MAPÚA University and its subsidiary Malayan Colleges Laguna announced on Wednesday that their newly established digital college will begin operations in the upcoming school year 2022-2023, with the goal of making education “accessible, affordable, and flexible.”
The technology and business-focused Mapúa Malayan Digital College (MMDC) is a new college “under the Malayan Colleges Laguna,” said Dodjie S. Maestrecampo, president of Malayan Colleges Laguna and Malayan Colleges Mindanao, during a virtual briefing.
“We will now have six colleges under the Malayan Colleges Laguna, so this is the sixth college,” he added. This means that MMDC graduates will get their diplomas from the Malayan Colleges Laguna.
The new college will offer “affordable” digital-first education through a combination of online and offline experiences “designed for the modern Filipino student,” the MMDC said in an e-mailed statement.
Derrick Latreille, chief learning officer of MMDC and co-founder of Ayala Education, said: “We’ve determined critical factors for students and parents when deciding to choose a college: the reputation of the school, close proximity to their homes, affordability, and an experience that will help them get the career they want.”
“Mapúa Malayan Digital College will be fulfilling all these through its unique student experience,” he added.
Citing the findings of its own study, MMDC said available courses, tuition fees, and school reputation rank highest in terms of students’ priorities in choosing a college.
“While students are becoming more open to the combination of online and face-to-face learning, they still continue to value community and opportunities for socialization,” it also noted.
MMDC’s information technology curriculum covers data analytics, software development, network, and cybersecurity.
Specializations in the business administration major include marketing management, operations management, and human resource management.
There will also be “learning hubs” for student collaboration.
“MMDC will provide modern collaboration spaces where students can meet, do focused work, collaborate on group projects, organize clubs, and more,” the college said.
Its first two learning hubs will be located at Ayala Malls Cloverleaf in Quezon City and Ayala Malls Capitol Central in Bacolod City.
The college also said its required class meeting times clock in at approximately 7.5 hours a week of synchronous learning, made available with both early and late day schedules.
“This gives students more control of their time and allows them to balance academics, hobbies, family life, and social life. This setup also allows flexibility for the working adult who wants to complete their college degree,” it added.
It is offering a pioneer scholarship in which the first 750 enrolled students will receive a tuition fee discount of up to P20,000. With this partial discount, a full year’s enrollment can be as low as P58,000. Slot reservation begins on March 1, 2022. — Arjay L. Balinbin
