Guidelines for the Selective Crediting of Units Earned in Grades XI and XII of the Early Implementation and/or Modelling of Senior High School to the General Education Courses in the Baccalaureate Programs for School Year 2016-17 and 2017-18

June 9, 2016

CHED MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 034-16

 

Pursuant to the pertinent provisions of Republic Act No. 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, and consistent with the mandate of the Commission on Higher Education therein stated, to work closely with the Department of Education (DepEd) to formulate strategies and mechanisms to ensure the smooth transition to K to 12, as well as to implement strategies that ensure the academic, physical, financial, and human resource capabilities of HEIs and TVIs to provide educational and training services for graduates of the enhanced basic education program to ensure that they are not adversely affected, the Commission hereby issues these guidelines for the selective transfer of units earned in Grades 11 and 12 of the Early Implementation/Modelling of Senior High School to the general education courses in the Baccalaureate programs during the Transition Period for School Years (SY) 2016-2018 only.

ARTICLE I

Statement of Policies and Principles

1. The Commission on Higher Education recognizes the complementary roles of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission in ensuring the smooth implementation of the K to 12 during the transition period.

2. In School Year (SY) 2012-2013, the DepEd, enjoined all public and private schools to find innovative ways to implement the K to 12 Basic Education Program. As a result, several public and private schools have heeded the challenge by coming up with varied ways of implementing the Enhanced Basic Education Program through: 1

a. The creation of school-specific K to 12 transition plans;

b. The modelling of the Senior High School (SHS) Program;

c. The early implementation of SHS for SYs 2014-2015 and 2015-2016.

3. The enhanced basic education curriculum has integrated general education courses of higher education programs in the senior high school curriculum. AaCTcI

4. Some public and private schools also entered into Memoranda of Agreement with specific HEIs. Through these MOA, the HEIs, among others, allowed for the direct crediting of senior high school subjects to college, whether general education subjects or specialized subjects.

5. Based on this call, public and private schools which underwent innovations in their respective basic education programs can be classified as follows: 2

a. Private schools which submitted a K to 12 transition plan and which previously offered a seven-year elementary education.

b. Public and private schools which took part in the SHS Modelling Program in SYs 2012-2013 and 2013-2014.

c. Public and private schools which did early implementation of SHS in SY 2014-2015

6. Graduates of public and private schools which fall under the aforementioned classifications are eligible to proceed to higher education in SY 2016-2017. 3

7. Further, in light of the integration of some general education courses of higher education programs in the enhanced basic education curriculum, the Commission likewise undertook the revision of the current GE curriculum through CMO No. 20, s. 2013 to align the same to the enhanced basic education curriculum and to address duplications brought about by said integration. Although full implementation of the Revised General Education Curriculum will still be in 2018, some HEIs implemented the revised general education curriculum earlier than 2018 taking into consideration the transition models implemented by the abovementioned private and public basic education schools.

8. In order to ensure there shall be no duplications in the subjects being taught in Senior High School and the general education curriculum while at the same time ensuring that the spirit of the K to 12 Program shall still be maintained, HEIs are allowed selective crediting of general education units earned in Grade XI and XII to the current general education courses in the Baccalaureate Programs for SY 2016-2018, prior to the implementation of the Revised General Education Curriculum in SY 2018-2019, in accordance with the guidelines indicated herein.

ARTICLE II

Coverage

These guidelines shall apply to all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) regardless of status.

ARTICLE III

Objectives

Provide the guidelines on crediting of units earned in Senior High School Early Implementation/Modelling to the current General Education courses in the Baccalaureate Programs of the Philippines during the K to 12 Transition Period (AY 2016-17 to 2017-18).

ARTICLE III *

Procedures for Transfer of Credits

1. Only courses of Grades XI and XII which fall under the heading of General Education shall be considered for unit crediting, provided that the admitting institution is implementing the current general education curriculum. If the admitting institution is currently an early implementers of the revised general education curriculum, crediting shall not be allowed.

