Baguio Schools Performance in Nursing Exams 2007
When the Mayor of Baguio, whose family owns University of Baguio declared a paradigm shift from tourism to education and (added by Vice-Mayor and UB Chief of Legal Affairs Danny Farinas recently) - ta da! - commercialism, I figured to look into how well our graduates performed in the hugely popular Nursing Licensure Exams last December 2007, just to have a gauge of how valid that claim of his of “Welcome to the Educational Center of the North” was.
Here is an analysis of how well (or how badly) the schools in Baguio performed in 2007:
1. Baguio Central University
248 of 641 passed or 39%. 393 failed.
2. Pines City College
763 of 1989 passed or 38%. 1,225 failed.
3. Saint Louis University
144 of 146 passed or 99%. 2 failed.
4. STI-Baguio
The lone examinee failed or 0%
5. University of Baguio
366 of 748 passed or 49%. 382 failed.
6. University of the Cordilleras
69 of 131 passed or 53%. 62 failed.
Baguio Total Score for December 2007:
3,656 took the exam
1,590 passed
2,066 failed
43.29% passing average. WOW!
Of course some school officials were justifying their performance by looking at the national average. So then maybe we should modify the claim to “Welcome to the Average Educational Center of the North” instead. One of the schools (guess who?) asked their March 2008 graduates to take the exams in December instead of this June to ‘prepare’ them better. Come on! You prepare them from 1st year 1st semester, not at the last minute.
Those schools with such dismal performance should be reviewed by CHED and maybe their enrollment should be limited to only the amount of board passers they can handle as per the performance records. When the students do not learn, whose fault is it? And by the way, this performance is consistent. Just look at the previous results. Thus a pattern of mediocrity emerges.
Only SLU has consistently performed well. Maybe their curriculum is good. Maybe it’s because they screen their nursing students to determine who is qualified.
This profitable business, no longer a vocation, should be regulated so as not to waste the students’ time and their parents’ money.
It’s bad enough they are stuffed into tree-less campuses. But to be given piss-poor education is such a crime.
Hehe. Agree ako diyan sa “Average”. It’s actually SLU (and BCF/UC to a certain extent) that is propping up the city’s image as a good educ center.
Dapat yung below 50% passing rate, i-close ang mga iyan. And I didn’t even know that STI now offers nursing?
When it comes to Nursing students, SLU is very strict with theirs.
There’s the CEE screening and from what I have heard, there’s a cut off every year. So, it’s very survival of the fittest.
The ‘other schools’ IMO make money out of this course rather than making professionals.
Any stats analysis on dentistry? UB (ergo, Baguio)is touted as the best in Northern Luzon. This is of course based on UB propaganda.
Lisa,
whatever happened with BGHSN? no stats with this school? oh yes, tell me it closed shop too! TG my alma mater(SLU) did well with its nursing program woohoo. aaah pre-screening a good idea. on the other hand, a lot of them just want to take the course to head abroad basta’t makapasa…pano ngay!
Hi Bill,
UC with 2 Philippine Bar topnotchers in less than 10 years, hindi chamba. But their passing average there is still low. Screening, entrance exams pa rin. A school should be judged not by the topnotchers but by the quality of education all of their graduates receive.
I have slightly higher standards — those below 75% passing, not 50%. But really I think it should be 99% or bust! Why should we waste the time and money of thousands? PCEC alone had 1,200 flunkers.
Hi Janice,
SLU, I believe has a policy of accepting 500 freshman nursing students (for the money, you know), with the express condition that only 150 will proceed towards graduation or to nursing ‘proper’ (if there’s such a thing) — the rest will have to shift to other SLU medical programs offered.
Hi UB Dental Grad,
Yup I heard that propaganda and somehow I believe it. You see the Baguio schools used to have ‘areas of specialization:’ SLU - Engineering, UB - Dentistry, UC - Criminology, STI - Computers.
Am talking about Nursing here because a lot of these Baguio schools have jumped on the bandwagon on awarding mass diplomas for nursing without having credible programs installed in the first place — just to catch the demand (and money) from those hopeful students and parents.
Hi Joe,
BGHSN? How old are you? Kidding! To make you feel better Notre Dame hospital has reopened.
Our country is so messed up we only export labor mostly now. Baguio schools, like many others in the country, are selling only false hopes. It’s killing the creativity of the Filipino people. We are better than this.
Ano ba Louisians were at 99% but no one were at the top 10. That is still mediocrity, we are better than that. Do not stop sa “pwede na”, excel dapat. -OT ba?-
Exactly right, Dan! We are better than THAT.
