LEGAZPI CITY: The University of Santo Tomas (UST) here wants to be at par with the big universities in the country, notably those that are based in Manila.
No less than the school's newly installed rector, Fr. Edwin Lao, revealed that goal, saying he is envisioning the region's biggest catholic Dominican university as the center of innovation, transformative and academic excellence in Bicol.

Lao, the ninth rector and president of UST-Legazpi Legazpi, told The Manila Times that he wants the school to be at par with the UST-Manila and other big universities as primordial and bastion of academic excellence by producing outstanding graduates.
'Our mission is that we have to match and we want to be at par with UST Manila. You no longer go to Manila as a student as you would get the same education available in the region and spend less,' he said.
To achieve this, the rector said a world-class faculty and demanding academic programs are needed for UST-Legazpi to be included in the top 100 universities.
'I must admit that UST-Legazpi is not included in the top 100 universities, but the gauge of the students and the performance of the school is the result of the licensure examinations,' Lao said.
'UST Legazpi graduates placed in the top 10 licensure examinations. We will develop the culture of excellence. We should have a good roster of faculty,' he stressed.
The university, he said, offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses across various disciplines, including education, arts and sciences, business, humanities, social sciences, law, engineering, architecture, among others.
'The bulk of educating the people is in private schools but when it comes to the bulk of the budget goes to state universities and colleges. If you want a good education, you have to pay higher tuition fees. We're working thoroughly so that UST-Legazpi will be an autonomous university by 2025,' he said during the press conference before his installation here.
Lao said the school has achieved some remarkable accomplishments in academics and educational governance. He cited some of school achievements in the field of education, including a seventh placer in the bar exams of 2012, first and third placer in the 2019 bar exams and sixth placer 2023 medical technology licensure exam of 2023.
Very recently, he said, a graduate of the school placed eighth in psychometrician exams.
Aside from remarkable academics' licensure examination, the university's four programs accredited its Maed and MBA in Level 3, Level 2 in BSN, Business Administration, Liberal Arts and Teacher Education and Science High School, and Level 1 in Elementary.
He said that the university is spending P20 million per year cash outlay for salary adjustment even without tuition fee increase as part of UCAP — the University Continuation and Adaptation Plan during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022, the university was given ISO 9001:2015 certification.