University of the Philippines Manila

Padre Faura Street, Ermita, Manila, Metro Manila

A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF HOW THE RETURN SERVICE AGREEMENT (RSA)

SCHEME AFFECTS THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS APPLYING FOR LEAVE OF
ABSENCE (LOA) IN THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES - MANILA (UPM)

Presented to:
Ms. Ida Marie Pantig

Submitted by:
Dayandante, Nina
Montoya, Patricia
Repollo, Nichole

In partial fulfillment of the course requirements in:

SocSci 192: Social Science Research

Background of the Study

The UPM-CM was established by the Commonwealth Act No. 1415 in December 1 st of
the year 1905, which was then known as the Philippine Medical School. Due to this, the need to
address the lack of assistance for medical purposes has been an issue in the country; therefore the
task of the UPM-CM was to expand the health services. Back then only UST was the only
established medical school which gave licentiate titles to their graduates. A rapid increase in the
supply of medicine graduates who would want to work at a private company rather than
government employment, hence the government made ways to solve this by requiring, take note
requiring meaning it is mandatory for every graduates to sign in a contract wherein they would
be obliged to work for at least two years in the government after graduating, the birth and
foundation of what we call now as RSA or Return Service Agreement. With its mission and
vision goals in sight, the UPM is dedicated to produce graduates who exhibits leadership and
excellence in promoting a community-oriented medical education with a primary health care
approach, intended to serve the poorest of the poor, devoted to the development of our country.
With the depressing issues of the society regarding brain drain, RSA comes at hand in
order to solve these problems however in every object, it has its pros and cons. Whilst the RSA is
dedicated to serve the masses and promote or increase the medical assistance for hospitals within
the country, this paper will therefore explore and criticize whether RSA is of benefit for the
country, with its primary objective of targeting and looking at the point of view of the students,
UPMs White Colleges, with their greatest dilemma: TO SHIFT OUT or APPLY FOR A LOA
(LEAVE OF ABSENCE).

Significance of the Study

The Return Service Agreement is currently on the limelight especially since the first
batch of the affected students are graduating this coming June. This scheme has been
controversial because the policy itself has flaws like after acquiring 60 units in their respective
health-related courses, a student can no longer shift out unless he pays a total amount of less than
Php 2 million. This study is important because it can prove that a students decision in pursuing
his course in the university is affected by RSA since this policy inhibits them from working
abroad right after graduationthe very reason for its implementation is to prevent brain drain
from happening.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

The study is only applicable to the University of the Philippines Manila, the Health
Sciences Center in the whole University of the Philippines system. As a Health Sciences Center,
the university houses health professions, namely nursing, pharmacy, industrial pharmacy,
dentistry, medicine, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech pathology, public health.
Being a pioneer in participating in a return service agreement with its students and it only has

just started four years ago, research and details concerning the implementation of RSA are very
little in number. CAS courses do not participate in a return service agreement. Even though
scientific and some of these are core foundations of the white colleges, courses BS Biology, BS
Biochemistry, BS Applied Physics in CAS are not included for they are not medical in nature.
The whole study only comprised one month of the whole semester, so the findings might
be lacking in content because of time constraints but would have been an interesting topic for
further research and investigation. And only in 2011 that the necessity for a return service
agreement for the medical courses was established, the number of units for analysis to be used
would only be from a small population.

Review of Related Literature

Introduction
Presented in here is a synthesis of a research that supports the evaluation of the number of
students who choose to shift out or apply the leave of absence (LOA) in the University of the
Philippines Manila because of the implementation of the Reserve Service Agreement (RSA).
Included in here is a historical overview of the University of the Philippines Manila, the
importance of leave of absence, overview of leave of absence, and a review of perceptions and
attitudes about the Return Service Agreement as indicated by literature review.
Historical Overview
The University of the Philippines was founded on June 18, 1908 through Act No. 1870 of
the Philippine Assembly. The UP was the result of the Secretary of Public Instruction, W.
Morgan Schusters recommendation to the Philippine Commission, the upper house of the
Philippine Assembly. Act 1870 authorized the Governor General to establish the University of
the Philippines in the city of Manila, or at any point he may deem most convenient. The UP
was to give advanced instruction in literature, philosophy, the sciences and arts, and to give
professional and technical training to every qualified student regardless of age, sex, nationality,
religious belief and political affiliation.
UP first opened its doors at Calle Isaac Peral (now United Nations Avenue) and Padre
Faura in downtown Manila in 1909 with the School of Fine Arts; the College of Liberal Arts; the
College of Medicine; the College of Veterinary Medicine; the College of Engineering; the
College of Law; and the College of Agriculture in Los Baos, Laguna. Its first president was an
American named Murray Bartlett. He vowed that the UP must be for the Filipino and that it
must be supported by the peoples money with a charter framed by the peoples representatives
and its hope based on the confidence and sympathy of the people.
In 1913, the University of the Philippines Alumni Association was established by UP
graduates after College of Law Dean George Malcolm conceived the idea. The student council
was organized in 1914 as a body where cases on student discipline were referred to.

