Visayas State University

The Open University (OU) at VSU aims to provide quality distance-study programs in agriculture and allied fields through distance learning to government employees and other individuals engaged in agriculture and rural development activities.

Research and development is part of the primary mission of the Visayas State University (VSU). The University’s mission of generating knowledge and technologies is aimed to contribute to the advancement of knowledge and understanding, and to the national goals of innovation, economic development, social development, and environmental sustainability. High quality research enables VSU academic staff to expand knowledge base, incorporate new ideas and apply innovation and into what is being taught. For years now, it has generated diverse breakthroughs in crop and livestock production, crop protection, plant breeding, postharvest technologies, food processing and biotechnology.

Goals are:

• Sustained Excellence in Instruction. Produce highly competent and world-class manpower in science and technology (S&T), especially for agriculture, environmental management and industries who are proficient in communication skills, critical thinking and analytical abilities.
• Innovative RDE System and Competitive S&T Products. Generate and disseminate relevant knowledge and technology that lead to improved productivity, profitability and sustainability in agriculture, environment and industries.
• Adequate and Sustainable Resource Generation Activities. Generate adequate resources to support the University's instruction, research and extension pursuits and physical infrastructure needs in the face of declining government subsidy to state universities and colleges (SUCs).
• Efficient, Effective and Client-Centered Administrative Support Services. Provide timely, accessible, acceptable and customer-friendly administrative support system that promotes partnership and sense of shared stewardship with students, faculty, alumni and other stakeholders.
• Functional and Adequate Physical Facilities and Infrastructure. Provide functional and adequate infrastructure and related facilities essential to a world-class instruction, innovative RDE, sustainable resource generation and efficient administration.

Objectives are:

• To strive for excellence in agriculture education for regional and rural development.
• To sharpen its focus on impact programs and projects in instruction, research, and the application of new knowledge for the well-being of the small Visayan farmers and rural families.
• To build enduring linkages with national and international institutions and agencies for the promotion of relevant instruction, meaningful research, and effective transmission of useful knowledge in the rural communities in the Visayas.

Core Values that will serve as guide for excellence in instruction, research, extension, and production:

• Relevance.It emphasizes pertinence and applicability of the University to the social well-being of its stakeholders. The University should continually pursue to contribute to society’s intellectual, cultural and economic progress. Its scientific and technological endeavors should be shaped by the demands of society, either in the form of knowledge in basic sciences or technology derived from applied and developmental researches.
• Integrity.The firm adherence to an upright moral code and ethical standards is vital in the University’s search for truth. An institution engaged in producing quality human capital and scientific innovation must remain incorruptible in a morally challenging environment. Integrity is crucial in forging synergistic partnerships between the University and its stakeholders. Partnerships founded upon integrity practice transparency and mutual trust.
• Truth.It is in accord with facts and reality and connotes sincerity in action, character and utterance. The character of an institution is shaped by its ability to stand by the truth and make use of it. The search for truth, the very essence of the academic institution, is the backbone of the scientific process where certainty of results is tested against all known facts. The University is an institution that stands by the truth, reasons in accordance with facts and manifests sincerity in utterances, action and character.
• Excellence.A value that centers on the imminent goodness of the quality of services, systems, and outputs of the University. An institution that consistently lives by excellent standards in anything that it does is effective in its search for truth and delivery of socially-relevant, scientific and technological contributions. The stakeholders of the University that includes its students, producers and industries deserve nothing but the best that the institution can offer.

The institution was established on June 2, 1924 as the Baybay Agricultural School (BAS)through a Provincial Board Resolution.In 1934, it was renamed Baybay Agricultural High School (BAHS) and was later converted into the Baybay National Agricultural School (BNAS) with the approval of Commonwealth Act No. 313 in 1938.BNAS was converted into the Visayas Agricultural College (VAC) by virtue of Republic Act (RA) No. 2831 issued on June 19, 1960.

The institution attained rapid growth and development following its conversion into Visayas State College of Agriculture (ViSCA) on May 24, 1974 through Presidential Decree (PD) No. 470 and amended by PD No. 700 on May 12, 1975. In 1999, four institutions of higher education in the province of Leyte were integrated into the College to create a five-campus ViSCA system.ViSCA became Leyte State University (LSU) through RA No. 9158 issued on August 11, 2001. LSU became Visayas State University (VSU) on April 27, 2007 by virtue of RA No. 9437.

VSU’s mandate is the Visayas. The establishment of VSU realized the thrust of the Philippine government to develop three Zonal Agricultural Universities (ZAU’s) – to serve major regions of the country: for the Visayas, Visayas State University (VSU); for Mindanao, the Central Mindanao University (CMU); and for Luzon, the Central Luzon State University (CLSU).