Aiming to ensure higher rate of success by providing interventions for ESGP-PA Grantees on their academic, career, personal-social development and values formation, the Scholarship Office conducted a three-day Team building Activity Level 3 with the theme, “Training tomorrow’s Leaders, today” last July 27-29, 2016 at Subic Grand Harbour Hotel, Subic, Zambales. One hundred eleven poor but deserving students from the family-beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program(4Ps) in the province were given these opportunity to pursue their college degree through the Expanded Student’s Grant-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA), a joint program of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Social Welfare and Development(DSWD), Department of Labor and Employment(DOLE) and the Aurora State College of Technology which started its implementation since the First Semester of SY 2014-2015, aimed to address poverty by increasing the number of graduates in higher education among poor households and to get these graduates employed in high-value added occupations in order to lift their families out of poverty that will contribute to a wide-ranging economic development. Under the program, a student grantee is entitled for a maximum of Php. 60, 000.00 scholarship grant per school year which is allocated for Tuition Fee – 20, 000.00, Text Books and other learning materials-5,000.00 and the remaining 35, 000.00 is distributed to Php. 3, 500.00 monthly stipend allotted for board and lodging, transportation, clothing, health/medical needs, school supplies, and other related costs. In addition, the SUC partner is also in charge in extending all the needed support that will guarantee the completion of their studies which include training, seminars and activities that will enhance their potentials for them to become a productive workforce of the society.
CHED Grants Certificate of Program Compliance to BSA and BSIT Programs of ASCOT
The two Academic Programs of the Aurora State College of Technology recently got the Certificate of Program Compliance from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), after a series of evaluation and accreditation visits. The Assessment team from CHED composed of evaluators, Dr. Regina D. Cura, Dr. Ma. Teresita B. De Leon, Mr. John Wesley S. Calagui visited ASCOT last July 1-2, 2016 for the assessment of the College’s program offerings and for the evaluation and monitoring of its compliances to Policies, Standards and Guidelines set by CHED and just recently, July 8, 2016, CHED finally issued the Certificate of Program Compliance to the BSA and BSIT programs of the College. Certificate of Program Compliance No. 020, Series 2016 states that ASCOT has successfully complied with the requirements prescribed by the Commission for the Bachelor of Science in Agriculture program for Levels I-IV effective AY 2016-2017 by Virtue of CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 14,s .2008 “Policies and Standards for Bachelor of Science in Agriculture” Program.
CHED Grants P2.1M Funding for the Establishment of ASCOT SMART CLASSROOMS
The Aurora State College of Technology is a recipient of a financial grant from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in the amount of Php. 2, 100, 000.00 to finance the establishment of ASCOT SMART CLASSROOMS. This project was awarded by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to Aurora State College of Technology (ASCOT) through the resourcefulness of the College President and with the hard work of the Academic Directors who prepared the project proposal in this regard, equipping the College with the technology tools that will improve the student learning environment and aiming to upgrade the College’s capability and sustain its development efforts to keep the lead role in providing excellent education. As part of the ASCOT’s Smart Classroom Project, technologies to facilitate teaching and learning have been installed in the seven (7) Departments that were selected for the implementation of the project. With its goal to enhance classrooms with new technologies to support educational initiatives, each Department received 12 units desktop computers, 1 unit server, 1 unit LCD projector, 12 pieces chairs and 4 pieces computer tables (3 computer units per table).