The Filipino is ranked one of the happiest people in the world — because we been made, through generations, to keep our expectations low. We are BETTER than that.
Given the right push, we perform well. Given the right motivations, we excel. We ARE better than that.
Go Baguio!
- - - - - - - - - -
As a tourist destination, we were tops. As an educational center we are mediocre. What does that say to you, Mr. Mayor? We expect much, much more from your leadership — fix your school first, so we know you are capable of fixing Baguio.
Speaking of Notre Dame(yun yung sa tabi ng Lab diba?) I’ve heard of a rumor that they denied UB’s proposal to fund the rest of the construction but got rejected. Kaya up to now, walang hospital ang UB.
Here comes out the bahala na/puede na mentality of many Filipinos. No a ‘regressing one’. Parang ang baba ng pangarap ng marami sa atin.
I am a college student and this mentality is so so so prevalent. It doesn’t matter the major.
erratum: No wonder our country is a regressing one.
Hi Janice,
My sources tell me the new building University of Baguio has temporarily stopped constructing is encroaching upon Notre Dame property by two whole meters.
If your rumor were true, why would anyone expect that Notre Dame, which is an institution in Baguio, simply give UB their business in exchange for the latter finishing up the former’s building?
Has UB even offered to buy that business?
I think that UB, to be credible as a medical school or a school with medical courses, should first put up its own hospital, wouldn’t you agree?
please do not spread rumors. i am affiliated with notre myself and a friend of the bautistas but i stay away from the UB-Notre partnership.
leave it to the notre dame sisters and the bautistas to talk about that partnership. i would like to think that both parties are deciding on what is the best arrangement if at all they will reach an agreement. bottom line - develop notre and UB nursing as tops in their fields.
Ron, while we respect your personal views, it is important that all folks are aware of what’s going on in our city ALL the time.
Because education or health care, while profitable private businesses these days, are matters of public interest.
It is in not questioning, analyzing or knowing that the Filipino has become apathetic. Look where our city is now, where our country is now..
hi lisa,
did you know that pines colleges charges 2000 pesos per graduating student? Multiply that by 3000+nursing grads and the other disciplines, say another 3000 graduating studes=6000 x 2000= 12Million PESOS!!!&*(%$#>^*) for what fees? para sa graduation march sa convention center? then they charge another 450 pesos for the toga and gown ba yon? that’s another 2.7M!!! Easily. never mind if they have no passers eh. yuckky talaga! how can these people ever sleep?
oh dear Ann Marie,
what a racket PCEC has going on! I’m sure it does not cost the Concepcions that much to mount a graduation ceremony!
i am hoping that folks will rethink sending their children to study in Baguio — i really think they’re better off where they are, plus it will cost them much less for board, lodging, allowance and tuition.
with these passing rates, how can Baguio claim the schools are prestigious?
Of course, the schools are Prestigious.
UC has the highest salaried professor in the Philippines. Only 1 of the 7 ProfessorEmeritus so far.
UB has owners coming from state universities.
PCEC has highly paid doctors in their school as faculty.
And a lot more prestigious titles and awards (di ko lang maalala lahat kasi sobrang heavy!)
Ang mga tanong lang:
(1) Gusto ba talaga ng mga estudyante yang pinag-aaralan nila? O pinipilit ng parents?
(In fairness, mag-nu-nursing dapat ang mga anak ko, para makaalis ng bansa. How else?)
(2) Lahat tayo gustong kumita ng pera. So, sacrifice lahat for the greater people — with deeper pockets. Kasi nga, may extra pa silang kailangang punuin. Tayo, may oras din balang araw… Value natin ang pera, game! Magmumukhang pera din tayo!
(3) Di ba, when “There’s a will, there’s a way?” Ano ba yung ilang ulit kumuha ang anak ko ng board exam… eh, baka may ma-network na nagbebenta ng passing mark, chance na niya yon pumasa… Or leakages. Hello???
Ano ba ang halaga ng isang tao at/o iskuwelahan? Diploma? Passing rate?
Hi Lola with a High Kick,
1. Merong mga mag-aaral na napipilitan lang. Kasi ang attitude ng mga Asiano ay ang gumawa ng maraming anak upang and mga ito ang makapagpaahon sa kahirapan ng kanilang pamilya.
2. Magtatayo na rin ba tayo ng paaralan na ang tanging layunin ay ang maningil ng tuition — di bale nalang kung pumasa o hindi sa board exams ang mga mag-aaral?
