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The Philippine education sector has become one of the most vulnerable segments of society with 28 million learners affected by school closures due to the coronavirus pandemic. As the country battles the disease, learning institutions are facing challenges in enrollment decline and academic continuity.
For STI College, addressing the challenges to meet its academic objectives is made possible through the creation of a new educational framework based on students’ current learning needs and demands.
“Preparing for a new school year during such unprecedented times calls for change and innovation on our existing learning model. It was imperative that STI not only focus on how to bring back classes, but on how to make it more engaging, more accessible, and safer for our students amidst the COVID-19 pandemic,” said STI Vice President for Academics Aisa Q. Hipolito.
To enable unhampered learning for the upcoming school year, STI is introducing its ONline and ONsite Education or the ONE STI Learning Model. The academic framework fosters a responsive and innovative learning experience by using online tools and technology combined with onsite or on-campus hands-on training to achieve the desired learning outcome for the students.
With the ONE STI Learning Model, STI eLearning Management System (eLMS) modules and topics have been modified to optimize more collaborative tools and platforms and house more engaging and interactive learning contents.
Aligning with STI’s founding mandate of producing college-ready and life-ready graduates, the model aims to fully enable students to continue their studies, move up to the next level, graduate, and seek eventual employment even during the pandemic.
One of STI’s bigger efforts to ensure accessibility across all of its campuses is with its recent partnership with PLDT Enterprise to provide all students a SMART SIM with 35GB monthly data plan for free.
With connectivity being the main hurdle in online learning, this endeavor pursued by STI has significantly lessened the burden on its many learners. This way, students can stay connected, have access to online materials, and study safely and comfortably from their homes.
To augment the need for on-campus learning experiences, STI will be conducting classes but under the strict safety precautions and in compliance with the regulations issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), the Department of Education (DepEd) for Senior High School, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for College, and the local government units and health departments.
To do this, class sections will be separated into batches with designated schedules to enforce social distancing. However, should onsite activities be prohibited by a government agency, the academe shall deliver these activities online or may be deferred to the succeeding term, or until on-campus sessions are allowed.
