INTERNATIONAL STUDENT

MOBILITY PROGRAM
Prepared by: Aira Marie B. Apuyan
  
I. OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAM

• Student mobility is not at all new to many of us. Students and scholars
leaving their homes on a quest for educational and knowledge is not a new
phenomenon. Student mobility even dates back to the medieval times in
European nations when a few scholars are sent out of their country to
pursue knowledge simple because there were no institutions of higher
learning have blossomed and massified across those nations, still students
and their families continue to support the expansion of student mobility
for myriads of reasons.
• One of the main and important reasons for staggering the number of
foreign students across borders is globalization. Globalization, in general,
is the flow of technology, knowledge, people, values, ideas, capital goods,
and service across national borders, and affects each country in a different
way due to the nations individual history, tradition, culture and priorities
(Knight 2004), Economics define globalization more specifically as the
integration of commodity, capital and labor markets.
II. OBJECTIVES, MANDATES, AND THRUSTS OF THE PROGRAM

Objectives
• Student mobility programs are aimed at exposing students to global and
cross- border issues through their visits to other countries. These programs
have given students an advantage in their overall knowledge and soft
skills. It is only vital that we develop our country’s intellectual capital, not
only in enhancing their communication and mental skills. It also enables
the exchange scholar to possess multicultural skills, knowledge and
competency in specific fields not usually found in the country of origin.
Mandates
• In total, the international student flows from and into the
country accounted for less than half a per cent of total
international student movements in 2008. This
insignificant level of participation is not for lack of an
articulated national desire to participate actively.
Mandates

Programme thrusts towards this vision and goal include:

• Development and promotion of academic exchanges between and among
local and international HEIs, scholarship grants, international conventions
and similar activities, and
• Optimization of foreign assistance in current critical areas such as
agricultural technology education, environmental education and maritime
education
 III. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
PROGRAM
• The earlier mentioned government initiatives to promote inter-country cultural co-
operation, educational exchanges, and studies abroad were in line with the above
pronouncements. Concomitantly, the government declared its policy:
...to continuously promote the Philippines as a centre for education in the Asia
Pacific Region by (i) encouraging foreign students to study in the country, (ii)
developing awareness of the Philippine educational system among neighbouring
countries, and (iii) allowing duly accepted foreign students to avail of the facilities
of the Philippine educational system. (Presidential Executive Order No 188 s.
1994, Executive Order No. 423 s. 1997, and Executive Order No. 285 s. 2000).
The 2000 Presidential issuance stipulates that only schools with
programmes accredited by the Federation of Accrediting Agencies
of the Philippines (FAAP) or with equivalent accreditation by
CHED and Bureau of Immigration (BI) are authorized to accept
foreign students. At present there are 381 HEIs (21 per cent of the
total number of HEIs in the country) authorized by the Bureau of
Immigration to accept foreign students: 57 public and 326 private.
The Order also:
• regulates foreign enrolment in courses of study where there is shortage of facilities such
as medicine and dentistry, by requiring issuance of Certificate of Eligibility for
Admission (CEA) addressed to the accepting school;
• provides mechanisms and procedures for accreditation of advanced credits earned in
college or in the eleventh and twelfth years of secondary education in foreign countries;
• sets the length of stay of a foreign student in the country, which should be consistent with
the length of the course of study to which he has been accepted by a Philippine school;
requires foreign students to seek permission to change course of study or school;
• requires monthly and by term monitoring of foreign students by the
concerned schools and the BI;
• allows conversion from tourist visa category to student visa or issuance of
Special Study Permit; and
• allows foreigners already in the country under any valid visa arrangement
to apply/petition for conversion to student visa or for the issuance of a
Special Study Permit provided all requirements are met.
In addition, CHED issued CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No
40, s 2008 which sets a limit to the number of foreign students
that a HEI can accept. The CMO provides that:

...No higher education institution shall be established

exclusively for aliens, and no group of aliens shall
comprise more than one-third of the enrolment of any
school except for institutions established for foreign
diplomatic personnel and their dependents and unless
otherwise provided for by law, for other foreign
temporary residents.
 Challenges Related to Student Mobility

While the government encourages and supports outbound and inbound student
mobility, much still has to be done to streamline bureaucratic processes
needed to legalize the entry of foreign students (e.g. student visas and study
permits) and exit of Filipino students to study abroad (e.g. clearance needed
from CHED and immigration). The Commission on Higher Education
(CHED) was mandated to regulate and develop higher education institutions
(HEIs) in the Philippines, however they seem to be stuck and remain fixated
on their regulatory role at the expense of the their developmental role.
The recognition process of HEIs’ international
programmes (e.g. Transnational Education) is both
tedious and takes a long time with very slow support
system for HEIs to acquire the capacity to send and
accept foreign students.
 IV. IMPACT OF THE PROGRAM ON NATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT

In the meantime, the government and the local higher education

system could prepare for more active participation in the international
education market by addressing the barriers to ISM (as well as its
possible negative consequences) including full implementation of the
12-year basic education cycle (K-12 programme), upgrading of local
tertiary education programmes to meet international standards, and
strengthening of the country’s quality assurance systems.
Participation in the globalizing education market should,
however, not lose sight of the primary missions of the
local higher education system, particularly the public
institutions – to broaden access to quality higher
education, help promote equity in the country, and
provide the skilled workforce needed for national
development.
 V. SUSTAINABILITTY OF THE
PROGRAM
• The Philippine Education System is constantly updating and changing specially
in the last 5 years. Major shift in strategy to enhance student mobility can be seen
in the following:
1. The implementation of vital education reform laws such as the
a) The K+12 Basic Education Reform (2013);
b) The Open Distance Learning Act (2014) and
c) The Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act enhance opportunities
for student mobility.
2. The efforts to increase the number of HEIs in the ASEAN University Network
and strengthen ties with international organisations such as the SEAMEO-
RIHED and the UMAP network (with its SSTP and UMAP Discovery Camp
programs).
3. Exchange programs for students and faculty;
4. Fostering research collaborations with partners in other countries;
5. Facilitating and supporting on-the-job (OJT) training;
6. Inrternationalization of the curricula.
 VI. REFERENCES
 

• Macha, M., Mackie, C., Magaziner, J. (2018, March 6). Education in the Philippines.
Retrieved from https://wenr.wes.org/2018/03/education-in-the-philippines
• Bernardo, A.B.I 2003International Higher Education: Models, Conditions & Issues.
Tullao, T. (ed.) Education & Globalization. Makati City, Philippines, Philippine
APEC Study Center Network (PASCN) and the Philippine Institute for Development
Studies (PIDS).
• Caoili, O. and Valenzuela, E.A. 2000. Internationalization of Higher Education:
Patterns, Trends, Status and Directions. Valisno, M.D. (ed.) The Reform and
Development of Higher Education in the Philippines. Manila, UNESCO, pp.153–186.
THANK YOU
AND
GOD BLESS!