Conversion of Bulacan Agricultural State College to University

General academic mandate and direction

The BSAU primarily provides advance instruction and professional training in agriculture, forestry, veterinary medicine, agricultural engineering, geodetic engineering, fisheries, education, science and technology, arts and humanities, information and communications technology, and other relevant fields of study.
The BSAU undertakes research and extension services and production activities to support the socioeconomic development of the Province of Bulacan and Region III.
The BSAU offers undergraduate and graduate courses within its competency and areas of specialization, including those necessary to accomplish its objectives and those that address human resource development needs of Province of Bulacan and Region III.
A reasonably-sized existing laboratory senior high school continues to operate under the supervision of the College of Education of the BSAU to serve in-campus student requirements.

Governance structure and corporate powers

The BSAU has the general powers of a corporation under Republic Act No. 11232 (Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines).
The corporate powers of the BSAU are exercised exclusively by the Board and the President.
The governing body is the Board of Regents (Board), chaired and co-chaired by the Chairperson of CHED and the President of the BSAU, respectively.
The Board membership includes:
- the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education;
- the Chairperson of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education;
- the Regional Director of the National Economic and Development Authority;
- the Regional Director of the Department of Science and Technology;
- the Regional Director of the Department of Agriculture;
- the President of the federation of faculty associations of the BSAU;
- the President of the federation of student councils of the BSAU;
- the President of the federation of alumni associations of the BSAU; and
- two (2) prominent citizens from the private sector distinguished in their professions or fields.
The Board adds two (2) prominent citizens selected from a list of at least five (5) qualified persons from Bulacan recommended by a search committee constituted by the President of the BSAU, in consultation with the Chairperson of CHED and other Board members, based on Board standards; they serve for a term of two (2) years from appointment.

Board powers, fees, admissions policy

The Board promulgates and implements policies aligned with the State policies on education and relevant constitutional and CHED policies under Republic Act No. 7722 (Higher Education Act of 1994).
The Board approves curricula, instructional programs, and student discipline rules drawn by the Administrative and Academic Councils.
The Board appoints, upon the recommendation of the President, the vice presidents, deans, directors, heads of campuses, faculty members, and other officials and employees.
The Board fixes and adjusts salaries of faculty, administrative officials, and employees, subject to the Revised Compensation and Position Classification System and other applicable compensation laws and hours-of-service rules; it can grant leaves of absence under Board regulations (overriding contrary existing provisions) and remove personnel for cause with due process.
The Board fixes and adjusts tuition fees and other necessary school charges (including matriculation fees, graduation fees, and laboratory fees) after due consultation with concerned sectors.
Tuition fees and school charges, including government subsidies and other income generated by the BSAU, constitute its special trust funds deposited in an authorized government depository bank, and all interests accruing form part of the same funds for BSAU use.
Income generated by the BSAU from tuition fees and other charges, and from auxiliary services and land grants, is retained by the BSAU and may be disbursed by the Board for instruction, research, extension services, or other BSAU programs and projects, subject to:
- fiduciary fees being disbursed for their specific collected purposes; and
- if the BSAU cannot pursue an appropriated project for reasons beyond its control, the Board may authorize use of the funds for any reasonable, necessary, and urgent purpose to attain BSAU objectives.
The Board adopts and implements a socialized scheme of tuition and other fees for greater access by poor but deserving students in accordance with Republic Act No. 10931 (Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act).
The Board establishes professorial chairs, provides fellowships for qualified faculty members, and scholarships to deserving students.
The Board sets policies on admission and graduation.
The Board awards honorary degrees for outstanding contributions in education, public service, arts, science and technology, agriculture, or other fields within BSAU academic competency, and authorizes completion certificates for nondegree and nontraditional courses.
The Board establishes research and extension centers and develops academic arrangements for institutional capability building with public, private, local, or foreign institutions and agencies; it appoints experts/consultants and part-time, visiting, or exchange professors, scholars, or researchers as appropriate.
The Board adopts modern knowledge-transmission modes to promote greater access, including information technology, dual training system, open distance learning, and community laboratory.
The Board collaborates with other state universities and colleges in Bulacan and Region III under CHED supervision and in consultation with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to restructure for efficiency, relevance, productivity, and competitiveness.
The Board may absorb non-chartered tertiary institutions in Bulacan and Region III as branches, extension, or external centers in coordination with CHED and in consultation with DBM, and offer programs/courses to carry out the constitutional mandate of equal educational opportunity.
The Board authorizes an external management audit financed by CHED, subject to Commission on Audit rules and regulations, and institutes reforms based on audit results and recommendations.
The Board develops consortia and other economic linkages with LGUs and public/private/local/foreign institutions and agencies for BSAU objectives.
The Board may import economic, technical, and cultural books and publications.
The Board may enter joint ventures with business and industry for profitable development of economic assets, with proceeds used for BSAU development and strengthening.
The Board may receive in trust legacies, gifts, and donations of real and personal properties and administer and dispose of them when necessary for BSAU benefit, subject to donor limitations/directions.
The Board may extend the BSAU President’s term beyond retirement but not beyond age seventy (70), based on Board guidelines and standards; extension requires:
- performance rated by the Board as outstanding, and
- a unanimous recommendation by a search committee.
The Board delegates powers and duties to the President and other officials to expedite administration.
The Board establishes policy guidelines and procedures for participative and transparent decision-making.
The Board may privatize, where most advantageous, the management of nonacademic services such as health, food, building/grounds or property maintenance, and similar activities.
The Board authorizes construction or repair of buildings, machinery, equipment, and other facilities, and purchases/acquires real property and necessary supplies, materials, and equipment.
The Board promulgates rules and regulations necessary to carry out BSAU purposes and functions.

