice.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
[11] W.K. Kellog Foundation (1998). Logic Model
Development
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20,
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44928c454b5778180d75/logicmodel.pdf