University Of The Cordilleras

The University of the Cordilleras, formerly known as Baguio Colleges Foundation (BCF), is a private university in Baguio City, Philippines. The school is situated near the city market, Our Lady of Atonement Church (the Baguio Cathedral), hotels, restaurants, and shopping malls.

History

Baguio Colleges, as the University of the Cordilleras was earlier known, pioneered in tertiary education in the mountain highlands of the Cordillera region amidst devastation in and around Baguio City after the Second World War.

Despite a pessimistic outlook and the bleak prospects pervading any undertaking at that time, Atty. Benjamin R. Salvosa envisioned Baguio City as a university town. With such vision, he undauntedly pursued a noble mission by founding a college.

Baguio Colleges was established on June 19, 1946, coinciding with the birth anniversary of Dr. Jose P. Rizal. Baguio Colleges initially offered courses in teacher training and liberal arts, with the first batch of enrollees consisting of 156 students. Classes were first held in rented spaces at the Antipolo building and, later, at the Lopez and Lamping buildings along Session Road, the city’s main thoroughfare.

1966 became a turning point for Baguio Colleges as it was converted into an educational foundation. Since then, it has blazed new trails and has become more responsive to the needs of the time.

Gaces sat as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and held the reins of the presidency up to the early part of 1994.

Through the years, the University of the Cordilleras has grown bigger through the offering of additional courses and increasing student enrollment. It continues to grow even better with time, as evidenced by exemplary performance in fields of discipline, with its graduates shining in national licensure examinations, and its alumni doing well in private employment, in the practice of their trade and profession, and in public service.

Today, the University of the Cordilleras caters to more than 15,000 students coming from the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Regions I and II, as well as from neighboring provinces in Luzon. Course offerings range from graduate studies, law,accountancy, arts and sciences, nursing, engineering and architecture, commerce and secretarial, teacher education, computer science, technical courses, elementary and high school.

Autonomous and accredited

On June 10, 2010, the University of the Cordilleras was conferred "Autonomus Status" by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), after being issued the "Award of Distinction" certificate by the CHED chairman Emmanuel Y. Angeles. The certificate cited UC's exemplary performance in the trilogy functions of higher education: instruction, research in public service, and in recognition of the outstanding performance of its graduates; which manifest UC's genuine commitment to quality excellence and global competitiveness.

This freaks came after UC's assessment and affirmation of quality standards through CHED's "Institutional Quality Assurance through Monitoring and Evaluation (IQuAME)" during a visit by CHED's respected panels of experts and assessors from other institutions and regions on May 16, 2010. The three-day visit, highlighted with interviews and ocular inspection, provided for the panel, evidences of substantive and significant adherence to the following quality assurance areas: Governance and Management, Quality of Teaching and Research, Support for Students, Relations with the Community, and Management of Resources. Whereupon, the CHED Commissioners, in an en banc session on May 26, 2010, certified and approved the panel's final report recommendation, that UC have complied with all quality standards corresponding to "Category A(teaching)" or as a "Teaching University". UC is so far the only higher education institution in the Cordillera Administration Region (CAR) to achieve this highest level of categorization through an institutional accreditation. This certification and the awarding of Autonomous Status is a manifestation of UC's policy to deliberately seek external scrutiny, as an engine for assuring continuous institutional self-improvement.

Saint Louis University; Baguio City

Saint Louis University is regarded as one of the Philippines' respected and leading educational institutions that has grown with the demands of the current and future environments for its students and faculty alike.

Around two hundred fifty kilometers north of Manila lies Baguio City, known to be the "Summer Capital of the Philippines" that enjoys temperate climate all year round. From a village resort established by the Americans, Baguio has become the Northern Philippines' center of business and commerce as well as the center of education. Saint Louis University has played a pivotal role in the evolution of the City into a center for learning in the North.

Today, SLU is the largest university north of Manila with more than 30,000 students from the elementary, high school and college levels. Its reputation for excellence attracts students and scholars not only from the Philippines but from other countries as well. It has sustained itself throughout the past ninety years to become one of the top centers of academic excellence in the Philippines that meet international standards in tertiary education. Most of its programs, from the elementary to the graduate level, have received the highest level of accreditation in the country.