Board meetings, officers, councils

The Board regularly convenes once every three (3) months.
The Board Chairperson may call special meetings when necessary.
Written notice of meetings is required at least three (3) days prior to the meeting.
A quorum consists of the majority of all Board members holding office at the time of the meeting.
The Chairperson of the Board or the President of the BSAU must be present for quorum.
If the Chairperson of CHED cannot attend, a duly designated CHED Commissioner representative attends with the same rights and responsibilities as a regular member.
During meetings, the President of the BSAU acts as the presiding officer as Vice Chairperson.
The Chairperson of CHED may designate a CHED Commissioner to act as the regular Chairperson, in which case the CHED Commissioner acts as the presiding officer.
If the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education and the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education cannot attend, their respective representatives attend with the same rights and responsibilities as regular members.
Board members receive no salary and may be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred for meeting attendance or other authorized official business, subject to existing laws and regulations.

University President and Secretary/Treasurer

The BSAU is headed by a President appointed by the Board subject to Board guidelines on qualifications and standards, based on the recommendation of a duly constituted search committee.
The President provides full-time service and serves a term of four (4) years, and may be reappointed to another term.
To ensure smooth transition, the incumbent President of the BASC, if qualified, serves as the first President of the BSAU.
Within six (6) months before the expiration of the incumbent President’s term, the Board constitutes the Search Committee for the Presidency.
The President’s powers and duties include those normally pertaining to similar university Presidents, plus those delegated by the Board and those specifically provided in the Act.
The President’s salary follows Republic Act No. 11466 (Salary Standardization Law of 2019) and amendatory laws, and must be comparable to salaries of presidents of similar educational institutions.
If the office of President becomes vacant due to death, compulsory retirement, resignation, removal for cause, or incapacity, the Board designates an Officer-in-Charge pending appointment of a new President.
The Officer-in-Charge serves only during the unexpired portion of the term.
The President is assisted by Vice Presidents for:
- Academic Affairs,
- Administration, and
- Research, Development and Extension,
  all appointed by the Board upon the President’s recommendation.
The Board appoints a Secretary who serves both the Board and the BSAU, keeps all Board records, and provides Board-meeting notices to Board members.
The Treasurer of the Philippines is the ex officio Treasurer of the BSAU.

Student discipline, academic freedom, appointments

An Administrative Council exists with the President of the BSAU as chairperson and the vice presidents, deans, directors, and officials of equal rank as members.
The Administrative Council reviews and recommends to the Board policies governing administration, management, and development planning of the BSAU.
An Academic Council formulates academic policies and consists of the President as chairperson and all academic staff with at least the rank of assistant professor.
The Academic Council reviews and recommends curricular offerings and student discipline rules subject to Board approval.
The Academic Council fixes requirements for admission, graduation, and degree conferment, subject to Board review and approval through the President.
The Academic Council exercises disciplinary power over BSAU students and formulates student discipline rules, subject to Board approval.
Campus Directors serve as heads/administrators of their respective campuses, provide full-time service, and are appointed/designated by the Board upon search committee and President recommendation, subject to Board standards.
Upon effectivity, incumbent Campus Directors of existing BASC campuses continue to serve as much.
Faculty appointments cannot inquire into political belief, gender preference, cultural or community affiliation, ethnic origin, or religious opinion/affiliation.
Faculty appointments remain subject to Board guidelines, qualifications, and standards.
No faculty member teaches for or against any particular church or religious sect.

Scholarships and admission protections

The BSAU provides scholarship and other affirmative action programs to assist poor but deserving students who qualify for admission.
No student is denied admission to the BSAU because of gender, religion, cultural or community affiliation, or ethnic origin.
The BSAU enjoys academic freedom and institutional autonomy pursuant to paragraph 2, Section 5 of Article XIV of the Constitution.

