Dr. Melinda dP. Bandalaria, Dean of the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies, is the fourth Chancellor of UPOU.Dr. Melinda dP. Bandalaria was appointed as the fourth Chancellor of the UP Open University at the 1314th meeting of the UP Board of Regents on 29 January 2016. Her appointment is effective 29 February 2016 to 28 February 2019.
Dr. Bandalaria was appointed following the institution of a search process for the next UPOU Chancellor by the UP Office of the President in October 2015, which included a public forum with the nominees in December 2016, where Dr. Bandalaria presented her 9-point plan in her vision statement for the university.
By 2019, she envisions for UPOU to have pushed for more openness and sharing, codified the quality assurance framework in Open and Distance eLearning (ODeL), increased student population and course and program completion rates, developed a learning support system appropriate for ODeL, achieved administrative efficiency, increased the participation of students and alumni in student activities, promoted staff welfare through good work-life balance, harnessed the potentials of partnership and linkages, and improved the university's information and communication system.
Dr. Bandalaria is the incumbent Dean of the UPOU Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS). Prior to this, she served as UPOU's University Registrar, UPOU's Coordinator of Offshore Students, and Director of the UPOU Office of Student Affairs. She teaches courses under the Master of Development Communication, Master of Distance Education, Doctor of Communication and Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Studies programs of UPOU.
As a development communication and distance education practitioner, she has been a strong advocate of the use of information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D). She has led several national training programs that aimed to empower women, teachers, and students with ICT skills. She has long been involved in ICT-based teacher development programs. Recently, she led several projects on the development of massive open online courses on android apps development, business process management, child rights protection and promotion.
For her contributions in in the field of development communication, Dr. Bandalaria was selected as one of the five 2014 UPLB College of Development Communications Distinguished Alumni and the Outstanding UPLBAA Alumni Awardee in Communication Education. She has published several studies, journal articles, and book chapters in open and distance learning, knowledge management, and development communication.
She has a PhD in Development Communication from the University of the Philippines Los Baños and took her Graduate Certificate in Distance Education at the Indiana University, Bloomington, USA. (Anna Cañas-Llamas)
