Establishment of Compostela Valley State College

Mission and academic freedom

Section 2 directs the College to primarily provide advanced education, higher technological, professional instruction and training in agriculture, science and technology, and other related fields.
Section 2 requires the College to undertake research and extension services supporting the socioeconomic development of the Province of Compostela Valley.
Section 2 requires the College to provide progressive leadership in its areas of specialization.
Section 3 grants the College academic freedom and institutional autonomy pursuant to paragraph 2, Section 5 of Article XIV of the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines.
Section 5 vests the administration and corporate powers exclusively in the Board of Trustees and the President.

Authority, governance, and corporate powers

Section 5 grants the College the general powers of a corporation under Batas Pambansa Blg. 68, as amended (the Corporation Code of the Philippines).
Section 5 vests administration and exercise of corporate powers exclusively in the Board of Trustees and the President of the College.
Section 13 creates an Administrative Council chaired by the President of the College, with vice president, deans, directors, and other officials of equal rank as members.
Section 14 creates an Academic Council chaired by the President of the College, composed of all academic staff with the rank of at least an assistant professor.
Section 15 prohibits inquiries into certain personal characteristics for faculty appointments.

Board of Trustees composition and meetings

Section 6 establishes the Board of Trustees as the governing body.
Section 6 defines the Board membership as:
- the Chairperson of CHED as Chairperson;
- the President of the College as Vice Chairperson;
- the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture;
- the Chairperson of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education;
- the Regional Director of NEDA;
- the Regional Director of DOST;
- the President of the faculty associations federation of the College;
- the President of the student councils federation of the College;
- the President of the alumni associations federation of the College; and
- Two (2) prominent citizens from the private sector.
Section 6 requires the Board to appoint the Two (2) prominent citizens from among a list of at least five (5) qualified persons in the Province of Compostela Valley, as recommended by a search committee constituted by the College President, in consultation with the Chairperson of CHED and other Board members.
Section 6 provides that the term of the faculty, student, and alumni federation presidents is coterminous with their respective terms under their constitutions and bylaws.
Section 6 provides that the Two (2) prominent citizens serve a term of two (2) years from the date of appointment.
Section 8 requires the Board to convene once every three (3) months.
Section 8 allows the Chairperson to call up to two (2) special meetings within the same period with three (3) days prior written notice.
Section 8 sets quorum as a majority of all members holding office, provided that the Chairperson of the Board or the President of the College is present.
Section 8 provides CHED representation rules if the CHED Chairperson is unable to attend, including designation of a CHED Commissioner and presiding arrangements.
Section 8 provides that Board members receive no salary but are entitled to reimbursements for actual and necessary expenses incurred in attending meetings or other authorized official business, subject to existing laws and regulations.

Powers and duties of the Board

Section 7 empowers the Board to promulgate and implement policies aligned with declared State policies and the Constitution on education, agriculture, science and technology, and CHED policies under Republic Act No. 7722 (Higher Education Act of 1994).
Section 7 empowers the Board to promulgate rules and regulations not contrary to law necessary to carry out College purposes and functions.
Section 7 requires the Board to receive and appropriate all funds for support of the College in the manner it determines.
Section 7 authorizes the Board to import economic, technical and cultural books and/or publications.
Section 7 authorizes the Board to receive in trust legacies, gifts, and donations of real and personal properties of all kinds and to administer and dispose of them for the College’s benefit, subject to donor limitations or directions.
Section 7 empowers the Board to fix tuition fees and other necessary school charges (including matriculation fees, graduation fees, and laboratory fees) after due consultations with involved sectors.
Section 7 treats fees and charges, including government subsidies and other College income, as special trust funds to be deposited in an authorized government depository bank, and requires that interests accruing form part of the same funds for College use.
Section 7 mandates that income generated by the College from tuition and charges and from auxiliary services and land grants be retained by the College and disbursed by the Board for instruction, research, extension, or other College programs/projects, and requires that fiduciary fees be disbursed for the specific purposes collected.
Section 7 allows the Board, if it cannot pursue an appropriated project for reasons beyond its control, to authorize use of the funds for any reasonable purpose that is necessary and urgent to achieve College objectives and goals.
Section 7 requires the Board to adopt and implement a socialized scheme of tuition and school fees for greater access to poor but deserving students.
Section 7 authorizes the Board to construct or repair buildings, machinery, equipment, and other facilities; and purchase or acquire real property including necessary supplies, materials, and equipment.
Section 7 empowers the Board, upon recommendation of the President, to appoint vice presidents, deans, directors, heads of campuses, faculty members, and other officials and employees.
Section 7 empowers the Board to fix and adjust salaries of faculty and administrative officials and employees subject to the Revised Compensation and Position Classification System and other pertinent budget and compensation laws, and to grant discretionary leaves of absence under Board-promulgated regulations; it also authorizes removal for cause in accordance with due process.
Section 7 requires the Board to approve curricula, instructional programs, and rules of discipline drawn by the Administrative and Academic Councils.
Section 7 authorizes the Board to set admission and graduation policies.
Section 7 authorizes the Board to award honorary degrees and certificates of completion of nondegree and nontraditional courses.
Section 7 authorizes the Board to establish and absorb nonchartered tertiary institutions in the Province of Compostela Valley as branches and centers in coordination with CHED, in consultation with DBM, to promote equal access to educational opportunities.
Section 7 empowers the Board to establish research and extension centers and to establish professorial chairs, fellowships for qualified faculty, and scholarships for deserving students.
Section 7 authorizes delegation of powers and duties to the President and/or other officials to expedite administration.
Section 7 requires the Board to authorize an external management audit financed by CHED, subject to COA rules and requires reforms based on audit results and recommendations.
Section 7 authorizes collaboration with other governing boards of state colleges and universities within the Province of Compostela Valley or Region XI, under CHED supervision and in consultation with DBM, for restructuring toward being more efficient, relevant, productive, and competitive.
Section 7 authorizes joint ventures with business and industry for profitable development and management of economic assets of the College, with proceeds used to develop and strengthen the College.
Section 7 requires the Board to develop consortia and other economic forms of linkages with LGUs, institutions, and agencies (public and private; local and foreign) to further College purposes.
Section 7 authorizes academic arrangements for institutional capability building with appropriate institutions and agencies and to appoint experts/specialists as consultants or part-time/visiting/exchange professors, scholars, or researchers.
Section 7 authorizes adoption of modern and innovative modes of transmitting knowledge, including information technology, dual learning system, open or distance education, and community laboratory to promote greater access to education.
Section 7 empowers the Board to set guidelines and procedures for participative decision-making and transparency within the College.
Section 7 authorizes privatization, where most advantageous, of management of nonacademic services such as health, food, building or grounds or property maintenance, and similar activities.
Section 7 authorizes extension of the College President beyond retirement age but not beyond seventy (70), upon unanimous Board recommendation and based on Board-set guidelines/standards after unanimous search committee recommendation.

