University of the Visayas

The University of the Visayas (UV) is an educational institution located at Cebu City, Philippines. It is billed as the first school in the entire province of Cebu who gained a university status. The University of the Visayas is an eight-campus, province-wide system of higher education and lower level laboratory schools. University of the Visayas Main Campus along Colon Street, Cebu City. Colon Street is known to be the oldest street in the country. There are two campuses in Cebu City: the main campus occupying almost one city block bounded by Colon, D. Jakosalem and Sanciangko Streets and a laboratory high school in Pardo. The main campus has six multi-storey buildings including a gymnasium.

The University of the Visayas (UV) builds and embraces a sustainable research culture while harnessing the talents and potentials of its stakeholders and promoting cultural, environmental, spiritual and societal responsibility.With this commitment, the University capacitates students, faculty, and staff with research skills. While espousing scholarly inquiry in both academic and non-academic endeavors, it utilizes and communicates results to produce principled professionals who are responsive to the demands of time.

The University of the Visayas is open to students who meet its academic standards and who are personally qualified to acquire a formal education, has the personal aptitude to carry on a directed school work as expected of them culturally, emotionally, mentally and professionally, socially adaptable, communicative proficiency in the English language and are willing to abide by the rules, values and ideals of the institution.Returnees or returning students are students who have been discharged from the University of the Visayas either through graduation or by their own will or volition, or those who have discontinued their studies in the University for some reasons but do not have valid leaves of absence in-placed; provided that they have not enrolled in any program in any other higher education institution after leaving the University of the Visayas.

Continuing students are those previously enrolled in the University in the immediately preceding semester, or has valid leaves of absence for the period during which they have discontinued their studies, and are enrolled in the same course.At the time of his enrolment, a continuing student must have a copy of his/her grades for all the subjects of the previous semester and must submit this to the enrolment in-charge for evaluation.

The University of the Visayas was founded by the late Don Vicente A. Gullas in 1919 as the Visayan Institute (V.I.) in Cebu City. The second World War razed to the ground the physical facilities of the V.I. at its original site. Undaunted by adversities, Don Vicente reopened classes in Argao, Cebu in 1946. A year later the V.I. moved back to its present site in Colon Street, Cebu City.

As early as its founding, the V.I. had pioneered in education innovations to provide equal education opportunities for those who have the capability and the desire for improving themselves. It was the first to conduct night school class for working students in Cebu City in the 1940s. The “study now pay later plan” had been a practice at the V.I. long before it was adopted by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) in the 1980s.In 1948, the Visayan Institute was awarded university status, the first to become a university in Cebu, and was renamed the University of the Visayas. Since then the expansion in its baccalaureate and post graduate course offerings and in its physical facilities has been phenomenal. From an initial enrollment of 37 students the V.I. evolved into a university with an enrollment of 20,000 distributed throughout its campuses. Its alumni have distinguished themselves in government service and public administration, and in the professions of law, engineering and architecture, pharmacy, medicine, nursing, education, criminology, maritime and nautical, computer studies as well as in sports and the arts.

The seal is the official symbol of the university.As described in the University Articles of Incorporation, the seal is a circular shield inside which is inscribed the philosophy of the University of the Visayas: Amor, Servitum Humanitas (Love and Service to Humanity) and the year 1919, the year of its founding. At the center of the seal is the shrine of the Magellan’s cross, typifying the Cristian ideals which inspired the founding of the University, against a background symbolic of Philippine communities to portray the leadership development areas which the University had envisioned to serve at the time of its founding.

An open book and the torch of knowledge represent the ideals of academic excellence that the university aims to achieve. Bordering the circular shield are two circular lines in between which is the name, University of the Visayas and Cebu City, it’s main location.The equal distance between the two circular lines signifies the equality of educational opportunities for all with proven competence regardless of socio-economic status, race or creed and the non-discriminatory policy of the university, insofar as faculty and students are concerned. The outer circle is bordered by the University colors of green and white in continuous series of rounded projections of green, alternating with white.