SLU has four campuses: the main campus at A. Bonifacio Street, St. Aloysius de Gonzaga Campus (for Elementary, Teacher Education and Law) at General Luna Road, Navy Base Campus (for High School) in Pacdal and the Maryheights Campus (for Accountancy and Business management) in Bakakeng. It has become the venue for seminars, various fora, and other special events of the public and private sectors in the Cordillera, in addition to the everyday conduct of student life in the University. It has welcomed within its walls an eclectic mix of various cultures, traditions, beliefs and nationalities.

University Of The Philippines; Baguio City Campus

Established through the initiative of the UP alumni in Baguio and Benguet, the University of the Philippines in Baguio was inaugurated as a degree-granting unit of the University on 22 April 1961. A land grant worked out by alumni, the City Council,and by then UP President Vicente Cinco situated the College on its present location, a pine clad hill offering a panoramic view of Baguio.

The College went on to make its presence felt as it served as the site of National Arts Festivals in the coming years. Moves were made to strengthen its research capabilities, culminating in the institution of the Cordillera Studies Center in 1983.

Directions toward autonomy began with strategic planning in 1996. The following years saw the College working assiduously in the reformulation and strengthening of its academic programs, primarily. Administration of the College likewise oversaw the development in infrastructure and improvement of services and facilities. Such growth led to the elevation of UP College Baguio to full autonomous status, granted by the Board of Regents in December 2002. 

UP Baguio is now the seventh constituent university of the UP System.

Vision and Mission

UP Baguio remains at the forefront of the academic community in Northern Luzon, guided by the principles of scholastic excellence, academic freedom and nationalism. As articulated in its vision paper of 2002, UP Baguio continues to nurture and develop innovative programs in the arts and sciences. It will also continue to develop the niche it has created over the past decades in the Cordillera studies. UP Baguio has indeed created an impact in the region by informing its curricular, research and extension service programs with a regional perspective without losing track of national and global contexts.

Appointed first Chancellor of UP Baguio and continuing on to two more terms, Dr. Priscilla Supnet Macansantos has overseen the following agenda in UP Baguio’s unstinting pursuit of academic excellence and service to the people: full support for UPB’s growth as a research university; continuing efforts at academic program improvement, including internal academic assessments in all three Colleges; continuing faculty development, upgrading of faculty profiles and fine-tuning of recruitment policies; facilities upgrading and improvement (the latest building that has come up is the Alumni-Student Center, slated for completion before the year ends); staff welfare and sharpening of administrative efficiency; increase in the number of institutional linkages and networking with local partners and grant-giving institutions; and fuller engagement with alumni and the community.

The Lion's Head

The lion's head along Kennon Road is the undisputed landmark that is synonymous to Baguio City. It is commonly said that a trip to Baguio City would not be complete without taking home a souvenir photograph with the famous lion head which serves as the backdrop on Kennon Road.

Local and foreign tourists make it a point to stop in Camp 6 and have their photographs taken at the base of the lion head. The 40-foot high lion head, located a few kilometers from the Kennon Road view deck, was carved by a Cordillera artist from a limestone boulder. Lions Club members of Baguio City thought of creating a symbol that would proclaim the presence of the group in this mountain resort city.

Just beside the lion head are a few small stalls that sell woodcarving and other native handicraft. Softdrinks and light snacks are also sold to visitors who take time to stop and take a break after the 45-minute drive up Kennon Road. The vendors have enjoyed high sales since this popular landmark was constructed.

It was during the term of Baguio Mayor Luis Lardizabal, who was also Lions Club governor in 1969 to 1970, when the club conceptualized the creation of the lion head. Actual work started in 1971 and took a year before this now-famous landmark of Baguio was unveiled to the public by Lions Club International in 1972. The club tapped donations from Lion members and businessmen in the city and pooled proceeds from a state convention to fund the construction of the lion head.

The Mansion

The Mansion is located on the eastern part of the city along the Leonard Wood Road and right across from Wright Park. It was built in 1908 for U.S. governor-generals and was destroyed in 1945 during the battle for the liberation of the Philippines.

