Tarlac College of Agriculture

The carabao has always been the symbol of the Tarlac Agricultural University (TAU). The carabao is resilient even through the ages, synonymous with actions and sustained accomplishments - that is, TAU through the years. It is always good to go back to memory lane and learn how the University has weathered storms before reaching its present status.
In an environment of academic excellence, TAU harnesses, develops, and catalyzes the conversion of students' full potentials and capabilities into becoming responsible and competent professionals in agriculture and allied disciplines.TAU shall primarily provide advanced education, higher technological, professional instruction and training in agriculture, agribusiness management, science and technology, engineering, teacher education, non-traditional courses, and other relevant fields of study. It shall also undertake research, extension services, and production activities to support the development of the Province of Tarlac and provide leadership in its areas of specialization.
The Institution was established in 1944 as Camiling Boys/Girls High School. It started with 368 students, 13 faculty members, and a school principal. It stopped operation in December 1944 but resumed after the Liberation as Tarlac High School, Camiling Branch. The school's reopening was a response to the clamor of parents whose children stopped schooling during the war years and the difficulty of traveling from Camiling to Tarlac City.
On July 6, 1945, Municipal Resolution No. 34 created the Camiling Vocational Agricultural School (CVAS), replacing Tarlac High School, Camiling Branch. Its focus on vocational agriculture was considered a means to hasten the town's economic recovery from the ravages of the war. CVAS had 534 students and 13 faculty. From 1945 to 1948, the school offered two curricula – the general academic to enable the former students to graduate and the agriculture curriculum for the first year and second-year students. On September 26, 1946, the school was renamed Camiling Rural High School (CRHS). In 1948, the general curriculum was phased out. Early in 1952, the Director of Public Schools noticed that the school should be relocated to a permanent site and increase declining enrollment; otherwise, it might be closed or transferred to another town.
The most conducive agricultural school's expansion was found in Malacampa, a barangay seven kilometers away from the town. In June 1953, the school with 155 students and eight faculty moved to the new site. Classrooms and offices were made of bamboos and nipa in the "middle of a wilderness." Funds from FOA-PHILCUSA later came, and permanent buildings replaced the bamboo structures. Expansion and development had been accelerated when CRHS was converted to Tarlac National Agricultural School (TNAS) in 1957, under a Superintendent. It became a policy to make all projects profitable – piggery, poultry, goat, and vegetables. Linkage for research started from pork barrel funds. In 1961, the two-year technical agriculture post-secondary course was opened, and in 1963, the Health Center was built out of funds from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). By that time, TNAS already had a school hymn and a student publication, "The Carabao."
On January 14, 2010, Dr. Max P. Guillermo assumed the presidency of the Institution. He pursued a new strategic planning initiative: TCA @ 2015 that outlined the formulated institutional plans, based on strategic programmatic strengths supported by a comprehensive development plan to make the then TCA an energized incubator of new ideas and center of innovation. Significant milestones in realizing the vision to be a recognized higher education institution in the Southeast Asian Region are broadly demonstrated during Dr. Guillermo's second term. His term is characterized by more aggressive and more vigorous actions, all directed toward its persistent pursuit of quality and excellence.
Intensified mechanisms in realizing the Institution's quest for quality assurance are the landmark accomplishments of Dr. Guillermo's administration. It is under his administration that the Institution had been awarded an institutional accreditation status making a record as the first AACCUP Institutionally Accredited State College in the Philippines, the second SUC granted institutional accreditation by AACCUP under the outcomes-based quality assurance (OBQA) paradigm, and the fourth SUC awarded institutional accreditation status by AACCUP. As it strives to achieve the highest levels of excellence in delivering higher education, TAU has also undergone Institutional Sustainability Assessment (based on CMO No. 46, s. 2012) conducted by CHED.
On January 1, 2016, the Agriculture Education of the College of Agriculture and Forestry was designated by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as the Center of Development (COD). In contrast, the College of Education's Teacher Education programs were certified by CHED as the Center of Excellence (COE) effective April 1, 2016. Furthermore, all the 23 program offerings of the University are already accredited, most of which are submitted for higher accreditation status. Due to the drift in the internationalization of higher education, the University has also intensified and strengthened its global partnerships, linkages, and collaborations to expand its network, broaden its prospects, and strengthen resource generation initiatives. These collaborations and partnerships paved the way for faculty exchange and numerous research paper presentations and opportunities for sending OJT students abroad. All of these also ushered diversified avenues for international (cross-border) mobility of students. An evident change in TAU's environment is also observed with the massive infrastructure projects designed to cater to its stakeholders' ever-changing needs. The rise of new structures and rehabilitation of existing buildings that house well-ventilated and spacious classrooms and well-equipped laboratories has been a priority of the University administration.
On May 10, 2016, a significant historical leap for the TCA had been taken as it was officially converted into TAU by Republic Act No. 10800, "An Act Converting the Tarlac College of Agriculture in the Municipality of Camiling, Province of Tarlac into a State University to be known as the Tarlac Agricultural University," signed by His Excellency President Benigno S. Aquino III.TAU is mandated by law to provide advanced education, higher technological, professional instruction and training in agriculture, agribusiness management, science and technology, engineering, teacher education, non-traditional courses, and other relevant fields of study. It shall also undertake research, extension services, and production activities to support the development of the Province of Tarlac and provide progressive leadership in its areas of specialization.
The change in status and shift in perspective pose immense challenges to TAU. A practical, in-depth, well-planned, and well-executed strategic development plan must sustain quality, competence, and competitiveness in agricultural education and allied courses. The TAU Strategic Development Plan (2016 to 2025) has been crafted through the stakeholders' combined wisdom and vision for TAU. It serves as the blueprint of the ten-year strategic directions carefully laid out to realize the University's breakthrough goals. The advent of ASEAN integration and the drift in internationalization, alongside its mandate, compel TAU to craft development-oriented functions and outcomes-based education to meet global demands and standards. These include the processes and strategies of integrating international, intercultural, and global dimensions into the goals, functions, and delivery of higher education. With all these changes and challenges, TAU still believes that a relevant and quality education is indispensable in shaping the country and the world holistically.