History
The
College of Cooperatives, formerly known as the Institute of
Cooperatives, was established on March 31, 1989 when the
Board of Regents approved the spun-off of the Cooperatives
Program from the College of Business. The Institute became a
College on April 7, 2006.
The Bachelor in Cooperatives (BC) program, the College's
flagship curricular offering, was first offered in
schoolyear 1989-1990. Within the same schoolyear, the
Extension Services took off with short courses on coop
organizing, accounting and management conducted for
community groups and institution-based cooperatives
within and outside Metro Manila. The Research and
Development Program and later, the BC Non-traditional Study
(NTS) Program were opened in the following schoolyear
when applications from cooperative practitioners started
coming in (the BC-NTS is now handled by the Center for NTS &
ETEEAP).
Prof. Romulo T. Martin, the College founding director,
served from 1989 to 1997. He was succeeded by Prof.
Elenita S. Mantalaba, CPA, who held the post until December
2004. Sr. Marietta P. Demelino, sfcc, Ph.D., was
designated the third director of the academic unit in
January 2005 and became the first Dean when the Institute
became a College in 2006.