General Orientation Program 2016
The incoming freshmen and senior high school students were greeted with encouraging messages and plenary inputs as the faculty and staff led by the College President, Dr. Doracie B. Zoleta-Nantes represented by the College Vice Presidents, Dr. Ma Luz F. Cabatan, VP for Academic Affairs and Dr. Oscar C. Barawid, Jr., VP for Administration gathered at the ASCOT Covered Court to give them a warm welcome during the General Orientation Program which was held yesterday, June 13, 2016. It was the first student activity for SY 2016-2017 which aims to formally welcome the new members of the ASCOT community and to brief them with the ASCOT vision, mission, goals, and objectives as well as the core values and attributes of being an ASCOTIAN and to orient them with the academic standards and policies, student services, library services, students’ rights, medical services, and general campus rules. The members of the ASCOT Faculty and Staff were first introduced by Ms. Maria Lucia A. Ramos, Head of the Human Resources and Management Unit to familiarize the newest ASCOTIAN with the College officials, school personnel and with their respective Instructors. The orientation program formally started as the Academic Directors took their turns to introduce to the new members of the ASCOT community their respective Department including their program offerings, academic policies, and activities. A student services orientation was also conducted in the afternoon to address the common concerns of freshmen students specially the senior high school students. The Coordinators of the various Student Services including Socio-cultural Affairs, Auxiliary Services, Accounting Department, Sports, Gender and Development, Health Services, Registrar Office, Library, Guidance Office, Scholarship Program and Student Discipline discussed the services and the programs of their respective offices. Furthermore, the Student Publication and Supreme College Student Council also presented their organization’s services and encourage the new students to join and actively participate in the different activities of the College.
ASCOT holds 22nd Commencement Exercises
Rejoicing family members, friends, faculty and staff came to witness the momentous event as five hundred ninety-one graduates of whom six are Cum Laude in the different degree programs of ASCOT received their diplomas and medals during the ASCOT 22nd Commencement Exercises held on April 15, 2016 at Sentro Baler. This year’s Commencement Theme, “ASCOT: Continuing Trends in Enhancing Agricultural and Technological Innovations towards ASEAN Integration”, reflects the College’s determinations to keep up with global standards in terms of updated program offerings, strengthened quality assurance and highly qualified faculty. Prior to the Commencement Exercises, a Baccalaureate Mass was officiated by Rev. Father Baltazar Ronato. The Guest of Honor and Commencement Speaker, Dr. Nicomedes P. Eleazar, CESO IV and the Director of the Bureau of Agricultural Research-Department of Agriculture addressed the graduates on how they can prepare to work effectively and competitively specially with the integration of ASEAN countries where vast career opportunities await them. Meanwhile, Mr. Darwin Lopez Magtangob, Class Valedictorian for Batch 2016, in his words of thanks expressed his gratitude to all the people who helped him and served as his inspiration in achieving success. He also reminisced the experiences he had as a student, the joys and challenges associated with quizzes, examinations, reports, and requirements. He gave special acknowledgement to his parents and siblings for the efforts, hard works and sacrifices they endured just to send him to school; to the faculty members, who served as his mentors, for the advices and encouragements; and to his friends for the time, experiences and memories. Highlights of the ceremony include the confirmation of the Degrees, awarding and distribution of Diploma and Medals, the Pledge of Loyalty to the Alma Mater and the induction of the graduates to the ASCOT Alumni Association. The program concluded with the singing of the Graduation Song “At the Beginning” and the ASCOT Hymn.
BSED Graduate Tops ASCOT Batch 2016 Graduates
Despite growing up in a penurious family, Darwin L. Magtangob, managed to be a consistent honor student and an active student leader from pre-school up to his tertiary education. He is a native of Brgy. Diagyan, Dilasag, Aurora and the youngest son in the brood of five of Mr. Romualdo S. Magtangob and Mrs. Emelita M. Lopez. He grew up in a family full of love, understanding and care. Since his home is eight hours away from the Campus, Darwin had to endure nights without his parents and siblings on his side. He seldom went home and instead spent his time reading and studying his lessons inside his rented room while his parents make every effort to find all the means to support his studies. His road to success was never easy, he had crossed the rivers of hardship, criticized for his gender preference and often downed because of their economic status, but nonetheless, these harsh circumstances didn’t stop him from getting the education he wanted for himself and for his family because today, April 15, 2016, he will finally bring his dreams into fruition as he will not only be receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education but will also be graduating on top of his class as Cum Laude.
Strengthening Faculty Research Capacities, at its Inception
With its goal of delivering quality research outputs that will gear towards further development of Aurora Province, Aurora State College of Technology (ASCOT), initiated by the Office of the President, launched its research capacity enhancement for faculty members entitled “Comprehensive Introduction to Research Process and Plagiarism” on February 3, 2016 at the Audio-Visual Room, ICTC, ASCOT, Baler, Aurora. Encouraging young faculty members to engage in research, the seminar was intended for Contract of Service instructors, of which a total of 41 forwarded support via attendance.