In 1915, the UP had its first Filipino president in Ignacio Villamor. Under Villamor, the
UP continued to grow with the addition of units such as the Conservatory of Music; the
University High School; the College of Education; and the Junior College in Cebu City. In 1919,
the College of Veterinary Science was transferred to the Los Baos campus.
UPs third president and the last American to hold the post was Guy Potter Benton.
Benton assumed the presidency in 1921. Benton saw the addition of more units: the School of
Hygiene; the Department of Library Science; the Agricultural Extension Service; and the
creation of the university Corps of Cadets. The Philippine Collegian, the universitys longest
running official student publication published its first issue in 1922. Rafael Palma assumed UP
presidency in 1923. Academic freedom became a hallmark in UP as Palma encouraged
discussions on social and political issues confronting the country. Palma promoted the ideal of
freedom of the mind and the determined search for the truth in God, man and things. In
1935, UPs famous statue, named the Oblation by Palma, was installed at the Manila campus.
The statue was the creation of National Artist Guillermo Tolentino on his interpretation of the
second stanza of Dr. Jose Rizals Mi Ultimo Adios. Jorge Bocobo, succeeded Palma. An
intense nationalist, Bocobo promoted patriotism and love of culture in the university. He also
promoted values such as discipline, duty and sacrifice, values which he believed were essential
for nation-building.
The Second World War saw the destruction of several buildings of the UP in Manila and
Los Baos, Cebu and Iloilo. In 1947, the Philippine General Hospital formally became a part of
UP through Executive Order No. 94. In 1948, under the stewardship of UP President Bienvenido
Gonzales, much of the UP was transferred from its campus in Manila to bigger campus in
Diliman, Quezon City.
The 50s and the 60s saw the transformation of UP from the brainchild of the American
hopes and dreams for the Philippines into a bastion of intense nationalism. UP President Vicente
Sinco preserved the universitys integrity from communist paranoia and partisan politics while
UP President Carlos P Romulo introduced Filipinism, Student Activism and Faculty Dissent.
1971 was the year when the Diliman Republic became the Diliman Commune. From January to
February, the campus became a battleground between militant students protesting the
deteriorating conditions of the country, and policemen. The students completely barricaded the
campus and established full control of the facilities. There were several attempts by the police to
assault the campus, but they were unsuccessful.
In the succeeding years, the UP has expanded much by establishing campuses and units
in Baguio City; Miag-ao Iloilo; Tacloban City; San Fernando, Pampanga; Mintal, Davao; and the
Open University based in Los Baos, Laguna.

Importance of leave of absence (LOA)

A leave of absence or the temporal withdrawal from study is the time allowed away from
university requested by a student because of medical or personal ground occurring in the
students life. The leave should not exceed one year but may be renewed for at most another year.
When not taken in two successive years, the aggregate leave of absence should not exceed two
years.
The most important component of this is that to provide assurance that the student can
retain their active student status and complete all curriculum requirements in place at the time of
original matriculation to ones program of study.

Overview of leave of absence (LOA)

A leave of absence (LOA) shall be requested in a written petition to the Dean. The
petition shall state the reason for which the leave is desired and shall specify the period of the
leave. The leave shall not exceed one year but may be renewed for another year at most. For
LOA to be availed of during the second half of the semester, faculty members concerned shall be
required to indicate the class standing of the student (passing or failing) at the time of the
application of the leave. No application for LOA shall be approved without the class standing
being indicated by the faculty concerned. This should not be entered in the Official Report of
Grades.
If a student withdraws after three-fourths of the total number of hours prescribed for the
course has already elapsed, the faculty may submit a grade of 5 for the students if the class
standing up to the time of the withdrawal is below 3. No LOA shall be granted during the
semester within two weeks before the last day of classes. If the inability of the student to
continue his/her classes is for reason of health or similar justifiable cases, the absence during this
period shall be considered excused. In such cases, the student shall be required to apply for
excuse from his/her absences. It shall be the responsibility of the student to present the excuse
slip to the faculty members concerned.
A student who needs to go on LOA beyond the allowable period of two years shall be
advised to apply for honorable dismissal without prejudice to readmission.
A student who withdraws from a college without formal LOA shall have his/her registration
privilege curtailed or entirely withdrawn. A fee of P150 is charged to a student who goes on
LOA. The fine for a student who goes on absence without leave is P225.00 which is applied for
each continuous period of absence without leave.
Leave of absence: filing procedures
1. Prepare a formal letter of request addressed to the Department Chairman. Specify the
Reason/s Period of leave (not to exceed one academic year)
2. Get Application for a Leave of Absence (LOA) Form from the Graduate Office.

