Cebu Normal University
SDG-No Poverty

CEBU NORMAL UNIVERSITY’S FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND SCHOLARSHIP SCHEMES FOR ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

November 5, 2026 • jeylourd alcontin

Indicator 1.3.5 – Institutional Schemes to Support Students from Low- and Lower-Middle-Income Countries

Introduction

Cebu Normal University (CNU), a state university in the Philippines, promotes equitable access to quality higher education through free tuition, scholarships, and financial assistance programs.

Recognizing that economic difficulties can prevent qualified students from pursuing tertiary education, the University implements government-supported initiatives and facilitates scholarship opportunities through its Office of Scholarship Services. These mechanisms help reduce financial barriers and support students in pursuing their academic aspirations.

Implementation of Free Higher Education

One of CNU’s principal mechanisms for supporting financially disadvantaged students is the implementation of Republic Act No. 10931, otherwise known as the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.

Section 2 of the law promotes educational opportunities across socioeconomic groups and prioritizes academically capable students from poor families. Section 4 provides free tuition and other school fees for qualified Filipino undergraduate students enrolled in state universities and colleges, subject to applicable eligibility requirements.

As a state university, CNU implements this national policy, enabling qualified undergraduate students to pursue higher education without paying tuition and other covered school fees. This provision is particularly beneficial to students from low-income households, for whom educational expenses can be a substantial financial burden.

Scholarship and Financial Assistance Programs

Beyond free tuition, CNU offers a range of scholarships and financial assistance through its Office of Scholarship Services.

According to the University’s Scholarship Program Report for School Year 2025–2026, a total of 2,740 scholarship awards were recorded across 12 programs. These include government-supported, local government, and externally funded scholarship initiatives.

Scholarship Programs and Reported Scholars

Scholarship Program
Reported Scholars
ABBA Scholarship
3
Albarracin Scholarship
60
Cebu City Scholarship
776
CHED FULL
85
CHED HALF
109
CHED COSCHO
2
DBP Inspire (Batch 1)
50
DOST SEI Program
161
PLDT SMART Foundation
13
TDP SUC
200
Tulong Dunong Program–TES
276
Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES)
1,005
TOTAL
2,740

These programs demonstrate CNU’s participation in multiple financial assistance arrangements. Depending on their respective eligibility conditions and benefits, scholarships can help students meet educational expenses that may not be covered by free tuition.

The reported total represents scholarship program counts and should not automatically be interpreted as 2,740 unique beneficiaries, since the report does not indicate whether recipients overlap across programs.

Financial Assistance for Economically Disadvantaged Students

The Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) is particularly relevant to CNU’s support for financially disadvantaged students.

Section 7 of Republic Act No. 10931 establishes the TES and provides for prioritization of students based on socioeconomic circumstances, including households identified through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction, commonly associated with Listahanan.

CNU’s scholarship report documents 1,005 TES awards during School Year 2025–2026, making it the largest individual scholarship category in the report.

Additionally, the University recorded:

  • 276 awards under the Tulong Dunong Program–TES.
  • 200 awards under TDP SUC.

These programs further demonstrate the availability of financial assistance mechanisms for eligible students.

Such assistance is important because students may encounter expenses beyond tuition, including transportation, accommodation, learning materials, and daily educational needs. Financial support can help address these challenges and contribute to continued participation in higher education.

Government and External Scholarship Partnerships

CNU’s scholarship assistance framework includes programs associated with government agencies, local government institutions, and external organizations.

Among the documented initiatives are:

  • Cebu City Scholarship – 776 reported scholars
  • DOST-SEI Program – 161 reported scholars
  • CHED FULL – 85 reported scholars
  • CHED HALF – 109 reported scholars
  • DBP Inspire (Batch 1) – 50 reported scholars
  • PLDT SMART Foundation – 13 reported scholars

The University also facilitates scholarships associated with other government and external partners.

These programs expand the range of financial assistance opportunities available to eligible students. While some scholarships may prioritize financial need, others may consider academic merit, program specialization, or additional eligibility requirements.

Their combined presence demonstrates the University’s engagement with multiple scholarship providers in supporting students’ educational pursuits.

Institutional Reach and Educational Accessibility

CNU’s commitment to accessible higher education is also reflected in its undergraduate enrollment across several campuses.

According to the Summary of Enrollment for the First Semester of School Year 2026–2027, certified by the Office of the University Registrar as of October 5, 2026, CNU recorded a total of 8,848 undergraduate students.

Undergraduate Enrollment by Campus

Campus
Number of Students
Main Campus
6,714
Balamban Campus
1,106
Medellin Campus
932
Alegria Campus
40
Argao Campus
24
Catmon Campus
32
TOTAL
8,848

The University’s presence across multiple locations provides educational opportunities beyond its main campus in Cebu City. This geographic distribution may help improve accessibility for students residing in different municipalities.