Dr. Oscar Barawid Jr. is ASCOT’s New VP for ADMIN
2016 Welcomes major changes for Aurora State college of Technology. ASCOT started 2016 with a bang with major shake ups in its top positions Dr. Ma Luz Cabatan moving from being VP for Administration to VP for Academic Affairs while Dr. Oscar Barawid Jr. filling up the position overseeing the Admin Core functions. Here is a preview of the Life of Dr. OSCAR Barawid Jr. The energetic young man is an engineer by profession. His professional interest is lined with mechanics: Robot Tractors, Farming innovations, Alternative Energy, to name a few. In fact, he Developed two fully-autonomous robot tractors that can control steering, PTO, 3-point hitches, transmission and speed .
Education Department bags Miss ASCOT 2015 for a back-to-back WIN, BIT takes home title as Mr. ASCOT 2015
The 1st day of ASCOT College Week was concluded with a most-awaited Pageant – the Search for Mr. and Miss ASCOT 2015.It was indeed a night of glamour and beauty with each department send-ing their most gorgeous pair of candidates to make a run for the prestige title. The pre-pageant started 2:30 pm where VTRs of the official candidates in their swim wear attire was played. Not only D2mabo Digital (the official videographer/photographer) was able to showcase the beauty of the candidates in their presentation but also the beauty of Dicasalarin, where the shooting was held. The board selected Mr BIT and Miss Education as Mr and Miss Photogenic. Different talents were also showcased later in the night, with Miss BIT winning Best in Talent after playing beat box while singing, and Mr Engineering, after his wonderful singing that left the audience in awe. Entering the Second phase of the competition, top 3 pairs was selected. EDUC, BIT and BSIT for female, and BIT, EDUC and ENGG for male, composed the final 3 pairs. After slaying the QnA of the final round , Miss Katrina Lopez of Education Department went on to win the title as Miss ASCOT 2015. A back-toback win for Education department, with Cyrhill Renn Querijero bagging the prestigious crown last year. Pairing her as Mr. ASCOT 2015 is Mr.Alvin S. Pragio of BIT Department earning the crown from last year’s winner, Engineering Department. The program ended 10 pm declaring Princess Ann P. Escuadro (BSIT) and Noel A. Manzano (eng’g) as 1st runner up winners and Miss Dizza May Macalinao (BIT) and Mr. Joshua Clay Serafines as 2nd runner up winners.
ASCOT Holds 21st Commencement Exercises
Amidst the strong winds and torrential rains, ASCOT has successfully held its 21st Commencement Exercises and the College first October Graduation on October 17, 2015 through Board Resolution No. 25 Series of 2015 which was approved during the ASCOT Board of Trustees 80th Regular Meeting. Dr. Ma. Victoria Ortega-Espaldon, UP Scientist and Professor served as the Guest of Honor and Commencement Speaker. Her keynote speech centered on the theme, “ASCOT Heading towards Global Challenges on Research, Technology and Innovation”. Degrees were conferred to a total of 47 graduates, 15 from the Graduate Program and 32 from the Certificate and Diploma Courses. The celebration was made possible through the leadership of Dr. Doracie B. Zoleta-Nantes, College President with the support of the Faculty, Staff and Officials of the College. The presence of the members of the College Board of Trustees, Officials, Faculty, Staff and most especially the family, relatives and friends of the graduates made the event more meaningful and a remarkable one.
ASCOT Holds Vision and Mission Formulation
Members of the ASCOT Faculty, Staff, Students and Stakeholders convene to formulate the new ASCOT Vision and Mission in an activity held last September 5, 2015 at the ICTC Audio Visual Room, ASCOT Zabali Campus, Baler, Aurora. Dr. Oscar C. Barawid, Planning Officer led the presentations of the ASCOT Vision and Mission from the output of the Institutional Planning Workshop held last August 27-28, 2015 in Bazal Campus. Barangay Zabali Captain Jose Q. Amatorio, representatives from COA, DBP, and Provincial Capitol together with the members of the ASCOT Faculty, Staff and Students actively participated in the collaborative effort to formulate the new ASCOT Vision and Mission that will be presented in the 80th Regular Board of Trustees Meeting.