The Philippine government later rebuilt and improved the structure in 1947 and since then it has been used by various Philippine presidents whenever they come up to Baguio for their official visits and engagements. The Mansion served as the seat of the Second Session of Economic Commission of Asia and the Far East in 1947. It has also been the site of first meeting of the South East Asia Union which was popularly known as the Baguio Conference of 1950 which was conceived and convened by President Elpidio Quirino.

The elaborate main gate of the Mansion is said to be a replica of that at Buckingham Palace in London. Vehicles entering the compound pass through a great circular driveway and it is usually open only when the Mansion is used for an official function or activity. With its beautiful gardens and a well-manicured lawn, it is a favorite site for sightseeing and picture taking.

Inside the Mansion is a mini museum housing memorabilia and works of art collected over its years of occupancy by the former presidents. Within the compound and adjacent to the Mansion is a two-story building which serves as the official residence of the Philippine President in Baguio City. A contingent of Philippine marines maintains the security of this large compound and you will see a some of them manning the guardhouse at the vicinity of the entry gate.

http://www.cityofpines.com/mansion.html

Diplomat Hotel; Dominican Hill

When it was still accessible and opened to the public, Dominican Hill was usually the next stop for visitors who go to the Lourdes Grotto since it was just nearby. The hill was well visited not only by local and foreign tourists but also by the residents of Baguio because of the panoramic view it provided of the city. The view from the hill is without doubt breathtaking and about the best there is to see and experience.

From atop the hill you can see the whole of City Camp all the way to Burnham Park and the Baguio Cathedral. Towards the left one could see Quezon Hill, Camp Allen, the Baguio Public Market, Center Mall, the campus of Saint Louis University, and Quirino Hill. The Marcos Highway, Green Valley Country Club, and the Sto. Tomas mountain are also visible from Dominican Hill. At night when there are no clouds in the sky, it is a sight to behold to see the glow of the city lights blending beautifully with the twinkling stars in the heavens. The best time to visit the hill and to take photographs is between mid-afternoon and just about an hour before sunset when the sun is still shinning brightly on the city.

The Dominican Order in the Philippines decided in May 1911 to construct a vacation house on top of what was later called the Dominican Hill. It was a 17-hectare property the Dominicans acquired from the previous American owners. Construction work was believed to have started in 1913 under Fr. Roque Ruano and the building was inaugurated about two years later on May 23, 1915. To take advantage of tax exemptions, a school called Collegio del Santissimo Rosario was opened in June 1915 but due to the very small enrollment, the school closed two years later and the building was reverted back to the original plan of setting up a vacation house.

During the 2nd World War, Dominican Hill was occupied by refugees fleeing from the Japanese Army Liberation Forces. Later the Japanese forces bombed the refugees out which resulted in extensive damages to the main structure and the surrounding area. Reconstruction work started in 1947 and was completed in about a year.

Diplomat Hotels, Inc. acquired ownership of the property in 1973 and remodeled thoroughly the interior into a 33-bedroom hotel but still retaining the unique and distinct personality which was earlier established by the Dominican friars. Even the large white cross on top of the building was retained. The hotel was managed by Tony Agpaoa, a Baguio-based entrepreneur and faith healer whose guests were mostly his patients from Europe. Diplomat Hotel ceased operations with the death of Agpaoa of a heart attack in 1987 and has since been closed to the public.

Dominican Hill has since been declared off limits to visitors. Local residents say that Dominican Hill is now a haunted place. The building is falling apart and is in a very dilapidated state. The railings and the guard house are about to collapse. The grounds have not been maintained that tall grass and weeds are all over the place. Some people who live nearby claim that at times they could hear the banging of doors, windows, clattering of dishes, and voices of people screaming in the middle of the night. There are also instances when the place is so quiet that not a single sound is heard the whole night. Perhaps this eerie phenomena could be attributed to the ghosts of its former owner and the different terminal patients who came to the place for hopes of being healed and have since already died. Some also say that Dominican Hill is haunted by the ghost of the people who were killed there during the war.

