Wesleyan University – Philippines is one of 2,300 higher education institutions in the Philippines granted autonomous status by the Commission on Higher Education. Only 67 HEIs in the country and only five private schools in Region 3 enjoy this status. WU-P is the only autonomous university in Nueva Ecija.
CHED initially declared WU-P an Autonomous University from 2009 until 2014, renewed until 2019, then renewed once again until _____ by virtue of CHED Memorandum Order No. 12, 2019.
WU-P is one of only 17 institutions awarded with Institutional Accredited Status in 2014 by the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP). The FAAP, authorized by the CHED, certifies the quality levels of accredited programs at the tertiary level.
WU-P offers 45 degree programs, 13 of which require licensure examination. The Wesleyan legacy of education is passed on to its students from the Center for Child Development, Elementary, High School, College, the John Wesley School of Law and Governance, and the Graduate School.
The non-stock, non-profit, non-sectarian, Methodist-oriented and co-educational institution has a seven-hectare Cushman Campus in Cabanatuan City and the campus in Maria Aurora, Aurora. It has its own radio station, DWUP-FM Radio Wesleyan at 89.7 MegaHertz and operates the Wesleyan University Medical Center, a center for teaching, training, and research in the field of medical and nursing specialties.
WU-P is an active institution member of the International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges and Universities (IAMSCU), Association of Universities in Asia and the Pacific (AUAP), Asia Pacific Association of Methodist Educational Institutions (APAMEI), Philippine Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, Universities and Seminaries (PASMCUS), Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) in Region III, Nueva Ecija Collegiate Sports League (NECSL), National Chess Federation of the Philippines and Philippine Taekwondo.
Its outreach program is partly subsidized by North Georgia Bridge Program of the North Georgia Annual Conference, USA.
Moving Deeper
Wesleyan University – Philippines aims to provide an education that transcends beyond the confines of the curriculum. An education that translates into the wisdom and outlook of using one’s gained skills and knowledge for the good of others, for noble and worthwhile tasks, for the things that outlasts life and for the things that give glory and honor to God.
John Wesley believed that education is a life-long learning experience guided by the Holy Spirit towards one’s personal and social holiness. He saw that education can be an instrument for evangelism, for instilling Godliness, and for molding people who would change the world for the better.
A Methodist education embraces this ideal of a fully flourishing human being. The essence of education is to train the student to achieve his/her potentials in order to become morally, culturally, and spiritually as well as intellectually and physically… the full human being God intended him to be (1999 British Methodist Conference Report).
The purpose of education in the Wesleyan model is shown in a tripolar structural model fusing technology, classical learning and values formation – where these three disciplines complement, reinforce, and enrich each other in perfect synergy, rather than preset themselves as alternative options pulling in opposite directions.
WU-P has the unique capacity to provide a platform where its students can not only see their potential but also where they can “grow in goodness” (Essence of Education Report 1999 Methodist Publishing House). WU-P cultivates in its students the value of servant-leadership, instills an attitude of being “other-oriented” rather than “self-oriented,” of doing service not to please men but to please God.
The Wesleyan legacy of education promotes our nation’s moral vision by aligning our students’ moral, intellectual and social development with God’s vision for man.
The Wesleyan graduate would be a composite offspring – a person skilled in the latest technology, learned in the refinements of liberal arts, and one who is biblically oriented and spiritually nurtured according to the ethics of Christian doctrine.
Reaching Higher
Wesleyan University-Philippines aims to reach higher as it faces today’s issues.
Climate Change. Wesleyan University will be at the forefront of the issue of climate change, sustaining and relentlessly pursuing efforts and initiatives to address the issue and making the sustainability of this advocacy a cornerstone of the university’s identity.
We will invest on research and continuing dialogue so we can develop strategies that would increase our resilience to climate change. We can also integrate courses on climate change with sustainability education for students, staff and faculty that would provide them with hands-on training that they can apply in their daily lives. Through instruction and research, Wesleyan University can be God’s instrument in shaping ideas and innovations that will allow us to face the issue of climate change and thus play our part in the transition to a low carbon future.
We need to pursue opportunities to engage with the community, local businesses, and our government leaders to hasten climate action and promote a more sustainable community. We must also seek collaborations with other universities to facilitate an exchange of ideas, case studies and best practices solutions.
Living in a Digital Age. We will equip our students with the education and training that would enable them to meet the needs of the times, furnish them with the skills and capacities that have long-term competitive advantage so that they will become more productive and efficient in an ever evolving and increasingly diversified workplace, and empower them with the practical know-how so they could have the flexibility to traverse the technological developments of a rapidly changing world.
Proficiency of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is vital and necessary. Our students must be strong in these core areas to keep them globally competitive both as a user and a contributor to digital inventions.
Education Sets Us Free
In our desire to be globally competitive, it would seem that we have mindlessly shoved aside the liberal arts – literature, social sciences, the humanities, philosophy, history, languages – as irrelevant and impractical discipline.
The essence of a liberal arts education is to “liberate the mind” – to encourage critical and creative thinking, to expose students to a diversity of perspectives – learning that was vital for a human being to be free. Liberal arts education is consistent with the idea of freedom. It fosters an environment of limitless possibilities.
Universities must vigorously defend the vital importance of liberal arts education, because, despite the push towards a more practical, narrow-skills approach, liberal education remains to be a driving force in a highly technological and networked world. The breadth and depth of liberal arts education provides the foundational underpinnings that would enhance and complement the courses in the STEM areas.
WU-P renews its commitment to keep liberal arts learning alive and make it a requisite program in its undergraduate curriculum.
2020 and Beyond
On its ___ anniversary, the WU-P launched the Center for Nueva Ecija Studies, the first attempt by a private institution to undertake the writing/rewriting of the cultural history of Nueva Ecija. Gracing the inauguration were CHED Chair _____, Laos Ambassador _____, Dr. Jaime Veneracion of the UP History Department and Bulacan Center for Cultural Studies, Dr. Temario Rivera of the UP Philosophy Department, Dr. ___ of the Asian Center, and Dr. Felipe de Leon, former chair of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
Proposed Bangan projects are: Graduate Certificate in Heritage Studies, Museology, Cultural Mapping, Audio-Visual Documentation, Study of International Conventions and Domestic Laws related to Cultural Heritage, and Heritage Safeguarding and Disaster Risk Management.