Conversion of Laguna State Polytechnic College into a University

General mandate and curricular offerings

Section 2 requires the University to primarily provide advanced education, professional, technological and vocational instruction in agriculture, fisheries, forestry, science, engineering, industrial technologies, teacher education, medicine, law, arts and sciences, information technology, and other related fields.
Section 2 mandates the University to undertake research and extension services and provide progressive leadership in its areas of specialization.
Section 3 obligates the University to offer graduate, undergraduate, and short-term technical courses within its areas of specialization and according to its capabilities.
Section 3 directs that existing high school/s be transferred to the jurisdiction and supervision of the Department of Education (DepEd).
Section 3 allows existing high school/s to remain and operate within the University campus until the existing students have completed their high school education.
Section 3 permits the University to operate a reasonably-sized laboratory school if it has a College of Education.

University administration and corporate powers

Section 4 grants the University the general powers of a corporation under Batas Pambansa Blg. 68, as amended, known as the Corporation Code of the Philippines.
Section 4 vests administration and the exercise of corporate powers exclusively in the Board of Regents and the president of the University.
Section 6 requires the Board to promulgate and implement policies consistent with State policies on education and relevant constitutional provisions on education, agriculture, science and technology.
Section 6 requires policy alignment with the policies, standards and thrusts of the CHED under Republic Act No. 7722, the Higher Education Act of 1994.

Board of Regents: composition, selection, terms

Section 5 establishes the University’s governing board as the Board of Regents.
Section 5 sets the Board composition as:
- The chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), chairperson;
- The president of the University, vice chairperson;
- The chairperson of the Committee on Education, Arts and Culture of the Senate, member;
- The chairperson of the Committee on Higher and Technical Education of the House of Representatives, member;
- The regional director of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), member;
- The regional director of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), member;
- The president of the federation of faculty associations of the University, member;
- The president of the federation of student councils of the University, member;
- The president of the federation of alumni associations of the University, member; and
- Two prominent citizens from the private sector with distinguished professional or specialization achievements.
Section 5 requires the Board to appoint the two prominent citizens from a list of at least five qualified persons in the Province of Laguna, recommended by a search committee constituted by the University president, in consultation with the CHED chairperson and other Board members, using standards set by the Board.
Section 5 provides that the terms of faculty, student, and alumni federation presidents are coterminous with the terms set in their constitutions and bylaws.
Section 5 fixes the term of the two prominent citizens as two years from the date of appointment.

