UP Open University Helpdesk

You can apply for admission to the UP Open University (UPOU). 

Please read through this General Information Bulletin on Undergraduate Admissions to know the qualifications and process. You can click on any section in the Table of Contents to directly navigate you to the information you need. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. Studying at U.P. Open University

B. UPOU’s Undergraduate Program Offerings

C. Admission Policies

D. Transfer Admission Policies

E. Admission Qualifications

F. Admission Requirements for New Students

G. Admission Procedures for New Students

For more inquiries or concerns regarding undergraduate admissions, please navigate through the UPOU websites (https://www.upou.edu.ph/home/ or https://registrar.upou.edu.ph/ ). If you still have concerns, please send an email to the UPOU Admission Section ([email protected]).

A. Studying at U.P. Open University

The UP Open University (UPOU) is the Philippines’ national center of excellence for open and distance learning and the national e-learning competency center. It was established on 23 February 1995 as the fifth constituent university of the University of the Philippines System, with the mandate to provide Filipinos everywhere access to quality higher education through innovative methods of teaching and learning that are designed to be responsive to their needs as well as to national development needs.

UPOU employs the online distance education (DE) mode of teaching and learning. The key features of this mode of study as practiced at UPOU are:

• Students and teachers are physically separated from each other. They do not meet face-to-face in a physical classroom.
• Students undertake guided independent study of carefully selected as well as specially designed learning materials in various media – print, video, and multimedia.
• The interaction between teachers and students, takes place online, in a virtual classroom. Other forms of communication between teacher and student are email, text/chat, and video conferencing.
• Examinations are proctored sit-down exams conducted at designated testing venues.

B. UPOU’s Undergraduate Program Offerings

UPOU offers three undergraduate programs, as follows:

• Associate in Arts (AA)
• Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Studies (BAMS)
• Bachelor of Education Studies (BES)

C. Admission Policies

• No student shall be denied admission to the University System by reason of age, sex, nationality, religious belief, or political affiliations [from Art. 332 of the UP System Code].
• Students who have exceeded the Maximum Residency Rule (MRR) shall not be allowed to register again in the same program (787^th BOR Mtg. on 29 Sept. 1969).
• UPOU does not allow any concurrent enrollment in two or more degree programs. Once admitted and enrolled at UPOU, the student is not allowed to enroll in any other degree program in another university or in any other UP constituent university.

D. Transfer Admission Policies

• A student may transfer to the UPOU from another constituent university or vice versa subject to his or her fulfillment of the requirements for admission as a transfer student by the university to which he/she is transferring [approved during the 1^st UC Meeting: 12 May 1995; See Section E. for the general qualifications for admission into UPOU].
• A transfer student may be admitted provided that:

1. Applicants seeking transfer admission into the University have to satisfy the requirements of the University as well as those of the college/ degree program to which they seek to transfer;
2. He or she must have obtained an average of “2”, “86%”, or “B”, or better, for all the collegiate academic units s/he has earned outside of the University System;
3. He or she will have to complete in this University System no less than 50% of the units required for his or her course [from Art. 359 of the UP Code].

Note: To graduate with honors, he/she will have to complete 75% of the required number of units and must be in residence for 2 years immediately prior to graduation [from Art. 412 of the UP Code].

E. Admission Qualifications

Admission to the BES or BAMS program *

1) Have earned a high school diploma or its equivalent through completion of the new K to 12 curriculum implemented by the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) under the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 (Republic Act No. 10533), or through completion of the old basic education curriculum implemented by DepEd prior to the enactment of RA 10533, or by passing DepEd’s Alternative Learning System Accreditation and Equivalency (ALS A&E) Test for the secondary level;

AND 

2)  (a) Have taken and passed (with UPG of 2.8 or better) the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) administered by the UP Office of Admissions;  OR (b) Completed at least 33 units of college with a general weighted average (GWA) of 2.50 or better from another UP unit or a GWA of 2.0 or better from another college or university outside the UP System;

OR  

3) Graduates of the Associate in Arts (AA) program of UP Open University;

AND

4) Complete the UPOU Distance Education (DE) Readiness Module.

Filipino graduates of public high schools who belong to the Top Ten of their graduating class are qualified for automatic admission (i.e. they need not take the UPCAT) in AY2018-2019 under the Iskolar ng Bayan (INB) Program. However, they are required to complete the UPOU DE Readiness Module.

Foreign or Filipino applicants who have graduated or are graduating from a secondary school/ home school abroad (i.e. international applicant) and have not enrolled in college before AY2018-2019 may be admitted as freshmen by automatic admission (i.e. without taking the UPCAT), provided they meet other requirements, including qualification for college admission through recognized national or international foreign-administered examinations. They are also required to complete the UPOU DE Readiness Module.

