Words by Claire Sibucao
After the appointment of Institute of Biological Sciences (IBS) professor Dr. Maribel L. Dionisio-Sese as the new University Registrar, the Rise for Education Alliance – UPLB (R4E-UPLB) dared her to use her position to act upon the issues that the Office of the University Registrar (OUR) are primarily involved over the years.
According to Jainno Bongon, spokersperson of R4E-UPLB, Sese must act upon the student demands to junk the Student Academic Information System (SAIS) and approve all Maximum Residency Rule (MRR) and Readmission cases.
“I commend Dr. Sese for taking up the responsibility of being the university registrar. However, it goes without saying that we challenge her to be impartial to the needs and interests of the students. I hope she cooperates and supports our calls related to SAIS, MRR/Readmission, and other student issues that require a long-overdue response from the administration,” Bongon said.
Prior to her appointment, Sese served as the Interactive Learning Center (ILC) director, replacing Myrna G. Carandang, whose 13 years service ended last June 30, 2020.
As the new Office of the University Registrar (OUR) chief, she will handle all things concerning student’s academic records. This includes maintaining the registration system and overseeing MRR and Re-ad cases on which the former registrar before Sese was widely criticized, as it ballooned over 600 cases in 2018.
“Dr. Carandang retired from her position with concerns left unanswered. Since the implementation of SAIS, students have been adamant in junking the said system due to its inefficiency and inability to solve the lack of slots. Four years into its implementation, our calls have not changed, and they were still tone-deaf. She was also one of the administrators who would defend the disapproval of MRR/Readmission appeals despite hearing first-hand claims from the students,” he said when asked about Carandang’s service as University Registrar.
Sese’s service term started last July 1, 2020, until June 30, 2023. Her relevant experiences as an administrator started when she was appointed as College Secretary of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) from 2004 to 2006. She also served as head of the Plant Biology Division of IBS from 2010 to 2012. [P]
Photo credits to UPLB website
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