ENVISIONING WHAT COULD be the first twinning program of San Beda University (SBU), students and faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) conducted its preliminary step of implementing a Faculty-Student Mobility Program in the United States of America (USA) last September 1.  

CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 01, series of 2000, defined a twinning program as a “collaborative arrangement between one Philippine and one foreign university with the desire to build capability of both institutions; to operate, manage and administer an undergraduate or graduate program and to provide opportunity for students to have international diploma or degree.” This, as per the CAS Vice Dean of the Arts and Humanities cluster, Dr. Moses Aaron T. Angeles, Ph.D., was the main objective of conducting the mobility program in the first place, at least in pursuing the long-term vision of realizing a twinning program. 

The twinning program dream was already set in motion last year when Saint Vincent College (SVC), a private Benedictine college based in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, set their sights on “tying-up” with SBU, which merited the support of the Rector-President, Rev. Fr. Aloysius Ma. A. Maranan, OSB. Dr. Angeles further disclosed how the CAS Dean, Prof. Christian Bryan Bustamante, Ph.D., was given the “marching order to realize the initiative.”  

While the preliminary program was initially set to include other students and faculty from the different colleges in the University, the CAS was particularly “singled out because, if you will look into the programs offered by St. Vincent, malapit [siya sa mga inooffer rin ng] CAS,” said Dr. Angeles, emphasizing the necessity for both universities to have programs that both would “jive” into. Yet given how the program was essentially a “baby step” in pursuing more intricate initiatives for the twinning objective, the Vice Dean of the Arts and Humanities cluster assured that more students will be given the chance to partake in this initiative in the future.  

17 students and 14 faculty members from the CAS attended the student mobility program where, throughout their stay in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, they have continuously engaged in a dialogue with the students, faculty, and administrators of SVC, where the latter had ushered the CAS participants to explore the different facilities and programs offered by the Pennsylvania-based university.  

In turn, Dean Bustamante introduced the academic life of SBU, while Prof. Marvin Reyes, Ph.D., the Prefect of Student Activities, presented the University’s cultural aspect, activities, and organizations. But in addition to that, Dr. Angeles also stressed the “surprisingly impressive” role of the CAS students who took the initiative of promoting SBU and in explaining the political landscape of the country.  

While the Vice Dean of the Arts and Humanities cluster confessed to have been “nervous” when SVC Political Science professors asked SBU students to “describe and assess the politics of the Philippines,” his worry “curbed” thanks to the remarks of the students that “stirred much of SVC’s professors’ impression over SBU.”  

Over the course of the mobility program, discussions were made on “potential future exchange programs” and potential areas where both universities could develop a “semester abroad program” that would create a seamless experience for students, allowing them to “take the same courses they would enroll in at SVC while studying abroad at SBU, and vice versa.”  

Besides Pennsylvania, the CAS representatives were also given the opportunity to explore other sceneries in the USA—taking in the likes of the famed Washington DC, Philadelphia, Amish Farm, and New York to name a few. 

Moving forward, while Dr. Angeles acknowledges the challenges in pursuing the twinning program since it is, in itself, a “costly initiative,” not to mention how its processes still have to be subjected to the “approval of CHED and the educational system of the US,” nonetheless, the Vice Dean of the Arts and Humanities cluster highlighted the significance of “continuity,” taking “one step at a time” in order for said efforts to reach fruition.  

Following the recent interaction between the two Benedictine schools, SVC is cordially inviting SBU for a summer institute in Rome, Italy with a date that has yet to be disclosed. For further information, please see the pamphlet below, or contact Dr. Moses Aaron T. Angeles, Ph.D.  

(with reports from Prince Piolo Tagarino)