Mapúa University and Malayan Colleges Laguna announced on Wednesday, Feb. 2, the official launch of Mapúa Malayan Digital College (MMDC), a new college focused on technology and business.
MMDC is a digital-first offering that delivers an online curriculum and offline experiences, harnessing the academic heritage of Mapúa University and Malayan Colleges Laguna, of which it is a subsidiary.
“Mapúa Malayan Digital College was created with today’s students’ needs in mind,” said Derrick Latreille, chief learning officer of MMDC and co-founder of Ayala Education. “Through a series of in-depth interviews, 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.”
Interviews, as well as recent surveys conducted by MMDC, showed available courses, tuition, and school reputation rank highest in terms of students’ priorities in choosing a college. In addition, 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.
MMDC said it has created a learning model that answers these needs and wants. Its offering prioritizes the following aspects of learning and student life:
- Focusing on areas that are in-demand by both students and industry: technology and business. Specializations in Information Technology include Data Analytics, Software Development, and Network and Cybersecurity. Meanwhile, specializations in the Business Administration major include Marketing Management, Operations Management, and Human Resource Management. These degrees are designed by instructional design professionals who have experience in academe as well as the workforce. The Business Administration degree is offered by MMDC through CHED’s memorandum on the implementation of flexible learning.
- Helping students develop not just technical skills but also soft skills (such as critical thinking, leadership, creativity, analysis, and collaboration). Students will learn through MMDC’s Projects, Problems and Cases (PPC) model, which emphasizes real-world applications and evaluates students on their output, and not on traditional testing methods. In addition, the MMDC curriculum will also include content from international educational providers, such as Coursera.
- Providing modern collaboration spaces where students can meet, do focused work, collaborate on group projects, organize clubs, and more. MMDC’s first two Learning Hubs will be located at Ayala Malls Cloverleaf (Quezon City) and Ayala Malls Capitol Central (Bacolod City).
- Providing each student their own laptop and pocket Wi-Fi, as well as access to the Learning Hub and Student Services to assist with all their connectivity needs.
- MMDC’s 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 set-up also allows flexibility for the working adult who wants to complete their college degree.
- Introduction of pioneer scholarship where the first 750 enrolled students will be granted up to P20,000 discount on tuition. With this partial discount, enrollment fee for a full year can be as low as P58,000. Slot reservation starts March 1, 2022.
“Mapúa University has always been at the forefront of innovation, and Mapúa Malayan Digital College is our latest proof of this. MMDC is also one of our efforts to address the need to provide affordable quality education to more students nationwide through a new approach that directly addresses the challenges faced by Filipino students,” said Dr. Reynaldo B. Vea, president and CEO of the Mapúa University.
“By creating a college that prepares them for the real world; develops soft skills like critical thinking, leadership, and empathy; uses digital learning in a more meaningful way; and provides students with the technology that they need, we ultimately produce graduates who are citizens that can contribute to a better country,” said Dr. Dodjie Maestrecampo, president of Malayan Colleges Laguna and Mindanao, Mapúa Schools.