President, officers, and branch heads

Section 9 requires the College to be headed by a President rendering full-time service, appointed by the Board subject to Board guidelines/qualifications/standards upon recommendation of a duly constituted search committee.
Section 9 sets the President’s term at four (4) years and provides eligibility for reappointment for another term.
Section 9 provides that before the first President is appointed, the Chairperson of CHED appoints an Officer-in-Charge, who receives additional compensation as interim head subject to COA budgeting, accounting, and auditing rules.
Section 9 requires the Board to constitute the Search Committee for the Presidency (SCP) within six (6) months before the President’s term expires.
Section 9 requires the Board to designate an Officer-in-Charge within six (6) months from vacancy due to death, compulsory retirement, resignation, removal for cause, or incapacity, pending appointment of a new President; the successor or Officer-in-Charge serves only the unexpired portion of the term.
Section 9 provides that the President’s powers and duties are those usually pertaining to similar state college Presidents and those delegated by the Board.
Section 9 requires the President’s salary to follow the Revised Compensation and Position Classification System and be comparable to Presidents of similar educational institutions.
Section 9 provides that the President is assisted by a Vice President for Academic Affairs, appointed by the Board upon President recommendation.
Section 10 designates the BSU External Studies Centers in Monkayo, Maragusan, Montevista, and New Bataan as College Branches, each headed by a Director rendering full-time service.
Section 10 provides that incumbent heads of the BSU External Studies Centers in the four municipalities serve as Directors of their respective branches, and Directors are appointed by the Board upon recommendation of the search committee and the College President, subject to Board guidelines/qualifications/standards.

Academic operations and student access

Section 4 requires the College to offer undergraduate, graduate, and short-term technical courses in agriculture, forestry, arts and sciences, information technology, teacher education, industrial technology, and other courses within its areas of specialization and according to its capabilities, as the Board may deem necessary to carry out its objectives and meet the needs of the Province of Compostela Valley and Region XI.
Section 4 authorizes the College to maintain and operate a reasonably-sized laboratory school if it has an Institute of Education.
Section 15 prohibits political beliefs, gender preference, cultural or community affiliation, ethnic origin, religious opinion or affiliation from being a matter of inquiry in faculty appointments.
Section 15 requires faculty appointments to be subject to Board guidelines/qualifications/standards.
Section 15 prohibits faculty members from teaching for or against any particular church or religious sect.
Section 16 requires the College to provide a scholarship program and other affirmative action programs to assist poor but deserving students who qualify for admission.
Section 16 prohibits denial of admission based on sex, religion, cultural or community affiliation, or ethnic origin.
Section 14 authorizes the Academic Council to review and recommend curricular offerings and rules of discipline for Board approval, to fix admission and graduation requirements subject to Board review through the President, and to exercise disciplinary power over students subject to Board approval of academic policies and discipline rules.
Section 11 requires the Board to appoint a Secretary who keeps records and proceedings and serves each member with notice of Board meetings.
Section 12 designates the Treasurer of the Philippines as the ex officio Treasurer of the College.

