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maximize space.”
“It was not a removal of the conference hall. It was just a remodelling or a conversion of the facility into something that is more efficient because we have to maximize the space,” Vasco said.
The multi-purpose hall will be used for regular classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, while co-curricular activities will be accommodated on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
To make the schedule of classes more convenient for students, Vasco emphasized that they should be flexible enough to adjust their schedule depending on the availability of the rooms.
“We have very limited space in our college and four additional classrooms will make a lot of difference in the schedule of the students,” Vasco said.
According to him, the average class size in the Faculty for this year is 42 compared to 45 in the previous years. As of June 21, the Faculty recorded a total population of 3,857 students—almost a four percent increase from the 3,705 last year.
With the construction of four new classrooms, the administration seeks more time for the maintenance of every facility.
“We want our classrooms to be free at a certain time of the day unlike last year wherein it was used from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. We also need time for maintenance,” Vasco said.
In October this year, a Learning Research Unit (LRU) will be built as an annex to the computer laboratory.
“We will retain the first room as computer laboratory and the annex will be used as the LRU for the research needs of the students,” Vasco said. The Dean’s office has purchased 50 computer units and tables for the LRU.

Room transfer

According to Vasco, a plan to transfer the faculty room on the second floor is set on April 2012.
The proposed faculty room will be transferred to rooms 210, 212, 214, and 216. The old faculty room and the chair’s office in the ground floor will be converted into classrooms while the Creative Writing Center will be used as a consultation room for students.
“It is just like off-setting. Since we are taking four classrooms in the second floor, then we have to transfer them in the first floor,” Vasco said.
“It will be better that way because when it gets flooded, there are no files, only chairs,” he added. “The offices must really be in the second floor.”
Meanwhile, the establishment of a formal organization room for Artlets is being discussed by the administration.
According to Vasco, a plan to renovate the current office holding the Artlets Student Council, the Flame, and Pax Romana is also being considered. A mezzanine will be put up should the need arises.
“All we can do is a vertical expansion and not a second floor,” Vasco said. “If possible, we can adjust the ceiling to accommodate a mezzanine.”
Despite the creation of new classrooms and other facilities, Artlets will still have to borrow classrooms from the College of Commerce.
According to Vasco, the borrowing of classrooms is an agreement between the Faculty and the College. The Dean’s office borrows three classrooms in Commerce from Monday to Friday at 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., while Commerce also uses Artlets facilities every Saturday.
“Instead of constructing, why not maximize the availability of idle spaces or rooms?” Vasco said.
When asked about the plan to establish a separate Artlets building, Vasco said, “As the dean of this Faculty, it is a dream for me to provide its own building, but this will entail a lot of material resource.”
Aside from the construction of new rooms, the Faculty also purchased 600 chairs, 20 air conditioning units, 10 projectors, five television sets, four Digital Versatile Disk players with Universal Serial Bus ports, three laptop computers, a Xerox machine, and a new public address system.