MAPÚA University targets to double its enrollment count in the coming years in line with the 10-year development plan of Ayala-Yuchengco-led iPeople, Inc., its top official said on Thursday.
“Our target is to continually increase [the number of enrollments],” Mapúa President and Chief Executive Officer Dodjie S. Maestrecampo said in a media briefing. “I think we will have to double or triple the current size of our system.”
Mr. Maestrecampo said growth in student numbers would be mainly achieved through the expansion of the school’s network or the building of new campuses.
“We are also keen on growing our digital or fully online programs,” he added.
Additionally, he said the university will mainly focus on the 10-year development plan earlier implemented by iPeople that aims to increase the number of students and achieve sustainable financing.
iPeople, together with House of Investments, owns and operates its main subsidiary, Malayan Education System, Inc., which operates under the name of Mapúa University.
“We have just started our collaboration, and this is just three or four years after the merger. We crafted a 10-year development plan under the whole iPeople group, and we are focused on achieving those targets,” he added.
The company, in 2019, merged with AC Education, Inc., the education arm of Ayala Corp., with iPeople as the surviving entity.
The merger resulted in the acquisition of three additional operating subsidiaries: National Teachers College, University of Nueva Caceres, and Affordable Private Education Center, Inc., which is doing business under the name of APEC Schools.
During the first quarter, iPeople reported an attributable net income of P244.73 million, up 25.1% from P195.59 million in the same period last year.
In the three-month period, the company’s topline rose by 23% to P1.07 billion from P870.5 million the prior year.
Meanwhile, Mapúa announced the appointment of Mr. Maestrecampo as president and chief executive, making him the university’s fourth president since 1925.
He concurrently serves as president of its higher education units in Laguna and Mindanao, under the Ayala-Yuchengco partnership.
“I am committed to leading Mapúa into a new era of excellence and ensuring our university is where students can thrive, learn, and grow,” he said in a statement.
The university said that under Mr. Maestrecampo’s tenure, it will continue to introduce more groundbreaking, future-ready programs and courses to enable students to hone global competencies using cutting-edge technologies. — Adrian H. Halili