Admission to the AA program *

 1) Have a high school diploma or its equivalent earned through completion of the new K to 12 curriculum implemented by the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) under the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 (Republic Act No. 10533), or through completion of the old basic education curriculum implemented by DepEd prior to the enactment of RA 10533, or by passing DepEd’s Alternative Learning System Accreditation and Equivalency (ALS A&E) Test for the secondary level;

AND

2) (a) Take and pass UPOU’s Undergraduate Assessment Test (UgAT), unless he/she has taken the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) with a University Predicted Grade (UPG) of 2.800 or better; OR (b) He/She has completed at least 33 units of college with a general weighted average (GWA) of 2.5 or better from another UP unit or a GWA of 2.0 or better from another college or university outside of the UP System;

AND

3) Complete the UPOU Distance Education Readiness (DER) Module. If necessary, an applicant may also be advised to complete bridge courses offered by UPOU.

Notes: The UgAT is designed to assess both scholastic aptitude and the applicant's capability to undertake independent learning. The UgAT can be taken only once.

* subject to change upon the final approval of the UP Board of Regents

F. Admission Requirements for New Students

An application for admission will only be processed when OUR receives the documentary requirements in hard copy format within the deadline for admission for your preferred term of admission. Only applicants with approved applications and complete admission requirements will be allowed to enroll.

For foreign applicants, UPOU does not require its students to be in residence in the Philippines; hence, it could not assist in the issuance of 9(F) Student Visa.

The undergraduate admission requirements are as follows:

1. Accomplished Application for Admission Form for Undergraduate program.
2. Original copy of academic credentials:
   • If a former UP student: Original copy of the Official Transcript of Records (OTR) indicating date cleared by the concerned UP units and a Permit to Transfer;
   • If a former college student of another higher education institution: Original copy of the Official Transcript of Records (OTR). The OTR should bear the school’s dry seal and imprint, and the Registrar’s signature in ink, and must bear an acceptable remarks.
   • If a former college student of multiple schools: Original copy of the Official Transcript of Records (OTR) from the last school attended. The latest OTR should reflect all credentials from prior school/s. The OTR should bear the school’s dry seal and imprint, and the Registrar’s signature in ink, and must bear an acceptable remarks.
   • If a student holds an international scholastic records: Original copy of scholastic records with citation ‘copy for UP Open University’ duly authenticated by the Philippine Foreign Service Post located in the student applicant’s country of origin or legal residence;
3. Proof of payment of application fee (non-refundable) amounting to PHP 350.00 for applicants based in the Philippines or USD 75.00 for applicants based abroad. View the payment procedures here.
4. Two pieces identical 2” x 2” photos and two pieces identical 1” x 1” photos, with your name and the program applied for printed at the back of the photos;
5. Photocopy of NSO or PSA Birth Certificate;
6. Photocopy of government-issued IDs with photo;
7. Additional requirements for foreign applicants (non-Filipino):
   • Scholastic Records duly authenticated by the Philippine Foreign Service Post located in the student applicant’s country of origin or legal residence;
   • Photocopy of data page of the student’s passport showing date and place of birth, and birth certificate or its equivalent duly authenticated by the Philippine Foreign Service Post.

G. Admission Procedures for New Students

UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) Qualifiers

UPCAT Qualifiers are senior students (i.e. Fourth Year, Grade 12, Senior 6) who have chosen to study at UPOU under the BAMS or BES program and have taken and passed the most recent UPCAT.  UPCAT qualifiers should wait for an email from the Office of the University Registrar for instructions for confirmation of admission in UPOU and prepare the following requirements:

1. Original Form 137
2. Original Form 138
3. Photocopy of NSO/PSA birth certificate
4. 2 pcs identical 2×2 and 1×1 pictures

UPCAT qualifiers are also required to complete the online Distance Education Readiness Module (DERM). The OUR shall send the information about the DERM by email.

Applicants to the AA Program OR Transferees to BAMS or BES

Applicants should take note of the deadline for submission of applications specified in the academic calendar and should follow the procedure for application below.

NOTE

Applications shall not be acted upon unless the required documents are uploaded in the Online Application Form on or before the deadline for submission of application documents. Furthermore, this form requires applicants to upload their admission requirements, and once submitted, will no longer allow edits. It is recommended to complete all admission requirements first before filling-out this form.

Applicants who are unable to secure official academic records such as Transcript of Records, Copy of Grades, Form 137, or academic certifications due to COVID-19 pandemic are advised to send an email to [email protected] for possible consideration.

While online submission of application requirements is accepted for now, all admitted applicants are required to submit the hard copy of admission requirements, especially the valid copy of TOR/Form 137 and 138, before the end of the 1st Trimester AY 2020-2021 to:

UPOU Admission Section 

Office of the University Registrar 

UP Open University 

Los Baños, Laguna 4031 Philippines 

Step 2: Complete the DE Readiness Module (DERM). The link to the DERM will be emailed by admissions.

Step 3: Wait for an email from the OUR for the admission results. Results of the evaluation will be released after the evaluation of the Undergraduate Admissions Committee and before the registration/enrollment period of the applied term.

Admission Procedures to AA, BAMS, and BES

Click on the solution articles below for the complete admission procedure to the:

• Associate in Arts program
• Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Studies program
• Bachelor of Education Studies program