It’s all systems go for academic year 2020-2021 of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, which opens on Monday, October 5 under blended learning.
The University has devoted the past six months of community quarantine to a series of faculty trainings, class simulations, and backend systems enhancements to establish its digital learning platform and to acquaint members of the PLM Community to the “new normal” in education.
All colleges and departments have migrated classes to Microsoft Teams, which will be used as PLM’s virtual classrooms for the first semester. Faculty members have also uploaded their syllabus for respective course subjects on the platform. Classes involving laboratory practice, physical education classes, and sessions for the National Service Training Program have also shifted online, resorting to “watch and learn” strategies for the time being as face-to-face classes remain prohibited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new semester formally opens on Monday with the now regularly held virtual flag-raising and brief welcome ceremony at 8 a.m., to be streamed on PLM’s official Facebook page (
facebook.com/PLM.Haribon/
). Students will then be directed to enter their MS Teams classrooms for the rest of the day.“We are ready and excited to welcome our students back to the University and see them online. We are excited to work together and transition to our new learning protocols as seamless as possible,” PLM President Emmanuel Leyco said.
Students from the College of Medicine and the College of Law, who have started online learning sessions in September, have reported a generally smooth transition to the new setup despite some connectivity and adaptation issues.
Meanwhile, the printing of modules for select students who have limited or no internet connectivity is underway. Delivery of learning materials will be done every second and fourth Friday of the month through the City of Manila’s Barangay Bureau.
“We reiterate our call for free access to reliable internet in the country to support education under the ‘new normal.’ This is the only way to ensure that all students and faculty members can move forward and no one in our community will be left behind,” President Leyco added.
PLM remains committed to providing quality education to deserving students who contribute in nation-building.