Powers and duties of the Board

Section 7 grants the Board specific powers and duties, including:
- Promulgating rules and regulations necessary to carry out the University’s purposes and functions.
- Receiving and appropriating sums for University support in the manner the Board determines.
Section 7 authorizes duty-free importation of economic, technical and cultural books and/or publications upon CHED certification that imports are for economic, technical, vocational, scientific, philosophical, historical or cultural purposes, consistent with the Tariff and Customs Code, as amended.
Section 7 allows the Board to receive in trust legacies, gifts and donations of real properties of all kinds and administer and dispose of them for the University’s benefit, subject to donor limitations and instructions.
Section 7 provides that such real property donations are:
- Exempt from the donor’s tax, and
- Considered allowable deductions from gross income for income tax computation under the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997, as amended.
Section 7 prohibits disposition, transfer, or sale of such donations.
Section 7 directs 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 requires that tuition and other charges, including government subsidies and other income, constitute special trust funds deposited in an authorized government depository bank, with interest forming part of the same funds for University use.
Section 7 requires retention by the University of income generated from tuition and other charges, operation of auxiliary services, and land grants, to be disbursed for instruction, research, extension, or other University programs/projects, while requiring fiduciary fees to be disbursed for their specific collection purposes.
Section 7 allows the Board, when a funded project cannot be pursued for reasons beyond the University’s control, to authorize use of those funds for any reasonable purpose necessary and urgent to attain the University’s objectives.
Section 7 obligates adoption and implementation of a socialized scheme of tuition and school fees for greater access to poor but deserving students.
Section 7 authorizes construction or repair of buildings, machinery, equipment, and other facilities; and purchase/acquisition of real property including necessary supplies, materials and equipment.
Section 7 authorizes appointment of vice presidents, deans, directors, heads of campuses, faculty members, and other officials and employees upon recommendation of the president.
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;
- Grant leaves of absence under regulations promulgated by the Board; and
- Remove personnel for cause in accordance with due process of law.
Section 7 requires Board approval of curricula and instructional programs and rules of discipline drawn by administrative and academic councils.
Section 7 directs the Board to set policies on admission and graduation and to award honorary degrees recognizing outstanding contributions in education, public service, arts, science and technology, agriculture, or any field within the University’s academic competence.
Section 7 authorizes awarding certificates of completion of nondegree and nontraditional courses.
Section 7 authorizes establishment and absorption of nonchartered tertiary institutions within the Province of Laguna as branches and centers in coordination with the CHED and in consultation with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), with programs/courses to promote equal access to educational opportunities.
Section 7 authorizes establishment of research and extension centers, professorial chairs, fellowships for qualified faculty members, and scholarships to deserving students.
Section 7 allows delegation of any powers and duties to the president and/or other officials to expedite administration.
Section 7 permits authorizing an external management audit of the University financed by the CHED, subject to Commission on Audit (COA) rules; and instituting reforms including academic and structural changes based on audit results and recommendations.
Section 7 authorizes collaboration with other governing boards of state colleges and universities within the Province of Laguna or Region IV-A under CHED supervision and DBM consultation, working toward restructuring for efficiency, relevance, productivity, and competitiveness.
Section 7 authorizes joint ventures with business and industry for profitable development and management of the University’s economic assets, with proceeds used for strengthening and development of the University.
Section 7 authorizes consortia and other economic linkages with LGUs, institutions, and agencies (public and private, local and foreign) for University purposes.
Section 7 authorizes academic arrangements for institutional capability building with appropriate institutions and agencies and appointment of experts/specialists as consultants or part-time/visiting/exchange professors, scholars, or researchers.
Section 7 requires setting policy guidelines for modern knowledge-transmission modes such as information technology, dual learning system, open or distance education, and community laboratory to promote greater access to education.
Section 7 requires policy guidelines and procedures for participative decision-making and transparency within the University.
Section 7 authorizes privatization, where advantageous, of management of nonacademic services such as health, food, building or grounds or property maintenance, and similar activities.
Section 7 authorizes extending the president’s term beyond the retirement age but not beyond seventy (70), upon unanimous governing board rating as outstanding based on Board-set guidelines/qualifications/standards, after unanimous recommendation by the search committee.

Board meetings and officer roles

Section 8 requires the Board to convene at least once every quarter.
Section 8 allows a maximum of two special meetings when necessary, called by the chairperson upon three days’ prior written notice.
Section 8 sets quorum as majority of all its members holding office at the time of the meeting.
Section 8 requires that either the chairperson of the Board or the president of the University must be present.
Section 8 provides that when the CHED chairperson is absent, a duly designated CHED commissioner represents the CHED chairperson with full rights and responsibilities as a regular member, with the president acting as presiding officer in that meeting.
Section 8 authorizes the CHED chairperson to designate a CHED commissioner as regular chair of the Board, in which case the commissioner acts as presiding officer.
Section 8 allows Congressional committee chairpersons of Education to designate representatives with regular member rights if they cannot attend.
Section 8 states Board members receive no salary, but are entitled to reimbursements for actual and necessary expenses incurred in attending meetings or in other authorized official business.

University president, campus heads, councils

Section 9 requires the University to be headed by a president rendering full-time service, appointed by the Board subject to Board-set guidelines/qualifications/standards upon recommendation of a duly constituted search committee.
Section 9 sets the president’s term at four years and makes the president eligible for reappointment for another term.
Section 9 provides a transition rule: the incumbent president of the LSPC, if qualified, shall serve as the first president of the University.
Section 9 requires the Board, within six months before the expiration of the incumbent president’s term, to constitute the Search Committee for the Presidency (SCP).
Section 9 authorizes the Board to designate an officer-in-charge pending appointment of a new president in cases of vacancy due to death, compulsory retirement, resignation, removal for cause, or incapacity.
Section 9 limits any successor or officer-in-charge serving in a vacancy to the unexpired portion of the term.
Section 9 provides that the president’s powers and duties include those usually pertaining to similar university presidencies, plus those delegated by the Board.
Section 9 mandates the president’s salary be under the Revised Compensation and Position Classification System and comparable to presidents of similar educational institutions.
Section 9 requires that the president be assisted by vice presidents for academic affairs, administration, research and development, and external affairs, appointed by the Board upon the president’s recommendation.
Section 10 requires campus directors to head campuses on a full-time basis, appointed by the Board upon recommendation of the search committee and the University president, subject to Board-set guidelines/qualifications/standards.
Section 10 provides a transition rule: incumbent extension campus college administrators serve as campus directors of their respective campuses.
Section 11 creates an Administrative Council chaired by the University president, with vice presidents, deans, directors, and officials of equal rank as members, tasked to review and recommend policies on administration, management, and development planning to the Board.
Section 12 creates an Academic Council chaired by the president and composed of all academic staff with rank at least an assistant professor as members.
Section 12 grants the Academic Council power to review and recommend curricular offerings and rules of discipline to the Board, to fix admission requirements and graduation and degree conferment requirements subject to Board review through the president, and to formulate discipline rules and academic policies subject to Board approval.
Section 12 gives the Academic Council disciplinary power over University students.

