Clearly, a fundamental change was needed by the University to
assure its long-term development, which would have to embody the twin
objectives of maintaining academic quality standards and ensuring
financial viability, and in the long run, maintaining and enhancing its
position of leadership within the Philippine educational system.
The key to maintaining and improving quality was the retention of
first-rate faculty and the continued ability to recruit the best talents for
n e w positions. This in turn wa s possible only with significant increases
in salary rates. Thus revenue increases would have to be sufficient to
cover both faculty and staff salary rises as well as the costs of improving
physical and educational facilities and equipment on campus.
Faced with these problems, the possible solutions seemed to narrow
dow n to the following:
the usual procedure of increasing tuition and other fees, which,
at best, provided only a short-term and inadequate solution
because of existing government regulations limiting tuition and
fee increases below that of the rate of inflation;
° the other usual procedure of increasing the number of students
which, apparently, also only provided a short-term and
inadequate solution because of the limited size of the compact
urban campus and the limited facilities and equipment housed
therein;
e
the construction of additional buildings and classrooms which
would entail enormous construction costs and financial
implications;