THE Ifugao State University (IFSU) CHARTER
The Ifugao State University was established by virtue of Republic Act No. 9720 signed by Her Excellency, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on October 14, 2009. Thus, there is no better, firmer and more primary legal basis for its operation and management than the provisions of the university charter itself.
H.B. No. 4409
Republic of the Philippines
Congress of the Philippines
Metro Manila
Fourteenth Congress
Third Regular Session
Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the Twenty-Seventh day of July, Two Thousand
Nine.
[REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9720]
AN ACT CONVERTING THE IFUGAO STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF LAMUT AND ALL, ITS EXISTING EXTENSION CAMPUSES LOCATED IN THE PROVINCE OF IFUGAO INTO A STATE UNIVERSITY TO BE KNOWN AS THE IFUGAO STATE UNIVERSITY AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:
SECTION 1. Conversion. – The Ifugao State College of Agriculture and Forestry (ISCAF) in the Municipality of Lamut, including its existing branches, namely: the Potia Campus in the Municipality of Alfonso Lista; the Lagawe Campus in the capital town of Lagawe; the Aguinaldo Campus in the Municipality of Aguinaldo; the Hapao Campus in the Municipality of Hungduan; and the Tinoc Campus in the Municipality of Tinoc, all located in the Province of Ifugao, is hereby converted into a state university to be known as the Ifugao State University, hereinafter referred to as the University. The main campus of the University shall be in Lamut, Ifugao.
SEC. 2. General Mandate. – The University shall primarily provide advanced instruction and professional training in education, law, arts and sciences, public administration, information technology, accountancy, business and industry, agriculture and forestry, engineering, indigenous knowledge and other relevant fields of study. It shall also undertake research and extension services, and provide progressive leadership in its areas of specialization.
SEC. 3. Curricular Offerings. – The University shall offer undergraduate, graduate and short-term technical courses within its areas of specialization and according to its capabilities as the Board of Regents may deem necessary to carry out its objectives in order to meet the needs of the Province of Ifugao and the Cordillera Administrative and the Cagayan Valley Regions: Provided, That the University shall retain its original mandate as primarily an agricultural institution: Provided, further, That in the case of graduate courses, the University shall strengthen its masteral and doctorate degree programs in agriculture and allied courses. The existing high school/s shall be transferred to the jurisdiction and supervision of the Department of Education (DepEd): Provided, That the high school is shall be allowed to remain and operate within the campus of the University until the existing students shall have completed their high school education: Provided, further, That the University may operate a reasonably sized laboratory school, if it has a College of Education.
SEC. 4. Administration. –The University shall have the general powers of a corporation set forth in Batas Pambansa Blg. 68, as amended, otherwise known as the “Corporation Code of the Philippines”. The administration of the University and the exercise of its corporate powers shall be vested exclusively in the Board of Regents and the President of the University.
SEC. 5. The Governing Board. – The governing board of the University shall be the Board of Regents, hereinafter referred to as the Board, which shall be composed of the following:
The Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Chairperson;
The President of the University, Vice Chairperson;
The Chairperson of the Committee on Education, Arts and Culture of the Senate, member;
The Chairperson of the Committee on Higher and Technical Education of the House of Representatives, member;
The Regional Director of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), member;
The Regional Director of the Department of Agriculture (DA), member;
The President of the federation of faculty associations of the University, member;
The President of the federation of student councils of the University, member;
The President of the federation of alumni associations of the University, member; and
Two (2) prominent citizens from the private sector who have distinguished themselves in their profession or fields of specialization of the University, members.
The Board shall appoint the two (2) prominent citizens from among a list of at least five (5) qualified persons in the Province of Ifugao, as recommended by the search committee constituted by the University President, in consultation with the Chairperson of the CHED and the other members of the Board, based on the normal standards and qualifications for the position.
The term of office of the President of the federation of faculty associations, the President of the federation of student councils and the President of the federation of alumni associations shall be coterminous with their respective terms of office, as set forth in their respective constitutions and bylaws.
The two (2) prominent citizens shall serve for a term of two (2) years from the date of appointment.
SEC. 6. Promulgation and Implementation of Policies. – The Board shall promulgate and implement policies in accordance with the declared State policies on education and other pertinent provisions of the Philippine Constitution on education, agriculture, science and technology, as well as the policies, standards and thrusts of the CHED under Republic Act No. 7722, otherwise known as the “Higher Education Act of 1994”.
