Conversion of Northern Negros State College to SUNN

Academic Offerings and Functions

The SUNN offers short-term technical-vocational, undergraduate, and graduate programs within its areas of competency and specialization.
The SUNN’s program fields include agriculture, arts, biology, national science, business and management, criminology, education, engineering, fisheries, food technology, healthcare, industrial technology, information and communications technology, management, and marine sciences, and other relevant fields as the Board may deem necessary.
The SUNN undertakes research and extension services.
The SUNN provides progressive leadership in its areas of specialization.
The SUNN’s offerings must respond to human resources development needs of the Province of Negros Occidental and Region VI.

Corporate Powers and Governance

The SUNN has the general powers of a corporation under Republic Act No. 11232, and its corporate powers are exercised exclusively through its Board and President.
The governing body is the Board, which is chaired and co-chaired by:
- the Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and
- the President of the SUNN.
The Board has the Board composition listed in Section 4, including:
- Senate Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education Chairperson,
- House Committee on Higher and Technical Education Chairperson,
- Regional Directors of NEDA, DOST, and Department of Agriculture,
- presidents of SUNN faculty, student, and alumni federations,
- two (2) prominent private-sector citizens, and
- two prominent citizens are appointed by the Board from a search list of at least five (5) qualified persons from Negros Occidental recommended by a search committee constituted by the President of the SUNN.
The two (2) prominent citizen members appointed by the Board serve for a term of two (2) years from the date of appointment.
The federation presidents’ Board membership is coterminous with their terms of office under their respective constitutions and bylaws.

Board Powers, Tuition and Fees, and Operations

The Board promulgates and implements policies in line with state education policies, constitutional education-agriculture-science-and-technology provisions, and CHED policies standards and thrusts under Republic Act No. 7722.
The Board approves:
- curricula,
- instructional programs, and
- rules on student discipline drawn by the Administrative and Academic Councils.
The Board appoints, upon recommendation of the SUNN President, the vice presidents, deans, directors, campus heads, faculty members, and other SUNN officials and employees.
The Board fixes and adjusts salaries of faculty and administrative personnel subject to the Revised Compensation and Position Classification System and other compensation and hours-of-service laws, grants leaves of absence under regulations it promulgates, and removes officials and employees for cause following due process.
The Board fixes and adjusts tuition fees and other school charges (including matriculation fees, graduation fees and laboratory fees) after due consultation with concerned sectors.
Tuition fees and other charges, including government subsidies and other income generated by the SUNN, constitute special trust funds deposited in an authorized government depository bank; all interests earned form part of the same funds for SUNN use.
The SUNN retains income generated from tuition and other charges, and from auxiliary services and land grants, and the Board may disburse it for instruction, research, extension services, or other SUNN programs and projects, subject to:
- fiduciary fees being disbursed only for their collected specific purposes, and
- when projects cannot be pursued for reasons beyond the SUNN’s control, the Board may authorize use of appropriated and allocated funds for any reasonable purpose necessary and urgent to achieve SUNN objectives and goals.
The Board adopts and implements a socialized scheme of tuition and other school fees for greater access of poor but deserving students under Republic Act No. 10931.
The Board establishes professorial chairs, provides fellowships for qualified faculty, and awards scholarships to deserving students.
The Board receives and appropriates sums provided by law and appropriates other sums in its discretion to support SUNN purposes and functions.
The Board sets policies on admission and graduation.
The Board awards honorary degrees to persons for outstanding contribution in specified fields within SUNN’s academic competency.
The Board authorizes certification of completion of nondegree and nontraditional courses.
The Board establishes research and extension centers.
The Board develops academic arrangements for institutional capability building with public/private, local/foreign institutions and agencies and appoints experts/specialists as consultants or in teaching/research roles (part-time, visiting, or exchange).
The Board adopts modern knowledge-transmission modes including information technology, dual training, open distance learning, and community laboratory.
The Board collaborates with governing bodies of other state universities and colleges within Negros Occidental and Region VI under CHED supervision and in consultation with the DBM for restructuring toward efficiency, relevance, productivity, and competitiveness.
The Board absorbs non-chartered tertiary institutions within Negros Occidental and Region VI as branches, extension, or external centers in coordination with CHED and in consultation with DBM, and offers programs or courses there to fulfill equal access to education.
The Board authorizes an external management audit financed by CHED, subject to Commission on Audit rules and regulations, and institutes reforms including academic and structural changes based on audit results and recommendations.
The Board develops consortia and other economic linkage forms with LGUs and public/private, local/foreign institutions and agencies.
The Board imports economic, technical, and cultural books and publications.
The Board enters joint ventures with business and industry for profitable development of economic assets, with proceeds used for development and strengthening of the SUNN.
The Board receives in trust, legacies, gifts, and donations of real and personal properties of all kinds and administers and disposes of them for SUNN benefit subject to donor limitations, directions, and instructions if any.
The Board may extend the President’s term beyond retirement age, but not beyond seventy (70), based on Board guidelines and standards, provided the President’s performance is rated outstanding and the search committee gives a unanimous recommendation.
The Board may delegate any of its powers and duties to the President and other officials to expedite administration.
The Board establishes policy guidelines for participative and transparent decision-making.
The Board may privatize management of nonacademic services (health, food, building/grounds or property maintenance, and similar activities) when most advantageous to SUNN.
The Board authorizes construction or repair of buildings and facilities, and purchase/acquisition of real property and necessary supplies, materials, and equipment.
The Board promulgates rules and regulations necessary to carry out SUNN purposes and functions.

