The Community Extension of University as a Driving Factor to Societal Reform

Abstract

By virtue of Republic Act 7722, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) of the Philippines requires higher education institutions such as State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) to react to the need for societal reform. Educational institutions have a powerful role to play in improving the community's quality of life by sharing their knowledge, skills, best practices, and material resources. This is one of the purposes of the academy, which uses its experience and knowledge to benefit the public. This leads the researcher to investigate the community extension program of Isabela State University which aims to provide resources for teaching civic responsibility and compassion and determine the effects of the five-year community extension program of the University between January 2009 and December 2015. Several livelihood programs were introduced to the two adopted Barangays in Bitabian, San Mariano, Isabela, and Sta. Cruz, Benito Soliven, Isabela. The research design used in the study is descriptive and a modified survey instrument was used to determine the impact of the livelihood programs introduced to the adopted Barangays. Based on the findings, there had been a moderate improvement in community in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Because they had benefited from the livelihood initiatives, most of the respondents rated the impact of the programs highly. Moreover, the extension respondents’ profile in terms of civil status, educational attainment, occupation and gross monthly income are not factors on the perceived impact of the livelihood programs. It is also noted that the participants who participated regularly showed superior long-term outcomes and used the livelihood program as their source of living