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AMA Computer University (AMACU) is a university located in Project 8, Quezon City , Philippines . It focuses mainly on electronic, information, and communication technologies. It is one of the brands of the AMA Education Group. It uses a trimestral calendar where a typical four year collegiate education program under a semestral calendar is completed in only 3 years and 3 months. The AMA Education Group is considered as one of the fastest growing educational institutions in the Philippines with an annual completion rate of 3000-4000 graduates. However this institution is also one of the lowest in terms of student loyalty with less than 100 participants attending the alumni homecoming and other extra-curricular programs. HISTORY AMA Institute AMA Computer University was founded by the Amable M. Aguiluz, Sr. His son, Dr. Amable R. Aguiluz, resolved to educate the computer market based on his experience in computer sales. Aguiluz founded the AMA Institute of Computer Studies with first computer school along Shaw Boulevard on October 20 , 1980 . At that time, AMA Institute of Computer Studies offered short-term courses in Electronic Data Processing Fundamentals, Basic Programming, and Technology Career. Only 13 students enrolled at the AMA Institute of Computer Studies during the first semester. AMA Computer College, branches and sister schools AMA Computer College came into existence in June 1981. It extended its services through a four-year Bachelor Of Science degree in Computer Science . With only a handful of students in its first year of administration, the AMACC student population rose dramatically from 600 in 1983 to 2,000 in 1985 in its first official campus in Makati City . Shortly after, it established its main campus in Quezon City . Two provincial campuses were then founded in Cebu and Davao . With the passage of the Philippine Higher Education Act of 1994, privately controlled educational institutions' academic fees were deregulated. AMA solved the problem of low student population by embarking on an aggressive marketing, advertising and information campaign. With this type of strategy, profit-oriented schools started to grow. The emergence of AMACC also led to the birth of AMA Computer Learning Center (ACLC) in 1986 and AMA Telecommunication & Electronic Learning Center in 1996. The former engages in offering short-course programs for professionals and two-year technical/vocational courses for those who wish to acquire employment skills. The latter is the one of the first schools in the Philippines to concentrate on telecommunication, electronics, and related technology. AMA has adopted a principle of being the first to do things. It was the first school in the country to fully integrate Internet in its curriculum. Internet services were provided to all its campuses. Since 1987, all major AMA colleges have been interconnected through a Local Area Network (LAN), which virtually converted them into one nationwide school system. AMA is also the first and only school in the country to have successfully held a Teleconference between its High School students and another high school class in Canada in 1994. In 1991, Aguiluz was able to gain full accreditation for AMA Computer College in the American League Of Colleges And Universities (ALOCU), thus, making AMA the first Filipino and non-American school to be so honored. Moreover, AMACC became an official member of the John F. Kennedy Educational Institute in Japan. AMACC is also accredited by the National Computer Center of the United Kingdom . Elevation to University AMA Computer College in Quezon City was certified by the SGS or Société Générale De Surveillance International Certification Services Canada, Inc. The certification was given formally by SG-ICS in March 1999. This means that AMACC’s quality Management System has been assessed and registered as it fulfills the requirements of ISO 9001 . The ISO certification is being maintained. It is also monitored by assessors every six months. AMACC Quezon City was conferred with University Status by the Commission On Higher Education (CHED) on August 20, 2001. AMA Computer College of Quezon City became AMA Computer University. Sometime in 2004, AMA Computer University inked a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University 's ''iCarnegie'' to use its curriculum and courses through e-learning. As stated by iCarnegie President and CEO Allan Fisher, "the academic relationship between STI and iCarnegie went well, the business side of the agreement did not go as planned". ( INQ7 Related Articles ) Other AMA Computer College Campuses The Philippine Commission On Higher Education ( CHED ) did not accredit other AMA campuses to use the title “ University ” and only permitted to use the title of “ College ” or “ Institute ” as these campuses have not met the requirements needed by the Philippine academic regulatory body. The AMA Education Group has an annual student population of 150,000 and more than 200 campuses in the Philippines and other parts of the world. However, the AMA USA campus is not accredited. Later