Silliman University in the Philippines Serves 10,000+ Students from Kindergarten to Postgraduate with Open LMS

Known as one of the best and biggest universities in all of Asia, Silliman University, in Negros Oriental, Dumaguete City, has earned the title of being the "Center of Excellence" in the country. Established in 1901 by Protestant missionaries of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, it is the first American and Protestant "founded institution" of higher learning in the Philippines and the oldest American University in Asia. Silliman University, a private research university in the southern Philippines, is home to over 10,000 students - around 300 are international students from 53 countries across the globe.

eLearn Magazine had the privilege of being able to chat with Dr. Dave Marcial, Associate Professor at Silliman University. He is a technical committee member for IT Education of the Philippine Commission on Higher Education, Executive Director of the Asian University Digital Resource Network, Board of Trustees of Computing Society of the Philippines, former President of the Philippine Society of IT Educators, and Former Vice President Philippine eLearning Society. Dr. Marcial assumes a wide range of roles to support the university and promote student success in online learning especially in these challenging times for education in developing countries like the Philippines.

Currently, as the Director of SOUL (Silliman Online University Learning) and the President of Open LMS User Community in the Philippines, Dr. Marcial hopes to boost the students’ confidence in learning online with OLMS and equip the teachers with the tools necessary to be positive and dynamic community members.

Gleaned from this video interview were the five best reasons for promoting student success in the online learning environment through Open LMS: pedagogy capabilities, affordability, accessibility, technical support, and capacity to customization.