University of the City of Manila

**Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila** **(PLM)**, or the **University of the City of Manila**, is a university in the city of Manila, Philippines. It is funded by the government of the city and it does not have any tuition fees. 

PLM holds the distinction of being the first institution of higher learning in the country and perhaps in Asia to offer tuition-free tertiary education; the first university funded solely by a city government; and the first institution of higher learning in the country to have its official name in Filipino.

Total  enrolment has grown to an average of 11,000 a year.

## Academics and administration 
As a university with its own charter, PLM enjoys certain level of autonomy. It is governed by the Board of Regents and administered by a President. The Board of Regents The six-member Board is composed of the President of the PLM, a representative of the PLM faculty, a distinguished alumnus, a respected educator, and one other respected professional, and the Superintendent of the Division of City Schools-Manila. Each member serves a six-year tenure of office. The President oversees the implementation of the university policies. Immediately under the President are the  four Vice-Presidents - Executive Vice President, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice President for Administration, and Vice President for Finance and Planning. which are all being supervised by the Executive Vice President.  For the undergraduate class of 2011, PLM received 40,000 college applications, and accepted 3% of them.

PLM's endowment in 2008 was valued at PhP 500 million, The University spends about four to fives times the national average for education.

PLM utilizes a semester-based modular system for conducting courses, adopts features of the American system (credits), and employs the General Weighted Average system and a 1.00 to 5.00 grading scale, with 1.00 being the highest possible grade for a particular undergraduate course. The calendar  used by PLM consists of two regular semesters of about 15 to 16 weeks each, and semestral breaks of about three to four weeks each. The university requires a minimum of twelve units to be considered a full-time student, with the maximum being twenty units.

### Reputation 
The late President, Diosdado Macapagal, who himself visited the University, said that PLM is "a unique university because it is the first community-oriented and socially conscious university in the country." He added that, "it gives poor but deserving public high school graduates of the community the means to acquire higher education." Moreover, he recognized PLM's emerging status as "one of the top universities in the country." Her daughter, President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said PLM had a "culture of excellence,"

The country's leading newspaper, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, described PLM as a local university with a national character and reputation. US Ambassador Kristie Kenney, in her speech during the 40th  Commencement Exercises at the PLM Grandstand, praised PLM for building a "culture of commitment to public service in its students, faculty and alumni." In an article in the Business Mirror  , PLM was considered as the "highest symbol of Manila’s public educational system which radiates another form of power and influence." Websites such as Manila Board say that PLM is one of leading and prime public universities in the country today.

On August 13, 2008, Adel A. Tamano, in his column at the *Manila Times* wrote that PLM is "a unique learning institution" and is "essentially an *honors school* where only the students from lower income families with excellent scholastic records are admitted."

PLM is not a perfect institution, and the university had been criticized in the past for the 'reconsideration' cases, wherein some students who failed to meet the university’s standards for retention were readmitted because of their so-called 'backers'. In order to resolve this issue, the city government has insulated the University from political pressure so as not to compromise its status as one of the country's leading educational institutions.[1] [2]

## History 
### Geographical History 
The site of the PLM campus at Intramuros used to be occupied by the **Colegio de Manila** (also known as Colegio Seminario de San Ignacio), which was founded in 1590 by Fr. Antonio  Sedeño, S.J.  The Colegio de Manila formally opened in 1595, and was the first school in the Philippines.

Aside from Colegio de Manila, there were other structures that were built in the site. Iglesia de Santa Ana, the first stone church in the Philippines, was built in 1590 and opened in 1596. However, an earthquake destroyed it, and another church was built in honor of St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1626.  In 1623, Philip IV of Spain confirmed the authorization, making the school both a pontifical and a royal university, and the very first university in the Philippines and in Asia.  In 1722, the Colegio de San José was granted *royal patronage*.  The buildings and the whole premises served as military headquarters for the 31st Infantry of the United States Army until 1941.

In early 1960s, the site was rehabilitated by the city government and a building was constructed at General Luna Street to house the students of Manila High School. On April 24, 1965,  President Diosdado Macapagal issued Proclamation 392-A, giving to the proposed city university the three-hectare lot being occupied by Manila High School. Vice Mayor Antonio Villegas took over and continued Lacson's plan. He later issued Executive Order No. 7, s-1963 that created the committee that would draw up the plan of founding a university. He sought the help of Congressman Justo R. Albert, representative of the City's fourth congressional district. Congressman Albert then sponsored House Bill No. 8349 at the Philippines' House of Representatives. The Senate version of the bill was authored by Senators Gil Puyat and Camilo Osias. The two bills were eventually combined into one, and it was discussed during the Fourth Session of the Fifth Congress of the Philippines on January 25, 1965. The final bill was later passed by the joint Congress. On June 19, 1965, the final bill with the title - "An Act Authorizing the City of Manila to Establish and Operate the University of the City of Manila and for Other Purposes" - was signed into law by President Diosdado P. Macapacal in a signing ceremony at Malacañang Palace. The law was captioned as Republic Act No. 4196, which now serves as the University Charter.

### Early years 
With an enrollment of 556 students—both men and women—PLM opened for classes on July 17, 1967. All of them were housed under the University College, which offered liberal arts courses. After a year, a Graduate Institute for Teachers was founded, and it was followed by the Institute of Extramural Studies. At the turn of the decade, the school had expanded its offerings to include degree programs leading to specializations in communication, engineering, education, business administration, nursing.

## Footnotes