Contribution to Educational Equity and Poverty Reduction

Through free higher education and scholarship assistance, CNU contributes to efforts to reduce economic barriers to tertiary education.

These initiatives are consistent with the objectives of the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

Sustainable Development Goal 1 – No Poverty

Financial assistance programs help address economic barriers that may prevent students from pursuing and completing higher education.

Sustainable Development Goal 4 – Quality Education

Free tuition and scholarship opportunities promote inclusive access to quality tertiary education, particularly for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Free tuition reduces direct educational costs, while scholarships provide additional opportunities for eligible students to obtain financial assistance. Together, these mechanisms can support access to and participation in higher education.

Conclusion

Cebu Normal University demonstrates its commitment to supporting economically disadvantaged students by implementing Republic Act No. 10931 and facilitating government-funded and externally supported scholarship programs.

The University’s Scholarship Program Report for School Year 2025–2026 documents 2,740 scholarship awards across 12 programs, including 1,005 Tertiary Education Subsidy awards.

Its enrollment report further records 8,848 undergraduate students across its campuses during the First Semester of School Year 2026–2027.

Collectively, these documents establish that CNU participates in financial assistance schemes that reduce barriers to higher education in the Philippines.

Although the available records do not establish the precise number of low-income beneficiaries, they demonstrate that the University provides educational support mechanisms consistent with its commitment to accessibility, inclusion, and equitable educational opportunities.

Supporting Documents

  1. Republic Act No. 10931 – Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (2017).
  2. Cebu Normal University, Office of Scholarship Services – Scholarship Program Report, School Year 2025–2026.
  3. Cebu Normal University, Office of the University Registrar – Summary of Enrollment, First Semester, School Year 2026–2027, as of October 5, 2026.

CEBU NORMAL UNIVERSITY
Promoting Accessible, Inclusive, and Equitable Higher Education

Cebu Normal University
PRIVACY POLICY

Policy Statement

This Privacy Policy is adopted in compliance with the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10173), its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), and other relevant issuances of the National Privacy Commission (NPC). The University is committed to protecting and respecting your personal data privacy. We process personal information in accordance with the principles of transparency, legitimate purpose, and proportionality. This Policy informs how we collect, use, disclose, store, protect, and dispose personal information of our data subjects.

Definitions

Personal information refers to any information, whether recorded in a material form or not, from which the identity of an individual is apparent or can be reasonably and directly ascertained by the entity holding the information or when put together with other information that would directly and certainly identify an individual.

Sensitive information is a type of personal information with the risk of discrimination against the Data Subject. These are about an identifiable person’s racial or ethnic origin, marital status, color, and religious, philosophical, or political affiliations. It is also, about an individual’s health, education, the genetic or sexual life of person, or any proceeding for any offense committed or alleged to have been committed by such person, the disposal of such proceedings, or the sentence of any court in such proceedings; Issued by government agencies peculiar to an individual which includes, but not limited to, social security numbers, previous or current health records, licenses or its denials, suspension or revocation, and tax returns; and specifically established by an executive order or an act of Congress to be kept classified.

Privileged information refers to any and all forms of data which under the Rules of Court and other pertinent laws constitute privileged communication.

Information We Collect

The University may collect personal information in the context of its regular functions — including but not limited to the following categories:

  1. Students: contact and enrollment details, academic records, health or medical records, accommodation records, student-activity participation, and related data.
  2. Staff and job applicants: contact details, employment history, qualifications, employee-related data.
  3. Alumni profiling: contact and demographic details.
  4. Visitors, volunteers, and other stakeholders: information collected through sign-in forms, CCTV or security monitoring, photos or recordings during official events, surveys, and feedback forms.

Collection may occur by any medium, including: paper forms, electronic forms, email, website or online platforms, CCTV or video/photographic capture, surveys/questionnaires, and other lawful means.

Purposes and Uses of the Data Collected and Processed

Personal information collected may be used for:

  1. Administration of admission, enrollment, employment, alumni relations, and other official functions.
  2. Maintenance of student and employee records, including academic, health, and administrative data.
  3. Provision of University services such as counseling, scholarship administration, placement, library access, facilities use, laboratory access, security, parking, and accommodation.
  4. Internal research, quality assurance, performance monitoring, and institutional planning.
  5. Compliance with statutory obligations (e.g. reporting to government agencies when required).
  6. Security, safety, and campus management, including CCTV monitoring.

