DESPITE THE Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB) maintaining a “satisfactory” rating in the latest student survey, its leadership and governance remained the lowest-rated indicator for four consecutive academic years.
AB posted an overall rating of 3.29, while its leadership and governance indicator received a rating of 3.23 in the e-Student Survey Satisfaction conducted during the previous academic year, according to data obtained by The Flame from the Office of Planning and Quality Management.
Nevertheless, AB’s latest leadership and governance score is its highest since 2022.
The student survey consisted of nine indicators: Thomasian identity (3.35), teaching and learning (3.33), research and innovation (3.31), resource management (3.31), public presence (3.29), community development and advocacy (3.28), student welfare and services (3.28), internationalization (3.27) and leadership and governance (3.23).
Since academic year 2022-2023, AB’s leadership and governance indicator has consistently ranked lowest.
obtaining a rating of 3.18 during that period. It continued to receive the lowest scores in academic years 2023-2024 (3.17), 2024-2025 (3.22) and 2025-2026 (3.23).
Among the questions under the leadership and governance indicator, the line “students are easily able to provide feedback, comments, or suggestions to concerned authorities,” received the lowest score from students at 3.09.
AB assistant dean Assoc. Prof. John Manuel Kliatchko said the result should be treated as an area for improvement and that the faculty needs to prioritize students’ experiences.
“It’s a point for improvement. It’s something that will continually tell us that we might have a lot of things in mind that we want to do, but let us give more emphasis or more importance on the aspects related to how students feel in our way of leading. Of course, it’s not just AB, it’s university-wide,” Kliatchko told The Flame.
For Kliatchko, improving student satisfaction also means addressing gaps in how the faculty responds to students’ concerns.
“Sometimes, we don’t immediately meet the needs of students. That’s something perhaps that we can look into. Maybe later, we need more immediacy in the way we respond to concerns,” he added.
The assistant dean added that the faculty’s future action plan would focus on addressing identified weaknesses and providing assistance where needed.
“Our action plan is where the weaknesses of the faculty and the weaknesses of an individual. But of course, it’s mostly the faculty because we’re a school. That’s where we’ll provide assistance,” Kliatchko said.
“So, if there’s a gap, let’s find ways to minimize the gap. Hopefully, that will help to improve the satisfaction of the students.”
A total of 3,878 of 4,262 AB students participated in the survey, which translates to a 91% response rate. F — with reports from Yimrhaq Mariano
