F2F CLASSES. Pangasinan State University (PSU) president Dr. Dexter Buted (middle) gives an update on the status of the nine campuses of the PSU in a press conference on Monday (July 25, 2022). Buted said the board members of the school have decided to push through with face-to-face classes by September. (Photo by Hilda Austria) BAYAMBANG, Pangasinan - The nine campuses of the Pangasinan State University (PSU) will hold face-to-face (F2F) classes by September. In a press conference on Monday, PSU president Dr. Dexter Buted said the board members of the school have agreed to have F2F classes despite the challenges that might be encountered. "We are preparing and will be securing safety seal from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as well as invested in a lot of resources in response to the requirement of CHED and the Department of Health," he said. Buted said the laboratory-intensive subjects and practical evaluations will be done in person while they are still consulting with the students and teachers the prototype to be used for the lecture-type subjects. "Lecture-type subjects could be through blended learning, F2F, or through learning management system (LMS). We have invested in electronic libraries through LMS. Purchased gadgets for teachers and some students as well as smart televisions," he said. He added the speech laboratories were also upgraded. PSU vice president for academic affairs, Dr. Manolito Manuel said they are consulting with the students and faculty for the models that should be used. "It will depend if the subject is lecture-intensive or laboratory-intensive as well as in the number of programs and number of students in a program, and the faculty available and to be recruited," he said. Meanwhile, the PSU may now have collaborative programs and projects with the provincial and the local government units as the former lifted the "persona non grata" status of Buted. Buted said he was thankful to the new set of provincial board members for recalling the resolution declaring him persona non grata in 2016. "There are a lot of things that can be done with the provincial government and the municipal or city governments. I am happy with the decision," he added. Buted said PSU and the province will be signing a memorandum of agreement soon for the different programs and projects regarding research, community extension programs and scholarships, and gender and development programs. The PSU has 31,800 students in the previous school year, and there are 22,000 applicants for incoming freshmen this year. (PNA) }