Board Meetings and Expenses Rules

The Board convenes once every three (3) months.
The Chairperson may call a special meeting whenever necessary.
Notice for Board meetings must be sent at least three (3) days before the meeting.
Quorum consists of the majority of all its members holding office at the time of the meeting, and the Chairperson of the Board or the President of the SUNN must be present.
If the CHED Chairperson cannot attend, a CHED Commissioner duly designated by the CHED Chairperson has all rights and responsibilities of a regular member.
During meetings, the SUNN President acts as the presiding officer as Vice Chairperson.
The CHED Chairperson may designate a CHED Commissioner as regular Chairperson, in which case that CHED Commissioner acts as the presiding officer.
If the Senate and House committee chairpersons cannot attend, they may designate their respective representatives to attend with the same rights and responsibilities as regular members.
Board members do not receive salary but are entitled to reimbursement of actual and necessary expenses incurred for meeting attendance or authorized coordination work, subject to existing laws and regulations.

University President and Key Officers

The SUNN is headed by a President appointed by the Board subject to Board guidelines, qualifications, and standards, based on the recommendation of a search committee constituted for selecting the President.
The President serves full-time for a term of four (4) years and may be reappointed for another term.
The incumbent President of NONESCOST, if qualified, serves as the first President of the SUNN to ensure smooth transition.
The Board constitutes a Search Committee for the Presidency within six (6) months before the expiration of the incumbent President’s term.
The President’s powers and duties include those usually pertaining to similar university offices and those delegated by the Board.
The President’s salary follows Republic Act No. 11466 (Salary Standardization Law of 2019) and amendatory laws, and must be comparable to presidents of similar educational institutions.
If the Presidency 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, serving only during the unexpired portion of the term.
The President is assisted by:
- a Vice President for Academic Affairs,
- a Vice President for Administration, and
- a Vice President for Research, Development and Extension,
  all appointed by the Board upon the President’s recommendation.

Internal Councils and Campus Leadership

A Secretary is appointed by the Board to serve both the Board and the SUNN, keeping all records and proceedings of Board meetings and giving each Board member appropriate notice of meetings.
The Treasurer of the Philippines serves as the ex officio Treasurer of the SUNN.
An Administrative Council exists with the President as chairperson and members consisting of vice presidents, deans, directors, and other officials of equal rank; it reviews and recommends to the Board policies governing administration, management, and development planning.
An Academic Council exists to formulate academic policies with the President as chairperson and academic staff with rank at least assistant professor as members.
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 conferment of degrees, subject to Board review and approval through the President.
The Academic Council exercises disciplinary power over SUNN students and formulates student discipline rules and regulations subject to Board approval.
Campus Directors serve as full-time heads/administrators of SUNN campuses and are appointed or designated by the Board upon recommendation of a search committee and the President, subject to Board guidelines and standards.
Upon the Act’s effectivity, the incumbent Campus Directors of the existing NONESCOST campuses continue to serve as much as provided by the conversion.

