OIC BARBA PUSHES POLICY COMPLIANCE, RESEARCH FOCUS, SCHOLARSHIP FIX
EDUCATION AND RESEARCH (ED)Catanduanes State University Officer-in-Charge Dr. Roberto B. Barba, Jr., led the flag-raising ceremony on January 27, 2025, and urged strict compliance with Board of Regents policies, tighter research-extension links, and reforms to address gaps in the scholarship contract. He emphasized before the university management, faculty, and personnel, the need for the academic division to strictly adhere to the Board of Regents (BOR)-approved admission and retention policies. “I urge the academic division to ensure full compliance with the BOR’s approved policies and to make necessary adjustments where needed,” he said and pledged to issue a memo to address confusion, particularly in retention policies in the colleges. In addition, Dr. Barba called for simplifying the unit work plan, particularly at the faculty level, encouraging the inclusion of only the essentials. On the part of the Research, Extension, and Production Affairs (REPA) division, he stressed the importance of aligning research efforts with extension activities. “We need to ensure that our research has strong extension potential,” he noted. On scholarship matters, Dr. Barba described the current scholarship contract as ‘disincentivizing,’ particularly in terms of benefits and promotion. He pledged to reach out to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for further clarification. “I am instructing the Federated Faculty Union (FFU) and the Catanduanes State University Employees Association (CASUNEA) to collaborate with the Staff Development Committee (SDC) to review and revise our scholarship contract. For instance, we hope that scholars on leave may still be eligible for promotion if there are vacant items,” he concluded.