2. The senior education subjects shall be matched with their corresponding courses in college following the current general education curriculum only. The matching shall cover the curriculum of the course, in particular its topic coverage and the number of contact hours. If the above requirements are met, the units may be transferred.

3. For the course to be credited by the admitting institution, the student must be subject to the internal institutional policy on crediting.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions in their respective MOAs, the total number of units that can be credited and transferred shall not exceed the minimum general education units prescribed for that program by the CHED. For the avoidance of doubt, specialized courses may NOT be credited to the major courses in the Baccalaureate Programs.

5. HEIs who have already admitted students from early implementer/modelling SHS are instructed to conform to the guidelines set in this Memorandum.

6. Finally, SHS Early Adopter school graduates enrolling into college this AY 2016-17 and 2018-19 are cautioned to remain vigilant and ensure that these selective crediting arrangements, notwithstanding the MOAs between schools, shall not prevent them from acquiring the competencies and benefits intended by the K to 12 reform, both in terms of education and training, as well as the number of years (1 year of Kindergarten, 12 years of basic education, and 4 years of college education), benchmarking global standards.

ARTICLE IV

Rules of Interpretation

For HEIs that entered into Memoranda of Agreement or similar agreements with Early Implementation/Modelling SHS regarding crediting of subjects taken, 4 notwithstanding the provisions in their respective MOAs, the implementation of the crediting shall be governed by the provisions of this guidelines. EcTCAD

ARTICLE V

Sanctions

Failure to comply with the above procedures shall result in sanctions to be imposed by CHED as provided in relevant laws.

ARTICLE VI

Approval and Period of Effectivity

This Memorandum shall take effect immediately and shall take effect during the Transition Period from School Year (SY) 2016-2018 only. All HEIs are instructed to follow the guidelines herein accordingly.

Issued this 9th day of June 2016.

(SGD.) PATRICIA B. LICUANAN, Ph.D.

Chairperson

ATTACHMENT

MEMORANDUM FROM THE CHAIRPERSON

 

In line with our continued efforts to ensure a seamless transition to the K to 12, consistent with the responsibility of the Commission under Republic Act 10533, particularly as we implement Grades 11 and 12, and accept the first batch of SHS graduates from early adopter schools to college beginning this June 2016, the Commission has issued the enclosed CHED Memorandum Order for the guidance of higher education institutions, public and private, to guide the selective crediting of SHS subjects to the general education curriculum in college.

Said guidelines shall be in place in the next two school years, from AY 2016-2017 to 2017-2018 only, as the required implementation of the revised General Education Curriculum (CMO No. 20, Series of 2012) shall commence on AY 2018-19.

Note that all HEIs are instructed to comply with these guidelines, notwithstanding the respective MOAs and other similar arrangements entered into by their schools prior to the issuance of this policy.

Likewise, SHS Early Adopter school graduates enrolling in college this AY 2016-2017 and 2018-2019, as well as their parents, are cautioned to remain vigilant and ensure that these selective crediting arrangements, notwithstanding existing MOAs between schools, shall not prevent them from acquiring the competencies and benefits intended by the K to 12 reform, both in terms of education and training, as well as the number of years (1 year of Kindergarten, 12 years of basic education, and 4 years of college education), benchmarking global standards.

CHED Regional Directors are hereby requested to ensure wide dissemination of this policy and to report to the Commission, through the K to 12 Transition Program Management Unit, any cases that run contrary to the guidelines herein set forth.

Thank you for your continued support and cooperation.

(SGD.) PATRICIA B. LICUANAN, Ph.D.

Footnotes

1. DepEd Order No. 42, s. 2015.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. The Department of Education (DepEd) issued DepEd Order No. 42, s. 2015 and DepEd Order No. 21, s. 2016 providing the list of public and private schools whose high school graduates are eligible to enrol in HEIs for SY 2016-2017. The full updated list is posted on www.deped.gov.ph/k-to-12/shs/approved-for-hei.