After a three-week semester break and Christmas vacation, Biliran Province State University is set to officially open the second semester of Academic Year (AY) 2024-2025 on Monday, January 6.

The university will continue implementing the semestral cyclical shift system, which divides schools into morning and afternoon schedules for face-to-face classes.

For this semester, the School of Teacher Education (STEd), School of Criminal Justice Education (SCJE), and School of Technology and Computer Studies (STCS) will have the first shift, running from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Meanwhile, the School of Engineering (SOE), School of Management and Entrepreneurship (SME), and School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) will take the second shift, scheduled from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The School of Nursing and Health Sciences (SNHS) will maintain its full on-site class schedule due to the nature of its curriculum.

First introduced in July 2024, BiPSU’s class system integrates the Open and Distance e-Learning (ODeL) approach. This setup reduces in-classroom learning hours to four or five hours daily, allowing students and teachers additional time for research, academic tasks, and extracurricular activities.

Students in the first shift will attend face-to-face classes in the morning and transition to ODeL sessions for independent online learning in the afternoon. Similarly, second-shift students will have face-to-face instruction in the afternoon and continue with ODeL afterward.

University President Dr. Victor C. Cañezo, Jr. underscored the positive impact of the system during its initial implementation.

“I believe the setup has significantly enhanced the quality of education at BiPSU,” Dr. Cañezo said. “It not only addresses classroom-to-student ratio challenges but also provides our students and faculty with the flexibility to balance academic and personal activities.”

More than 12,000 students are expected to return to BiPSU as the second semester commences.

[This aligns with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education.]