Admission and retention systems in higher education

AFTER finishing high school, we, who belong to the pre-K-12 generation, looked forward to enrolling for our first degree --- usually a baccalaureate. Unless for whatever good reason, we had to enroll in a certificate (one year) or associate (two-year) program.

We find that higher education institutions (HEI’s) seldom admit college entrants automatically. HEI’s require one to undergo a series of admission examinations. These are usually standard examinations which only professional, that is licensed, psychologists can administer and interpret. These examinations are to determine one’s aptitude, interest and how prepared one is for college. Some HEI’s use these entrance examinations not as bases for admission, but for counselling and guidance purposes while the student studies for the chosen degree program. The DepEd informs us that the K-12 system has a built-in counselling support service starting with Grade 10 to help students choose what track is best for them in senior high and in turn prepare them for the baccalaureate degree most fitted to their aptitude. Accessibility to schools offering their desired track may be overcome by some form of study grants, like DepEd’s voucher system, or from other private or government sources such as from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) especially for senior high going into science, technology, engineering, agriculture/fisheries or mathematics (STEAM).