University officers: secretary and treasurer

Section 13 requires the Board to appoint a secretary who serves both the Board and the University and keeps all records and proceedings of the Board.
Section 13 requires the secretary to serve notices of Board meetings to each Board member.
Section 14 establishes the Treasurer of the Philippines as ex officio treasurer of the University.

Faculty rights, student access, and autonomy

Section 15 prohibits political beliefs, gender preference, cultural/community affiliation, ethnic origin, and religious opinion/affiliation from being a matter of inquiry in the appointment of University faculty.
Section 15 requires faculty appointment to be subject to Board-set guidelines/qualifications/standards.
Section 15 prohibits any faculty member from teaching for or against any particular church or religious sect.
Section 16 obligates the University to provide a scholarship program and other affirmative action programs for 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 17 guarantees academic freedom and institutional autonomy pursuant to paragraph 2, Section 5 of Article XIV of the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines.

Loans, transfers, assets, appropriations

Section 18 authorizes heads of national government bureaus and offices, upon the University president’s request, to loan or transfer apparatus, equipment, supplies, and to detail employees for duty in the University when such services can be spared without serious detriment to public service.
Section 18 requires detailed employees to perform duties required by the University president and provides that the time employed is counted as part of their regular services.
Section 19 transfers to the University all assets (real and personal), personnel, records, liabilities, or obligations of the LSPC.
Section 19 requires respect for positions, rights, and security of tenure of faculty and personnel employed under existing laws prior to conversion.
Section 19 declares government parcels of land occupied by the LSPC as property of the University, and requires titling in the University’s name.
Section 19 provides that if the University ceases to exist or is abolished, or if the parcels are no longer needed by the University, the lands revert to the concerned LGUs.
Section 20 charges the amount needed to carry out the Act against the current year’s appropriations of the LSPC, except sums needed to continue operations of existing high schools.
Section 20 requires inclusion in the annual General Appropriations Act thereafter of sums needed for continued operation and maintenance of the University.

Development plan, audits, and annual reporting

Section 21 requires the University, within 120 days after approval of the Act, to accomplish:
- Submission of a five-year development plan, including its corresponding program budget to the CHED for recommendation to the DBM;
- Undergoing a management audit in cooperation with the CHED; and
- Setting up the University’s organizational, administrative, and academic structure, including appointment of key officials.
Section 22 requires the Board to file a detailed annual report on progress, conditions, and needs:
- On or before the fifteenth (15th) day of the second month after opening of regular classes each year;
- With the Office of the President of the Philippines through the chairperson of the CHED; and
- With both Houses of Congress.

Charter relationship, parity, implementing rules

Section 23 integrates Republic Act No. 8292, the Higher Education Modernization Act of 1997, as an integral part of the Act and as part of the University’s governing charter.
Section 24 provides that all other powers, functions and privileges, responsibilities and limitations to state universities and/or their officials under existing laws are deemed granted to or imposed upon the University and/or its officials whenever appropriate.
Section 25 requires the Board, in consultation with the CHED, to formulate guidelines to fully implement the Act.

Separability, repeal, and effectivity

Section 26 provides separability: invalid or unconstitutional parts do not affect remaining provisions, which remain fully in force and effect.
Section 27 repeals or modifies laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the Act.
Section 28 provides effectivity: the Act takes effect fifteen (15) days after publication in two newspapers of general circulation.

Issuance and approval dates

Republic Act No. 9402 is dated March 22, 2007.
The Act was approved by the President on March 22, 2007.