SEC. 7. Powers and Duties of the Board of Regents – The Board shall have the following specific powers and duties, in addition to its general powers of administration and the exercise of all the powers granted to the board of directors of a corporation under existing laws:
To promulgate rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes and functions of the University;
To receive and appropriate all sums as may be provided for the support of the University in the manner it may determine, in its discretion, in order to carry out the purposes and functions of the University;
To import duty-free economic, technical and cultural books and/or publications, upon certification by the CHED that such imported books and/or publications are for economic, technical, vocational, scientific, philosophical, historical or cultural purposes, in accordance with the provisions of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, as amended;
To receive in trust, legacies, gifts and donations of real properties of all kinds and to administer and dispose of the same when necessary for the benefit of the University and, subject to the limitations, directions and instructions of the donor, if any. Such donations shall be exempt from the donor’s tax and the same shall be considered as allowable deductions from the gross income in the computation of the income tax of the donor, in accordance with the provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997, as amended: Provided, That such donations shall not be disposed of, transferred or sold;
To fix the tuition fees and other necessary school charges such as, but not limited to, matriculation fees, graduation fees and laboratory fees, as the Board may deem proper to impose, after due consultations with the involved sectors.
Such fees and charges, including government subsidies and other income generated by the University, shall constitute special trust funds and shall be deposited in any authorized government depository bank, and all interests that shall accrue there from shall form part of the same funds for the use of the University.
Any provision of existing laws, rules and regulations to the contrary notwithstanding, any income generated by the University from tuition fees and other charges, as well as from the operation of auxiliary services and land grants, shall be retained by the University, and may be disbursed by the Board for instruction, research, extension or other programs/projects of the University: Provided, That all fiduciary fees shall be disbursed for the specific purpose for which these are collected.
If, for reason beyond its control, the University shall not be able to pursue any project for which funds have been appropriated and allocated under its approved program of expenditures, the Board may authorize the use of said funds for any reasonable purpose which, in its discretion, may be necessary and urgent for the attainment of the objectives and goals of the University;
To adopt and implement a socialized scheme of tuition and other school fees for greater access to poor but deserving students;
To authorize the construction or repair of its buildings, machinery, equipment and other facilities, and the purchase and acquisition of real and personal properties, including necessary supplies, materials and equipment;
To appoint, upon recommendation of the President of the University, Vice Presidents, deans, directors, heads of departments, faculty members and other officials and employees of the University;
To fix and adjust salaries of faculty members and administrative officials and employees, subject to the provisions of the Revised Compensation and Position Classification System and other pertinent budget and compensation laws governing hours of service and such other duties and conditions as it may deem proper; to grant them, at its discretion, leaves of absence under such regulations as it may promulgate, any provision of existing laws to the contrary notwithstanding; and to remove them for cause in accordance with the requirements of due process of law;
To approve the curricula, instructional programs and rules of discipline drawn by the Administrative and Academic Councils as herein provided;
To set policies on admission and graduation of students;
To award honorary degrees upon persons in recognition of their outstanding contribution in the fields of agriculture, public service, arts, science and technology, education or in any field of specialization within the academic competence of the University; and to authorize the awarding of certificate of completion of non-degree and nontraditional courses;
To establish and absorb non-chartered tertiary institutions within the Province of Ifugao as branches and extension centers of the University in coordination with the CHED, and in consultation with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and to offer therein programs or courses to promote and carry out equal and greater access to educational opportunities as mandated by the Constitution;
To establish research and extension centers of the University where such will promote the development of the latter;
To establish professorial chairs in the University and to provide fellowships for qualified faculty members and scholarships to deserving students;
To delegate any of its powers and duties provided for hereinabove to the President or Officerin-Charge and/or other officials of the University as it may deem appropriate, so as to expedite the administration of the affairs of the University;
To authorize an external management audit of the University, to be financed by the CHED, subject to the ides and regulations of the Commission on Audit (COA); and to institute reforms, including academic and structural changes, on the basis of audit results and recommendations;
To collaborate with other governing boards of state universities and colleges within the Province of Ifugao or the Cordillera Administrative Region, under the supervision of the CHED and in consultation with the DBM, and work towards the restructuring of the University to become more efficient, relevant, productive and competitive;
To enter into joint ventures with business and industry for the profitable development and management of the economic assets of the University, the proceeds from which shall be used for the development and strengthening of the same;
To develop consortia and other economic forms of linkages with local government units (LGUs), institutions and agencies, both public and private, local and foreign, in the furtherance of the purposes and objectives of the University;
To develop academic arrangements for institutional capability building with appropriate institutions and agencies, public and private, local and foreign. And to appoint experts/specialists as consultants, part-time or visiting or exchange professors, scholars or researchers, as the case may be;
To set up the adoption of modem and innovative modes of transmitting knowledge such as the use of information technology, the dual learning system, open learning or distance education and community laboratory for the promotion of greater access to higher education and graduate studies, as the case may be;
To establish policy guidelines and procedures for participative decision-making and transparency within the University;
To privatize, where most advantageous to the University, the management of nonacademic services such as health, food, building, grounds or property maintenance and such other similar activities; and
To extend the term of the President of the University beyond the age of retirement, but not beyond the age of seventy (70), whose performance has been unanimously rated by the Board as outstanding based on the guidelines, qualifications and/or standards set by the Board, after unanimous recommendation by the search committee.
MISSION: To provide quality education, research and extension services to bring about educated and morally upright individuals endowed with professional and entrepreneurial skills who will take the lead in enhancing sustainable development towards improved quality of life. 