Legal Basis / Lawful Criteria for Processing

All processing of personal data is carried out in accordance with the legality, fairness, and lawfulness requirements under the Data Privacy Act and IRR.
Where applicable, processing is grounded on consent, contract, legal obligation, legitimate interest, or other lawful bases recognized under the law. The choice of lawful basis depends on the nature of data, the purpose of processing, and legal or contractual requirements.

Manner of Collection and Processing

Personal data may be collected through physical forms (paper-based), electronic forms, online or web-based platforms (e.g., registration portals, email, institutional website), CCTV or video/photo capture (for security or surveillance), event sign-in sheets or registration forms, surveys or questionnaires, or other legitimate and lawful means.

Processing may include collection, recording, sorting, storing, retrieval, use, updating, modification, blocking, destruction or other operations as allowed under the law, consistent with declared purposes.

Disclosure of Information

The University does not disclose personal information except under the following circumstances:

  1. Internal disclosure within authorized University personnel, only when necessary and appropriate for legitimate institutional purposes.
  2. External disclosure only when required or permitted by law (e.g. statutory obligations), or when the data subject has provided valid consent.
  3. Sensitive personal information or privileged information is processed and disclosed only in accordance with relevant legal provisions.

Risks, Safeguards and Security Measures

The University recognizes that processing of personal data entails certain privacy and security risks. Accordingly, we implement appropriate organizational, technical, and physical security safeguards to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of personal data — whether in electronic or physical form. Such measures include (but are not limited to):

  1. Access controls (both digital and physical) to restrict access only to authorized personnel
  2. Use of secure storage: locked filing cabinets or secure rooms for physical records; password-protected systems, encryption, secure servers, firewalls for electronic data
  3. Secure transmission of data (when shared or transferred), secure printing and disposal protocols, and safe deletion or destruction of data when no longer needed
  4. Classification of data and periodic review of security protocols, to ensure adequacy in light of the risks presented and sensitivity of the data processed

Rights of Data Subjects

Under the Data Privacy Act and its IRR, data subjects have the following rights:

  1. Right to be informed — you have the right to know whether personal information about you will be, is being, or has been processed; the purposes of processing; the personal data to be entered; and the scope and method of processing.
  2. Right to access, correct, or update your data — you may request access to your personal information, ask for rectification of inaccuracies, or request updates.
  3. Right to object or withdraw consent — when processing is based on consent or legitimate interest, you may withdraw consent or object, subject to legal limits.
  4. Right to data portability — where applicable, you may obtain a copy of your personal data in a secure and portable format for transfer to another controller.
  5. Right to erasure or blocking — if personal data is incomplete, outdated, unlawfully obtained or processed, no longer necessary, or processing is unauthorized, you may request erasure or blocking, subject to legitimate grounds for retention (e.g. legal obligations or defense of legal claims).
  6. Right to damages — you may seek indemnification for damages resulting from inaccurate, incomplete, outdated, unlawfully obtained or unauthorized use of your personal data.
  7. Right to lodge a complaint with the NPC if you believe your data privacy rights have been violated.

Requests for access, rectification, objection, portability, erasure or complaints may be submitted in writing to the University’s designated Data Protection Officer (DPO) or Data Privacy Office.

Security, Retention, and Disposal

The University implements appropriate organizational, technical, and physical security measures to safeguard personal data — whether in paper or electronic form — against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. Such measures include: secure storage (locked filing cabinets or rooms), restricted access to authorized personnel only, use of locked screens/screensavers, secure transmission (sealed envelopes or secure electronic transmission), secure printing and disposal of documents, and safe deletion or destruction of data when no longer needed.

Personal data will be retained only for as long as necessary to fulfill the declared and legitimate purposes, or as required for legal obligations or defense of legal claims. When no longer needed, personal data will be disposed of securely in accordance with University policy and relevant data-protection guidelines.

Consent, Notice, and Legitimate Processing

Where required by law, consent will be obtained from data subjects prior to collection or processing of their personal or sensitive data. In other cases (e.g. CCTV monitoring, legitimate interest), the University will inform data subjects through appropriate notice mechanisms before or at the time of data collection. Privacy notice(s) will accompany data-collection forms or be posted in conspicuous campus areas, and on the University website. At all times, data processing is based on legitimate purpose and proportional to the need.

Data Subject Access and Contact

To exercise your rights or if you have any inquiry, concern, or request regarding your personal data, please contact:

Omar B. Roma

Data Protection Officer
Email: dpo@cnu.edu.ph
Phone: 09422041421

Changes to This Policy

The University reserves the right to update or amend this Privacy Policy as necessary to reflect changes in applicable laws, regulations, regulatory guidance, or its internal data-processing practices. Updated versions will be posted on the University’s official website and, where appropriate, communicated to data subjects.