About the College
About the College of Computer Studies
During the advent of computerization in the Philippines, UIC saw the need to respond to the technological needs of the community. It applied to offer Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (BSCS) in 1994 and was granted recognition on June 15, 1998. In response to the growing industry demand for information and communications technology professionals here and abroad, UIC applied to offer Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) and Bachelor of Science in Information Management (BSIM) in 2000. Both programs were granted recognition on May 23, 2003. Collectively, these programs formed part of the Information Technology Education (ITE) of the university.
In compliance with the Commission on Higher Education Memorandum Order number 53 series of 2006 (CMO 53 s. 2006), having new guidelines for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Information Systems (BSIS) in replacement of the Bachelor of Science in Information Management (BSIM), UIC applied to offer BSIS and was granted recognition on November 22, 2010. On March 23, 2007, UIC-ITE was given by CHED the recognition as a Center of Development (COD) for Information Technology. A COD is expected to take lead in uplifting the quality of education in their respective disciplines and in their areas of responsibility.
Having foreseen the expanding need for specialization of IT professionals as asserted by the industry, the Program revised its curriculum offering of the BSIT course. This resulted in the offering of the first BSIT with three specific specializations: a) Software Engineering, b) Computer Networking, and c) Multimedia. These specializations in BSIT were formally offered in June 2007. UIC-ITE then established itself as one of the largely populated divisions in the college department with over 750 enrollees, a remarkable increase in its history.
UIC-ITE became the first and only institution, at the time in the region, to offer BSIT with majors/specializations in Software Engineering, Computer Networks, and Multimedia. The major was offered to give students focus and direction for their career path and to cater to their interests.
By August 2009, the UIC-ITE had its PAASCU (Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities) formal visit, and by December of the same year, UIC-ITE was granted Level 1 status with the accreditation being valid for 3 years.
In 2014, the university put up the I.T. Development and Incubation Facility (ITDIF). This incubation facility aims to put the University’s research outputs into use by assisting start-up companies and entrepreneurs-to-be through a comprehensive business assistance program. It also offers ICT services to external clients. This gave opportunities for internships to the BSIT students.
Once again, the Information Technology program of the College of Computer Studies was designated as a Center of Development for three years by CHED through its memorandum order number 38, series of 2015.
The advent of K to 12, Industry 4.0, and the implementation of Outcomes Based Education in the Philippines paved the way for updating the specialized courses in Information Technology, namely, BSIT major in Healthcare Technologies, and BSIT major in Learning Technologies which were offered in 2018. This is another milestone for CCS being the only school offering such specializations.
Moreover, in support of the Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF), a collaborative partnership with Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) was sought. Hence, two courses that can lead to the attainment of National Certificate (NC) III, have been in the BSIT Program.
In 2019, recognizing the need to align the university’s structure with international standards, the cluster of programs was renamed into colleges, from which UIC-ITE was named College of Computer Studies (CCS) through the university president’s Memorandum # 9 AY 2019-2020.
In 2020, the world was hit with the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the College of Computer Studies stilll endeavoured to provide quality education and engage in research and community development. The university was able to continue providing quality education through various learning modalities. In 2021, the Mindanao Natural Language Processing Research and Development Laboratory (MinNaLProc R&D Lab) was established through a funding from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). This research laboratory was established with the aim developing Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies for Mindanao languages, especially the endangered ones. The year 2022 saw a gradual recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and CCS was able to produce the first batch of its Outcomes-Based Education curricula.
The following year 2023, another technology business incubation facility named Marian TBI (Mobilizing Advanced Research and Innovations to Advocate Nation-Building Technology Business Incubator) was established through another funding from DOST. Marian TBI provides an avenue for converting research and development outputs of students, faculty, and researchers into startups, focusing on the healthcare sector. In the same year, the BSIT program underwent a programme assessment by the ASEAN Universities Network Quality Assurance (AUN-QA) for three days from March 28-30, 2023. On April 30, 2023, the BSIT program was granted the AUN-QA certification which was good for five years. This marks as another milestone for CCS being the only Mindanao university offering BSIT that was granted with AUN-QA certification at that time. Also in the same year, CCS underwent a 2-day visit by PAASCU on April 27-28, and was given a re-accredited status for the BSCS, BSIS, and BSIT programs on May 26, 2023.
At present, the University is just one among the very few universities which have an ISO certification. Thus, this poses a challenge in maintaining high-quality Catholic education, which is relevant to the demands of the time in molding future professionals who are catalysts of nurturing faith, building a passion for excellence, and developing lifelong learners with compassion for service that impacts transformation in a rapidly-changing society.
The University of the Immaculate Conception (UIC) takes on the challenge to lead in Humanities, Science, and Technology in a globalized society. It is her desire to provide transformative quality Ignacian Marian education, be relevant to the demands of the time, able to produce the ideal RVM Ignacian Marian graduates who are responsible global citizens imbued with profound faith in God, inspired by the spirituality of humble service, committed to a continuous search for excellence; and achieve its vision of a transformed society where persons live their dignity as children of God enjoying the fullness of life in Jesus Christ.