3. Fill up the form. Indicate if currently enrolled or not enrolled. If currently enrolled, indicate
the class code, course no. & section and get the signatures of all instructors.
4. Before filing application, get clearance from the College (Property Office), College Library,
Dormitory (VH 305), SDT (VH 202), Student Loan Board (VH 205), and University Library.
5. Get the signatures of your Program Adviser, Dept. Chair, Associate Dean and Dean.
6. Xerox 3 copies of the accomplished form and pay the P150.00 fee at the Cashiers Office
(back of PNB Bldg). Indicate the Official Receipt number & date on the forms. Submit a copy to
the Registrars Office.
7. For currently enrolled students, xerox additional copies of the College Copy and give your
instructors a copy each.
8. Submit a xerox copy together with your letter to the Graduate Office.
9. Keep the student copy for your file.
Perceptions/Attitudes in Return Service Agreement (RSA)
Based on the RSA Survey that the University Student Council (USC) held last December 13,
2014, it can be inferred that there is a lack of publicity and clear explanations about the RSA
provisions. Furthermore, 50 (38%) of the students are not in favor of the RSA, 38 (28%) are not
sure about their stance, and 45 (34%) are in favor of the policy. On the other hand, the survey
also assimilated answers about the different opinions of the students regarding the RSA.
According to some respondents, the RSA is a way to give back to the country by sharing their
knowledge and expertise to local communities. Likewise, one respondent described the relevance
of the RSA as the investment of the government on funding the tertiary education of select
students is ensured to produce professionals of high intellect who can render great service to the
people who are in need. Furthermore, the students viewed the policy as a chance to have the
training needed for them to work abroad while other respondents consider the RSA as a way to
explore their interests and niches.
However, several respondents expressed that the RSA is just a temporary solution to the brain
drain that the country is facing. Additionally, the respondents noted that there were vague terms
in the RSA which make it open to interpretation, and the policy is a better utilize their talents or
nothing strategy to augment its mission on improving the peoples health conditions through
relevant and excellent service program.
Meanwhile, several concerns about the adverse effects of the policy were also raised including
the lack of options of the RSA for those who want to continue studies at the graduate level. Also,
students who plan to take medicine were discouraged due to the fact that they will be serving the
RSA will pile up. Furthermore, the respondents also expressed their disappointment because the
RSA does not permit students to transfer programs if they already reached the 60 credit limit.
Moreover, another respondent also said that any sanction in the form of money is inherently
anti-poor, or at the very least, blatantly pro-rich. Those who have enough money have the luxury
of choosing not to complete their return service while those who are not as affluent shall just
stick to the agreement.

Lastly, the respondents also proposed several amendments to the RSA including the providing of
alternatives to those who wanted to take graduate studies, giving job support for health-related
courses, and extending the time frame for the completion of return service.

Hypothesis
Students who choose to shift out or apply for Leave of Absence (LOA) in the white
colleges increase because of the Return Service Agreement (RSA).

Methodology
The focus of this study would be to evaluate the response of the students of UPM white
college in reaction to the issue of RSA hence their dilemma, to shift out or to file a leave of
absence. With 9 courses per year level within the white colleges, we are therefore given quite a
huge population to handle; therefore we are opting to undergo a stratified random sampling form
of approach. Dividing them into strata, we will be having 10 students per year level, per course,
who will answer a set of questions regarding the current issue of RSA. The detailed
questionnaire will consist of 10 questions, aimed to understand and analyze the point of view of
the students. Feasibility to conduct this method is a must.

References
Fodulla E. and Gonzales A. (2015, March 10). Flawed: A look at the students stand on the
controversial RSA. The Manila Collegian, pp 02, 05.
Graduate Program of Arts and Sciences: Leave of Absence. (2003, November 27). Retrieved
from http://berdugo.upm.edu.ph/~krazon/graduate-policies/leave-of-absence
University History. (2003, October 13). Retrieved from http://www.up.edu.ph/aboutup/university-history/