St. Paul University Quezon City is one of forty-three (43 ) schools operating under the management of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres (SPC) in the Philippines. The Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres transferred their Novitiate and Provincial House from busy Herran Street in Malate, Manila, to a quieter site in what is now known as Quezon City in 1931.
In 1941, after a decade of peaceful living in the very tranquil residential area, the Sisters and the Novices had to give way to an opposed group, the Japanese occupational forces. The Novitiate and Provincialate, which then occupied the compound, became a garrison for Japanese soldiers. The end of World War II in 1945 found the Novitiate Building in ruins. After reconstruction, a Grade School was opened on July 7, 1946, to answer the post-liberation years' educational needs. Soon after that, a permit to open First Year High School was obtained in May 1947.
A second building was constructed in 1950. The reconstructed building housed the school and the Sisters' Convent while a new group of novices occupied the newly constructed building on December 8, 1950. Later, the Novitiate and Provincial House were transferred to Antipolo, Rizal. In July 1966, the College Department was opened upon the request of the Parents of the Paulinian High School Graduates. In June 1973, the Grade School was transferred to Pasig, Metro Manila, but the school maintained its High School and College Departments.
Situated on a gentle slope of what was initially known as New Manila, the SPUQC campus now occupies an entire block bordered by busy Aurora Boulevard, Gilmore Avenue, Third Street, and Doña Magdalena Hemady Street in Quezon City. Several construction projects have taken place within the last three decades. Enrollment has increased tremendously and has comprised more than 70% of the whole student population. More programs are now being offered.
To respond to the times' signs, SPUQC established the Center for Career Development in 1994 as a night school and a part of its Community Extension Program. Within the last two decades, the CCD has expanded its programs and gained the recognition of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). It also opened its own co-educational Pre-school Department and Institute of Graduate Studies in June 2004 and re-opened its Grade School Department to boys and girls in June 2005. In June 2006, SPUQC started to open its doors to young men who desire to undergo their college education and formation in St. Paul University Quezon City. The High School Department followed suit when the first set of graduates from co-ed Grade School enrolled in the High School in June 2008.
On April 25, 2007, the Articles and Plan of Merging St. Paul University Quezon City and St. Paul University-San Miguel Bulacan was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and endorsed by the Department of Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Committed to academic excellence, SPUQC continually upgrades the quality of Paulinian education. PAASCU first granted the Liberal Arts and Commerce program accreditation status in 1983 and the High School Department. The application for the accreditation of the Science programs followed in 1989. All these programs have periodically been granted- accreditation status since then. While tremendous changes have taken place, one significant factor has remained constant: the SPUQC Paulinian, be she/he a religious, a faculty member, a non-teaching staff member, or a student, has remained warm, simple, and active.
Saint Paul University Quezon City (SPUQC), over the years, has grown into an institution that continues to upgrade its quality of education, making it one of the varied synonyms for academic excellence. Its transformation from a college into a university system status is, by far, the most recent achievement of the institution. In 2004, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) accorded the six (6) Paulinian Higher Education Institutions the status of being a University Status. Being a constituent institution, St. Paul College Quezon City then changed its name to St. Paul University Quezon City. Indeed, this has given birth to more accomplishments as the institution's doors have been opened to little boys and girls three years since, thus, establishing the Pre-School and the Grade School Departments. For this school year, SPUQC provides quality education rooted in the Gospel values and social transformation to male students in the College Department.
SPUQC has been touted as an ISO 2001:9000-certified institution since March 2003. Moreover, its College Department, specifically the Colleges of Liberal Arts, Science, and Commerce is enjoying PAASCU Level II accredited. PAASCU has awarded the High School Department accreditation since 1983. Providing quality education that is responsive to the needs of the times and the community is one of the primary aims of SPUQC. Consequently, it is a co-ed school offering Preparatory, Grade School, High School, and College education for years now.
To answer the student body's growing population and, more so, to provide more rooms conducive to learning, renovations, constructions, and facilities acquisition form part of the organization's agenda. Also on the list is the constant hiring of faculty who are specialists and witnesses of education for social transformation. To this day, SPUQC is true to its noblest mission in the commitment of educating and forming Christ-centered, integrated, responsible, and compassionate individuals in the service of the Church and society.
