MinDA Chairperson Secretary Mabel Acosta and UP President Angelo Jimenez present the signed Memorandum of Understanding

The University of the Philippines (UP) and the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on a wide range of programs towards sustaining socio-economic development in Mindanao. UP President Angelo Jimenez and MinDA Chairperson Secretary Maria Belen Acosta signed the MOU on May 8, 2024, at the MinDA conference room in Davao City. The memorandum stated that the parties should collaborate on research focusing on governance, conflict mitigation, the environment, and outreach projects for socio-economic development. UP and MinDA will jointly conduct capacity-building activities, exchange information, and plan for these purposes.

UP Mindanao NSTP and the Associate in Arts in Sports Studies (AASS) Program, through their specialization course in Recreation for Special Groups, organized the 1st UP Mindanao Special Athletics on May 4, 2024, at the DC-UP Sports Complex. Students from Davao City Special School and Tugbok Central Elementary School SPED Center participated in the event.
The Department of Human Kinetics, with NSTP Faculty-in-Charge Krishna Balaga, Bhen Joshua Acosta, and AASS Faculty-in-Charge Prof. Maria Stella Salazar, co-organized the event. The Davao City Special Intervention Center gave active support and involvement in organizing the Special Athletics. Atty. Antoinette Principe-Castrodes served as a resource speaker.

The sports events were the 25-meter run, 50-meter run, 4x25-meter relay, standing long jump, running long jump, softball throw, and tennis ball throw.

The University of the Phillippines Office of Admissions has announced that the application period for the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) 2025* is now open.

This application period is for senior high school students who seek admission to UP in the Academic Year 2025-2026.

Interested applicants and high school administrators may visit the UPCAT 2025 portal at https://upcat2025online.up.edu.ph/.

Student applicants may download the UPCAT 2025 Form 1, complete it, and submit it anytime between April 15 and May 15, 2024.

High school administrators may likewise download UPCAT 2025 Form 2, complete it, and submit it by May 22, 2024.

Applications may be submitted online or by mail.

The onsite UPCAT 2025 examination will be held from Aug. 10 to 11, 2024, in designated UPCAT 2025 test centers nationwide.

For more information and inquiries, visit the UPCAT-UP System Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/UPSystemOfficeOfAdmissions) or email .

*UPCAT 2025 is not to be confused with UPCAT 2024, which was given to applicants in 2023, the results of which are now awaited for admission in the current Academic Year 2024.

The University of the Philippines Board of Regents approved UP Mindanao's proposal to establish the UP Mindanao Quality Assurance Office (QAO) at its 1388th BOR Meeting on April 4, 2024.

The approval was contained in the Notice of BOR Resolutions certified by Board Secretary Roberto Lara, following the endorsements of UP VP for Academic Affairs Leo Cubillan, EVP Jose Fernando Alcantara, and UP President Angelo Jimenez.

The approval came with a policy instruction, "No new academic program shall be submitted by any constituent unit (CU) for approval by the Board of Regents until such program has passed the quality assurance standards set by the CU Quality Assurance Office."

The UP Mindanao proposal stated that UP Mindanao is "committed to the sustainability of its degree programs by supporting these through standard quality management systems" and that "Quality assurance (QA) aims to strengthen UP Mindanao's academic programs."

The UPMin QA Office will be "primarily responsible for the high level of excellence and professionalism in instruction, research, extension, innovation, public service, and administrative processes. The office will ensure the alignment of all programs and projects with national, regional, and global goals and standards," it stated.

Internally, UP Mindanao monitors its degree programs via the internal Academic Assessment and Development System (iAADS). Externally, the degree programs' self-assessment reports (SARs) are assessed by Type B assessment (assessment by another CU).

While strengthening the academic programs, the UPMin QAO will ensure that teaching staff, non-teaching staff, and students will be at par with global standards and will be responsive to an increasingly VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and vulnerable) world.

The QAO will be composed of a Director and six QA Officers, selected from existing faculty or staff from the colleges and central administration and to be issued appointments as additional assignments. An initial support staff of three persons will handle office operations which the Academic Program Improvement funds will augment.

A QA Advisory Board will be composed of the chancellor as chairperson, the QA Office director as co-chair, and the vice-chancellors as members.