on, as disclosed by a former officer of AMAES of a high position, a case lost by the AMA Group of Companies ensured retrenchment of offices and lay-offs. This eventually lead to the hasty implementation of e-Learning courses so as to cover loss of instructors. Yet, some branches, like AMA Davao, were not granted permit to carry on with e-Learning courses because the commission considers these as Open Learning/Distance Education courses unless these courses are supplementary. On Nov 12, 2004, 23 Philippine nursing schools were disqualified, including AMA Computer College, Makati. CHED chairman Rolando dela Rosa ordered these schools to close. The 23 schools were not granted permits (upon recommendation of Technical Committee for Nursing Education (TCNE) and regional offices) because they failed to comply with these requirements: a qualified dean, a compliant curriculum, a faculty staff with masteral degree in nursing, a base hospital where students can hold their actual training. A few weeks after, dela Rosa resigned after AMACC appealed the case to President Gloria Arroyo . Many of the offered courses in most of the AMACC and ACLC small branches are not accredited. There was this case of electronics and communications engineering students were not allowed to take the board exams because their course were not recognized by the Commission on Higher Education. DEGREES OFFERED Undergraduate programs College of Computer Studies
College of Engineering
College of Business Administration and Accountancy
College of Arts and Sciences
College of Education
Graduate programs
Basic education programs AMA Computer University also caters pre-school, elementary, and high school programs under the brand St. Augustine International School. These programs are under strict monitoring of the Philippine Department of Education. AMA COMPUTER UNIVERSITY TOWN The AMA Education Group is now drawing a blueprint of a wide campus named ''University Town.'' Proposed to complete in celebration of its 30th year in 2010, the AMA Computer University Town is a 50-hectare property in General Trias , Cavite . It draws its inspiration from old universities in the western world that spurred rapid development in the Host Township and created neighborhoods that are safe, liveable and walkable. It adopts the Telepolis Concept that will create a township which is a translation of the Information Age Technology in built space instead of cyber space. The University Town will serve as another type of multi-use development, a primary institutional complex in a park-like setting. A network of open space and walkable distances from once destination to the other is laid out primarily to encourage the end-users to walk instead of using motorized vehicles. Another design concept is the integration of technology and nature. The capital being used on the development of the Telepolis is drawn from austerity measures, retrenchment, and legal but immoral strategies implemented in AMA schools thereby affecting the quality of education in these institutions. The rest were poured into marketing advertisements to gain better commercial publicity from rival schools. Key elements
:The AMA icon is found in the area that serves as venue for congregation and maximum social contact.
:A network of open areas and sheltered places supports IT Activities through utilities that allow hooking up to the internet service and power supply for computer notebook users. The hub also pertains to other areas like the Internet cafes, bars, clubhouses, cooperative houses or student joints. It is called interactive since it encourages real-time interaction among students and other users at anytime anywhere in the world.
:A township in itself, the town center will serve the more commercial needs of the university such as retail, entertainment, neighborhood services and computer-related activities which can be found within a walking distance from any point of origin. The idea is to achieve a self-contained development and at the same time to service the other neighboring communities in the vicinity.
:This tree-lines major road will serve as the Main University Avenue where vehicular and pedestrian circulation is regulated by traffic signs and controls.
:The damning of the creek will serve as the potential river walk that will be a highlight of the open space of the University.
:As the architecture centerpiece, the IT Center is envisioned as an IT Park of e-learning and global on-line university. It serves as the university icon, symbolizing AMA’s vision towards excellence in IT education and technology.
:Accentuated by the Ester delos Reyes Aguiluz Memorial Medical Hospital, the Institutional Area incorporates the different buildings, facilities and equipment of the University that are dedicated to education.
:The master-planned residential enclave within the university's premises is an income-generating prime real estate. The faculty, students, executives or those who are interested to live in the University have choices from single detached to multiple family dwelling units. SISTER SCHOOLS
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