3. Nga naman, sa Baguio pa nanggaling ang leakage no? Tuloy, damay ang lahat na kumuha ng nursing board exams nung panahon na iyon. Dapat i-revoke yung business permit nung nursing review center na iyon!
Lisa,
1. Mali ba ang attitude ng Asiano? Ano ang tama? Eh, ayaw ko namang tawagin lang ako ng anak ko ng “Psst, Lola!”
2. Di ba, sa mga Indian, may na-iindian, at may Indian? Depende sa tao yun. Vicious (?) cycle kaya eto, or karma?
3. Paano ipapa-revoke ang mga permit?
Salamat sa sagot!
I was born in Baguio and I am proud to be a tubong City High (Science) and of course a Louisian Nursing graduate. Being a graduate of SLU, I find myself to disagree that the education in Baguio City is just but average. Frankly I am caught in between.
I think SLU is prestigious enough that it has consistently been on the top 5 of schools in the Country passing the Nursing Board. If I remember it right, our batch was pressured to have a 100% passing rate because it would be the 3rd year that we haven’t had any failures. How did they accomplish this? Strict screening. They accept 500 students for first year and from that only 250 students will be accepted into 2nd yr. They don’t care if you have passed all the subjects required as long as you are #251- you are in the waiting list. Why do they do this? It was explained to us that from experience, they have found that only those who are physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally fit to be good nurses will make it through graduation and that more than half of the original 500 will not make it anyway. Our batch started with 450 students and only over 170 graduated. They are not in the business of mass producing nurses, but rather their dedication is to educate and train student nurses to be good. For those who were forced into nursing, studying in SLU would be a struggle because the instructors have a way of breaking those who really are not into nursing. I had a few friends who finally understood that nursing is not for them as early as 2nd year ( that is when we start clinical rotations and actual patient care). I remember my last month in nursing school. The instructors we were so afraid of and called terror, were not as terrifying after all and their attitude did a turnabout and they started treating the graduating students as their comrades in the field of nursing. I remember one instructor telling me, “Don’t be shy now, it is okay, you are a nurse now, you are one of us.” If any school can make you feel this way, then i think they have done their job in giving a good education. The education I received there did not only come from the books. Do yo know that every clinical rotation we have, we are not only graded on the work we do but there is that 30% on the grading paper that says attitude? And, mind you, a student can fail from attitude alone. Now if there is more prestigious than that, I don’t know. oops.. and I think they have never expanded the number of student that they accept each year, it is still 500 students for first year and then 50% cut off. They have not joined the bandwagon of becoming a nursing school business. oops one more note.. they have the lowest tuition fee compared with any other nursing schools in Baguio and Manila.
Now on the other side, the other nursing schools. I do agree on closing down the Nursing schools that are substandard. Yes close down those who are 75% or lower. Why be strict about it?? We are talking about Nurses whose job is to make sure you get good medical care. They are not mere assistants of doctors, but rather they work with the doctor to make you get well. oh but wait… I do know that some of my colleagues are teaching in UC. Hey maybe there is hope. Maybe they can exemplify the teachings we received to the future nurses.
Why am I so passionate about this topic?? It is because, I now work as a nurse here in USA and I had the chance of getting to know some nurses who were educated in the “Nursing school business”. I find it frustrating at times to see them struggle to take on the nursing role here in US. If i find out that they have not been trained in some things that they should already be a master of, it makes me sad to think that the quality of nursing education in our country is deteriorating. Thanks to the mushrooming of “Nursing school businesses”. It eventually reflects on us being Filipinos in the end. The days when Filipino nurses are being regaled to be very good is slowly dying. Nursing is so different here in terms of the responsibilities you are expected to deliver and nurses here take on an active role in patient care.
I’m sorry this message is long. But I hope nakatulong ng konti.
“The days when Filipino nurses are being regaled to be very good is slowly dying.”
Hi May,
And thank you so much for your insights. (Don’t worry about long comments — as most posts and comments here are pretty extensive)
I agree that it is important to concentrate on excellence. And this can really only be achieved in schools by screening and setting the highest standards for your profession.
Less than that, the schools become diploma mills. PCEC owns a hospital but it seems it cannot get a good passing average — 38%?! When I read the number of examinees (1989) I thought it was referring to a YEAR, not persons!
The rest, including UB, do not have hospitals and rely on practice nursing in BGH, and Cordillera communities where there are no hospitals either, among others.
Honestly, what the results prove is that it is the owners’ GREED that fuels the nursing programs in Baguio, and not as a vocation, nor a desire to help in the building of a nation.
The victims? The youth, the patients, the Philippines.
Sad, no?
Kudos to you May!