A survey of the educational system of the Philippine islands by the Board of educational survey, created under acts 3162 and 3196 of the Philippine Legislature.

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

669

The freshman year is common to all the courses in the college. At the
beginning of the second year the student must choose his "major department" which then except for a small number of "free elections" in the
senior year controls his curriculum for the next three years. In the
professional schools the work is all prescribed and wholly technical.
The Commission believes that one change at least should be made in
the curriculum of the College of Engineering. There is not now a single
course in history or any of the social sciences. As the students of that
college enter directly from the high schools, in the interest of good
citizenship, they ought to have at least one course in a social science.
CONCLUSION.-The facts presented in this chapter make it evident
that as a result of the great increase in the number of secondary students
in the Islands, the University has increased very rapidly in attendance
and must take steps in the interest of standards to adapt some selective
process for admission. That the Insular Government must look forward
to providing increased appropriations for the support of the University
is also obvious. The standards of the University are reputable as to
admission, continuance on the rolls of the University, and graduation
from it. The Commission has no reason to doubt that the standards
were conscientiously administered.
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION.-The University of the Philippines has
graduated up to date 3,185 bona fide alumni. The statistics of the
alumni are very interesting and show that many of the graduates of the
University occupy high places in civic, professional, and business life.
As the years pass by the University will have an increasing body of loyal
adherents ready to support its interests when support is needed. There
seems, however, to be no organization of the alumni such as exists in
connection with every university in the United States. With a small
membership fee of two or three pesos a year such an organization could
support a permanent secretary and issue an alumni bulletin which might
render great service in keeping the alumni informed of the activities of
their Alma Mater and in strengthening the spirit of devotion to her.
INCOME, EXPENDITURES, AND COSTS
INCOME.-The University of the Philippines will never realize its
opportunities until it has more adequate support. The University receives the chief share of its support from legislative appropriations. Considering the demands made upon it for public education the Legislature
has not been ungenerous, but the appropriation has by no means kept
pace with the increase in the number of students. For the past three
years it has remained stationary at about P1,500,000. For an institution dependent chiefly upon legislative appropriations to plan ahead for
necessary educational or building expansion will always be difficult. In
prosperous times the Legislature is generous; in periods of economic