Faculty and Student Rights

Faculty appointments must not inquire into political belief, gender preference, cultural or community affiliation, ethnic origin, or religious opinion or affiliation.
Faculty appointments remain subject to Board guidelines, qualifications, and standards.
No faculty member teaches for or against any particular church or religious sect.
The SUNN enjoys academic freedom and institutional autonomy pursuant to paragraph 2, Section 5 of Article XIV of the Constitution.
The SUNN provides scholarship and other affirmative action programs to assist poor but deserving students who qualify for admission.
No student is denied admission due to gender, religion, cultural or community affiliation, or ethnic origin.

Assets, Lands, Personnel Transfer, and Loans

All assets, real and personal property, personnel, and records of NONESCOST, including liabilities or obligations, are transferred to the SUNN.
The positions, rights, and security of tenure of faculty members and personnel employed under existing law prior to conversion are respected.
Incumbents retain their status unless otherwise provided by the Board.
The SUNN upgrades or increases its human resources component as the Board deems appropriate.
All parcels of land belonging to the government to be occupied by NONESCOST and its campuses become property of the SUNN and must be titled under the SUNN’s name.
If the SUNN ceases to exist or is abolished, or if the parcels are no longer needed by the SUNN, the land reverts to the concerned LGU or the Republic of the Philippines, as applicable.
Upon Board request through the President, heads of national government bureaus and offices may loan or transfer apparatus, equipment, supplies, and detail employees for duty in the SUNN if such resources can be spared without serious detriment to public service.
Detailed employees perform duties required by the President of the SUNN, and the time served counts as part of their regular service.

Tax and Customs Exemptions

The importation by the SUNN 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, under 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 SUNN are exempt from donor’s tax.
Such educational-purpose gifts and contributions are also allowable deductions from the donor’s gross income for computing taxable income under the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended.

CHED University-Status Requirement

The conversion into 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).
CHED’s panel may issue its recommendation when NONESCOST has substantially complied with the requirements for university status.
The SUNN must comply with the university operational requirements established by CHED, including full-time permanent faculty with relevant degrees and research/development participation evidenced by referred publications and scholarly outputs; comprehensive degree programs from basic post-secondary to doctoral programs; viable research programs producing new knowledge evidenced by referred publications, citations, inventions, and patents; comprehensive learning resources and support structures including libraries and practicum laboratories with linkages; research linkages with institutions worldwide for global standards; and outreach activities to apply knowledge to address specific social development problems.
CHED through its regional office provides technical assistance and monitors SUNN compliance.
NONESCOST retains its status prior to the Act’s effectivity until the institution complies with the required conditions.

Development Plan, Reports, and Rules

Within one hundred twenty (120) days after approval, the SUNN must:
- submit a five (5)-year development plan, including its program budget, to CHED for recommendation to the DBM;
- set up its organizational, administrative, and academic structure, including appointment of key SUNN officials; and
- undergo a management audit in coordination with CHED.
The Board files each year a detailed report on the SUNN’s progress, condition, and needs with the Office of the President of the Philippines and both Houses of Congress through the Chairperson of CHED, on or before the fifteenth (15th) day of the second (2nd) month after the opening of regular classes.
Republic Act No. 8292 (Higher Education Modernization Act of 1997) applies suppletorily to the SUNN.
Within sixty (60) days from approval, the Board, in consultation with CHED, formulates the rules and regulations to fully implement the Act.

Appropriations, Separability, and Repeal

The amount necessary to carry out the Act is charged against the current year’s appropriations of NONESCOST.
Thereafter, the annual General Appropriations Act includes the sums necessary for continued operation and maintenance of the SUNN.
If any part or provision of the Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts remain in full force and effect under the separability rule.
All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, and rules and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the Act are repealed or modified accordingly under the repealing clause.
All other powers, functions, privileges, responsibilities, and limitations under existing laws apply to the SUNN and its officials when appropriate under the parity clause.

Effectivity and Date of Approval

The Act takes effect fifteen (15) days after publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
The Act is Republic Act No. 11859, approved June 18, 2022, and it lapsed into law without the President’s signature on June 18, 2022 in accordance with Article VI, Section 27 (1) of the Constitution.