Developments in the Geoscience Curriculum: Coping With Global Demands

Rene Juna R. Claveria ^{1, 2}

¹Technical Panel for Science Education Commission on Higher Education
²Department of Environmental Science, Ateneo de Manila University

Abstract

In the development of the Geology discipline, the setting of standards and raising the bar of competence and professionalism, not only for global competition but also in service to the needs of the country and the Filipino people, are of primary concern. A CHED milestone is the recent approval of the Minimum Standards of BS Geology in compliance to Republic Act (RA) #7722 or the Higher Education Act of 1994. The minimum policies and standards in Geology endeavor to standardize the quality of the program particularly in terms of faculty qualification, equipment and library resources. Recent developments intend to upgrade the basic competencies of students, and CHED has embarked on developing a tertiary education program where the first 2 years are for general and fundamental courses and the last 3 years for specialized courses. These developments intend to rationalize the undergraduate Geology education and keeping apace with advances in science and demands in globalization. In both situations the objectives are: 1) to have a program designed to prepare students for careers as Professional Geologists – academicians, researchers and geoscientists in local and international institutions such as government, consulting firms, universities, mining and petroleum industries.; 2) provide the optimum curriculum, affording graduates with firm foundations on the concepts and theories in the geological sciences with comprehensive field training; and 3) help students develop not only their intellectual maturity but also their roles and responsibilities to society and to local and internationals scientific communities. As the country moves towards progress, development and nation building, geology and geologists play very important roles.