To: Bureau Directors
Regional Directors
Presidents, State Colleges and Universities
Heads of Private Schools, Colleges and Universities
Vocational School Superintendents/Administrators

1. The level codes for all courses shall be corrected as follows:
   A – Secondary
   B – Collegiate Undergraduate
   C – Graduate
   D – Technical/Special Vocational
2. This Order reiterates the delineation of responsibility and areas of cooperation between the Bureau of Higher Education and the Bureau of Technical and Vocational Education set in DECS Order No. 36, s. 1987.
   1. The Bureau of Higher Education shall have primary responsibility for (1) all courses of study leading to the bachelor’s degree; (2) all degree courses of study beyond the bachelor’s level, inclusive of master’s and doctoral programs; and (3) those one-, two-, and three year courses of study with academic credit, the entire contents of which are components of baccalaureate programs, such as ladder-type curricula.
   2. The Bureau of Technical and Vocational Education shall have primary responsibility for (1) all technician and vocational courses which have a duration of at least three months but not more than three academic years; (2) all post-secondary programs which are not for academic credit towards a bachelor’s degree; and (3) all non-degree post secondary programs leading to skills-proficiency and similar courses in preparation for a particular occupation or group of middle-level occupations.
3. In particular, Inclosure No. 1 to this Order indicates, among others, the revised Program Codes; alphabetically arranged, while Inclosures Nos. 2 and 3 are listings of courses, including their corresponding Course Codes defining the areas of responsibility of the BHE and the BTVE.
4. Accordingly, a student who does not satisfy the residence requirements in a school of at least the last curriculum year of the course, but has complied with all other requirements, shall not be granted a special order for graduation but shall only be issued a certification of completion of the course.
5. New courses which are not in this Order shall be referred to the Bureau of Higher Education or the Bureau of Technical and Vocational Education, as the case may be, for their program and course code. The recognition certificate and the curricula of said course shall be submitted together with the requested codes.
6. The revised program and course coding system shall be observed and implemented effective January 4, 1988.
7. This Order supersedes all existing policies related to the delineation of the areas of responsibility between the BHE and the BTVE, the classification of post-secondary courses, and the coding system except those not inconsistent with this Order.

(SGD.) LOURDES R. QUISUMBING
Secretary

Incls.: As stated
References: MECS Orders: (Nos. 30, s. 1985 and 56, s. 1986)
DECS Orders: (Nos. 36 and 57, s. 1987)
Allotment: 1-4–(M.O. 1-87)

To be indicated in the Perpetual Index under the following subjects:
CHANGE
Course of Study, COLLEGIATE
RULES & REGULATIONS
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

DO_s1988_19