Facilities, personnel transfer, and campus land

Section 17 authorizes heads of national government bureaus and offices, upon request of the President of the College, to loan or transfer apparatus, equipment, or supplies needed by the College and to detail employees for duty when such resources can be spared without serious detriment to public service.
Section 17 provides that detailed employees perform duties as required by the President, and their service time counts as part of their regular services.
Section 18 declares that parcels of land occupied by the College, including government land occupied by BSU External Studies Centers in Monkayo, Maragusan, Montevista, and New Bataan, are property of the Compostela Valley State College and must be titled under that name.
Section 18 requires reversion to the concerned LGUs if the College ceases to exist or is abolished, or if the parcels are no longer needed by the College.
Section 18 transfers to the College all assets, real and personal, personnel and records of the BSU External Studies Centers and their liabilities or obligations.
Section 18 requires respect for positions, rights, and security of tenure of faculty members and personnel employed under existing laws prior to conversion.

Tax and customs incentives

Section 19 exempts the College’s importation of economic, technical and cultural books or publications, made for economic, technical, vocational, scientific, philosophical, historical or cultural purposes upon CHED certification, from customs duties under the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines as amended.
Section 19 exempts donations made to the College from the donor’s tax and deems them allowable as deduction from the donor’s gross income for income tax purposes under the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended.

Appropriations, plans, audits, and reporting

Section 20 requires that the amount necessary to implement the Act be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
Section 20 provides that the BSU External Studies Centers in Monkayo, Maragusan, Montevista, and New Bataan continue to receive funding from BSU until fully integrated as regular branches of the College.
Section 21 requires the College, within one hundred twenty (120) days after approval of the Act, to:
- submit a five (5)-year development plan including its corresponding program budget to CHED for recommendation to DBM;
- undergo a management audit in cooperation with CHED; and
- set up its organizational, administrative, and academic structure, including appointment of key officials.
Section 22 requires the Board to file with the Office of the President of the Philippines through the Chairperson of CHED and with both Houses of Congress a detailed report on the College’s progress, conditions, and needs on or before the fifteenth (15th) day of the second (2nd) month after the opening of regular classes each year.

CHED requirements for effectivity

Section 23 makes Republic Act No. 8292 (the Higher Education Modernization Act of 1997) an integral part of the Act and part of the College’s governing charter.
Section 26 provides that, notwithstanding the Act, establishment or conversion into a state college becomes effective only upon CHED’s determination and declaration—based on the recommendation of a panel of experts—that the institution complied with requirements for college status.
Section 26 requires CHED, through its regional office, to provide technical assistance and monitor compliance with requirements.
Section 26 requires CHED to designate a panel of experts to recommend to the Chairperson of CHED whether the institution substantially complied with requirements for college status.
Section 26 sets operational requirements for college status including:
- Level III accreditation or equivalent under CHED policies for at least four (4) undergraduate programs, including one (1) in liberal arts, one (1) in sciences, and two (2) of its graduate programs;
- a ratio of qualified full-time faculty with requisite degrees to number of students;
- adequate library and laboratories;
- research and development output of practical and commercial application to the community;
- relevant linkages and outreach programs serving the community; and
- relevant academic policies, systems, and processes.
Section 26 provides that the institution retains its status prior to the Act’s effectivity unless it complies within a period not exceeding January 1, 2016.

Implementing rules, parity, and legal effects

Section 25 requires the Board, in consultation with CHED, to formulate rules and regulations to fully implement the Act.
Section 24 provides a parity clause: all powers, functions, privileges, responsibilities, and limitations to state colleges and their officials under existing laws are deemed granted to or imposed upon the College and/or its officials whenever appropriate.
Section 27 provides separability: if any part or provision is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts not affected remain in full force and effect.
Section 28 provides repealing/modifying effect: all laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the Act are repealed or modified accordingly.

Issuance, publication, and effectivity

The Act is Republic Act No. 10598 titled “AN ACT ESTABLISHING A STATE COLLEGE IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF COMPOSTELA, PROVINCE OF COMPOSTELA VALLEY TO BE KNOWN AS THE COMPOSTELA VALLEY STATE COLLEGE, INTEGRATING THEREWITH AS REGULAR BRANCHES THE BUKIDNON STATE UNIVERSITY EXTERNAL STUDIES CENTERS IN THE MUNICIPALITIES OF MONKAYO, MARAGUSAN, MONTEVISTA AND NEW BATAAN, ALL LOCATED IN THE PROVINCE OF COMPOSTELA VALLEY AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR.”
The Act is approved on June 04, 2013 by President Benigno S. Aquino III.
Section 29 provides that the Act takes effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.