Assets transfer, land ownership, personnel security

All assets, real and personal property, personnel, and records of the BASC, including its liabilities or obligations, are transferred to the BSAU.
Positions, rights, and security of tenure of faculty members and personnel employed under existing law before conversion are respected.
Incumbents occupying the positions remain in the same status until otherwise provided by the Board.
The BSAU upgrades or increases its human resources component as the Board deems appropriate.
Government parcels of land occupied by the BASC and its campuses are declared property of the BSAU and must be titled under the BSAU’s name.
If the BSAU ceases to exist or is abolished, or if such parcels of land are no longer needed by the BSAU, the land reverts to the concerned LGU or to the Republic of the Philippines, as applicable.

CHED approval, compliance requirements, transition status

Conversion to a state university becomes effective only upon CHED determination and declaration (based on a panel of experts’ recommendation) that the institution complied with university-status requirements under CHED Memorandum Order No. 46, series of 2012 (Policy Standard to Enhance Quality Assurance (QA) in Philippine Higher Education Through an Outcomes-Based and Typology-Based QA).
The panel may recommend effectiveness when the BASC has substantially complied with requirements for university status.
The university operational requirements that must be complied with include:
- employment of full-time, permanent faculty with relevant degrees and participation in research and development evidenced by referred publications and other scholarly outputs;
- offering a comprehensive range of degree programs from basic post-secondary up to doctoral programs;
- conducting viable research programs producing new knowledge evidenced by referred publications, citations, inventions, and patents;
- maintaining comprehensive learning resources and support structures including libraries, practicum laboratories, relevant educational resources, and linkages allowing students to explore basic, advanced, and cutting-edge knowledge across a wide range of disciplines;
- maintaining linkage and affiliation with other research institutions worldwide to ensure research meets current global standards; and
- conducting outreach activities enabling students, faculty, and research staff to apply generated knowledge to address specific social development problems.
CHED, through its regional office, provides regular technical assistance to the BSAU and monitors compliance.
The BASC retains its status prior to effectivity until it is able to comply with the Act’s requirements.

Development plan, audit, and annual reporting

Within one hundred twenty (120) days after approval of the Act, the BSAU must:
- submit a five (5)-year development plan including its program budget to CHED for recommendation to DBM;
- set up its organizational, administrative, and academic structure, including appointment of key BSAU officials; and
- undergo a management audit in coordination with CHED.
The Board files an annual detailed report on the BSAU’s needs, condition, and progress:
- on or before the fifteenth (15th) day of the second (2nd) month after the opening of regular classes each year;
- to the Office of the President of the Philippines through the Chairperson of CHED; and
- to both Houses of Congress.

Funding, appropriations, implementing rules

The amount necessary to carry out the Act is charged against the current year’s appropriations of the BASC.
Afterward, sums necessary for continued operation and maintenance of the BSAU are included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
Within sixty (60) days from approval, the Board, in consultation with CHED, formulates implementing rules and regulations to fully implement the Act.

Tax and donation incentives

Importation by the BSAU of economic, technical, and cultural books or publications for economic, technical, vocational, scientific, philosophical, historical, or cultural purposes is exempt from customs duties upon CHED certification in accordance with Republic Act No. 10863 (Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA)).
Grants, bequests, endowments, donations, and contributions made to and used actually, directly, and exclusively for educational purposes by the BSAU are exempt from donor’s tax and are allowable deductions from the donor’s gross income for computing taxable income under the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended.

Assets and personnel assistance by national agencies

Heads of national government bureaus and offices are authorized to loan or transfer apparatus, equipment, supplies, and to detail employees to the BSAU upon request of the President of the BSAU.
The loan/transfer/detail must be made when, in the judgment of the head of bureau/office, the items or services can be spared without serious detriment to public service.
Detailed employees perform duties required by the President of the BSAU.
The time served by detailed employees counts as part of their regular service.

Suppletory rules, parity, implementing continuity

Republic Act No. 8292 (Higher Education Modernization Act of 1997) forms part of the Act and serves together as the governing charter of the BSAU.
All other powers, functions, privileges, responsibilities, and limitations under existing laws are deemed granted to or imposed upon the BSAU and its officials when appropriate.

Legal effects: separability, repeal, and effectivity

If any part or provision of the Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts not affected remain in full force and effect.
All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, and rules and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the Act are repealed or modified accordingly.
The Act takes effect fifteen (15) days after publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Republic Act No. 11783 is May 29, 2022 and takes effect under the constitutional rule that it lapsed into law on May 29 2022 without the signature of the President in accordance with Article VI, Section 27 (1) of the Constitution.