The Educational Challenge of the COVID-19 Pandemic
With the unforeseen strike of COVID-19, schools have to close down and follow strict health protocols. The pandemic has brought an immense evolution to the world of education. Every stakeholder of education quickly adapts various delivery modalities for the continuance of learning. The Philippine Women’s University-Career Development and Continuing Education Center (PWU-CDCEC) Bataan was one of the institutions that embraced the changes. The said transition was quite a rigorous process to undergo. Nevertheless, the university yielded and bravely faced the setbacks that come along with the changes.
Besides, PWU-CDCEC Bataan believes that development can be fully achieved with the aid of evolving technology. The university’s mission, vision, and core values allow them to suffice the needs of the learners for quality education.
PWU-CDCEC Eduvate
PWU is one of the earliest advocates of distance education in the country. Since face-to-face learning is firmly prohibited, PWU-CDCEC Bataan deems it necessary to enrich such experience and adapt to present day demands. It offers new learning modalities such as blended learning, online distance learning, and modular distance learning.
PWU-CDCEC Bataan strengthens its learning programs thru EDUVATE. A short term for education innovation, EDUVATE, utilizes a Learning Management System (LMS) www.pwubataancdcec-eduvate.com, an online portal where students can access their activities, quizzes, exams, assignments, and other tasks during asynchronous learning. The LMS is also a tool for the teachers to track the performance of their students.
Moreover, modules are printed and digitized – to cater to the different needs of the learners. For synchronous learning, teachers use Google Meet as a platform to deliver their lessons.
With these, the adaptation of the university to the new standard of learning has become much more manageable.
Digitally Accessible Education Services
PWU-CDCEC Bataan continues to adapt to new and emerging trends. As regards other massive changes, student transactions and services are converted digitally. It is needed so they can adhere to the protocols.
By simply clicking the right tab, students can easily enroll through their website (www.pwubataan.com). In addition, student information access such as viewing of grades, clearance, and queries are also available online. For payment transactions, the institution instructed parents and students to pay through DragonPay or other online means. These online transactions require immense preparation. However, PWU CDCEC Bataan was able to adapt last year immediately.
As part of PWU CDCEC Bataan services to students, tele-medicine and tele-counseling were launched using technology to deliver clinical services care usually through video chat and via real-time two-way communication.
To ease the stress from this new setup, the university provides thrilling co-curricular and extra activities. For instance, they held an e-Lympics, a substitute to the traditional intramurals, last academic year. In this event, students had the chance to have a friendly competition in the safest way possible. Other co-curricular activities include webinars, Eucharistic Mass, TikTok Mid-Year challenge, e-quaintance party, virtual graduation, and many more.
These activities pave the way for educators and learners to de-stress from academic pressure. Well being of everyone is safe guarded in PWU-CDCEC Bataan. Also, its community never ceases to celebrate milestones and achievements of its learners.
Learning is more accessible in PWU CDCEC Bataan with its TESDA-diploma scholarship, which is tuition-free. It also covers the student’s daily allowance, book allowance, and uniform and internet allowance. Financially constrained students are now supported to pursue and finish schooling in PWU CDCEC Bataan.
Likewise, the Commission on Higher Education granted scholarship through Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) to help qualified disadvantaged students complete schooling in PWU.
More importantly, PWU CDCEC Bataan recently announced that they are now offering a 3-year diploma in nursing technology that can eventually lead to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
Partnering with Governometrics and CHED
All in all, amid the catastrophe brought by the pandemic, PWU-CDCEC Bataan proves that they truly uphold their mantra on providing holistic education to their learners. They are always apt to conform to new trends and norms in education.
Aside from having its own LMS, the university ensured that the faculty and staff are well-equipped to grasp the new normal. They provided series of training and webinars through the utilization of different video conferencing applications. The most recent webinars were ‘Effective Teaching in the Digital Society in Transition for PWU-CDCEC Bataan Personnel’ by Dr. Liberty Nolasco and ‘Management of Learning in Flexible Learning Mode’ by Commission on Higher Education (CHED)-Region III. Undoubtedly, the institution also caters to the development of competent professionals.
Indeed, PWU-CDCEC Bataan is the epitome of excellence, for they do not allow adversities to tarnish their service of quality education.