Some years back there was a plan to install a cable car system linking Dominican Hill and Burnham Park - one which would be similar to those found in ski resorts in the United States and Europe. It was perhaps due to the lack of investor funds necessary to put up the project that this plan did not materialize. Recently, it has been rumored that there are plans to develop this historical religious landmark into a tourist resort. However, all these are just rumors and nothing definite has as yet been mentioned.

Burnham Park

Burnham Park is centered around a man-made lake located at the heart of the city. It was named after the city's planner, Daniel Burnham. The park is a favorite place of local residents and visitors alike. There are different facilities for recreation and relaxation that are available in the park. You can row a boat, have a picnic, attend an outdoor concert, watch a football game, go biking, or just take a leisurely stroll around the park.

At the southern end of the park is a circular skating rink where skates can be rented. There are also tennis and basketball courts, a few restaurants, outdoor kiosks, a children's playground, and an orchidarium where various kinds of plants, trees and flowers are sold. Chairs and benches are distributed around the park for those who just want to sit down and relax.

The football field at the eastern side of the park is sometimes used for parades, carnivals, concerts, political rallys, and for display booths during special events and activities. On certain Sundays and some special occasions, cadets of the Philippine Military Academy perform a parade and review or a silent drill exhibition at the field. Just after the big earthquake that hit the city in 1990, many of its residents fled their homes for fear of aftershocks and temporarily set camp in this field.

Burnham Park is an ideal place for taking photographs and a visitor should bring along a camera when going to the park. If in case you forget to bring a camera during your visit, there are commercial photographers in the park who can take your pictures. Pictures are usually delivered to you within just a few hours. It is best to determine and agree on the fee for the services of the photographer and the cost of the photographs before committing yourself to one.

Baguio City Catholic Cathedral

The rose-colored Baguio Catholic Cathedral, located on top of a hill in the heart of the city, is one of the more familiar and most visited landmarks of Baguio. This beautiful structure has twin spires and is one of the most photographed buildings in the city. From Session Road it is accessible by pedestrians who ascend a long concrete stairway of more than a hundred steps. Visitors and churchgoers who would rather avoid the difficult climb drive vehicles through an access road which passes behind the nearby post office building.

The construction of the cathedral by phases was begun on a hill which was originally referred to as "Kampo" by the native Ibalois. It was later called Mount Mary by a Belgian Catholic Mission headed by Fr. Carlu, CICM, who was then the parish priest. The cathedral was finally consecrated in 1936 and dedicated to Our Lady of Atonement. During World War II it became an evacuation center and withstood the Japanese carpet bombing of the city in 1945, thereby saving thousands of lives.

The Baguio Cathedral is the biggest catholic church in Baguio and is the center of religious activities such as during the Holy Week when thousands of devotees from Metro Manila and the provinces come up to the city. During Sundays and other special holidays of the catholic church, you will find vendors along the stairway and also at the church's open patio selling flowers, balloons, newspapers, sweepstake tickets, candles, rosary beads, and other religious articles. Visitors desiring to visit Baguio on a tour should avoid coming up to the city during this religious week. Not only is the city crowded with people, it is difficult to find rooms in hotels and inns and the prices of native handicraft, souvenirs, vegetables, flowers, food, and other commodities & services are rather expensive.

Session Road

Session Road is the main thoroughfare of Baguio City and is the main hub of what is called the Baguio Central Business District. Located at the city center, it is actually divided into two parts.

• Lower Session Road, extending eastward from Magsaysay Avenue (opposite the Plaza or Kilometer 0 and Malcolm Square) running through the BCBD until the intersections of Father Carlu Street (towards the Baguio Cathedral and Upper Bonifacio Street) and Governor Pack Road. This is the area where businesses are located, among others banks, shops, restaurants, bakeries, hotels, newsstands, boutiques, and studios.
• Upper Session Road, extending from Post Office Loop, Leonard Wood Road and the foot of Luneta Hill (where SM Baguio is located) to the rytonda cutting toward South Drive (towards Baguio Country Club), Loakan Road (towards Camp John Hay, Loakan Airport, Philippine Military Academy, Baguio City Economic Zone, and the mine areas of Itogon, Benguet and Military Cut Off (towards Kennon Road).