Манилалық Мапуа Университетінің тарихы

Private university in Metro Manila, Philippines

The institution was founded as the Mapúa Institute of Technology on January 25, 1925, by Tomás B. Mapúa,

During World War II, Mapúa's Manila campus was used as a garrison by the Japanese forces during the occupation of Manila, and all classes and organizations were suspended. The Institute would continue to suffer throughout the war as the effort of the institute to continue the studies of the students were suspended and Senior students were forced to prematurely graduate. The institute's campus was also severely damaged. As a part of the rehabilitation program, the former "De Luxe Fashion School" in Doroteo Jose was leased in 1948 and housed the high school department until 1998. In 1951, the Mapúa family acquired a piece of land from the La Corporación Fransicana in Intramuros. The site eventually became the institute's main campus, opening in 1956 with construction completed in 1963. All college programs in the Doroteo José campus were relocated to the Intramuros campus in 1973. Tomás B. Mapúa died on December 22, 1965, and his son, Óscar M. Mapúa Sr., a graduate in civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, took over the presidency until his death in 1998. In 2002, the old RCBC Building at 333 Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati was purchased and converted into the Makati campus of the university, where the School of Information Technology (SoIT) was originally from the Intramuros Campus. As part of promoting the School of IT, the Mapúa IT Center was established. Offering 2 year Associate degree that eventually would land (ladderized) a four year Bachelor's degree IT degree in Mapúa. Meanwhile, Mapúa High School was closed in 2005. Along with the establishment of the Malayan High School of Science and Malayan Colleges Laguna, the new ownership intended to encompass all its educational institutions under the name Malayan University. Pending the institute's elevation to university status, the institute was planned to take the name Malayan Colleges in the meantime. According to the president, the renaming was a step towards institute's goal of becoming a university. The spokesperson of the National Alliance of Mapua Alumni (NAMA) also alleged that the Yuchengcos wanted to change the institute's name to escape tax liabilities and sought a congressional probe against the renaming. The institute denied the allegations, and clarified that the name "Mapúa Institute of Technology" will be applied to the College of Engineering, Architecture and IT. The legal name of the institute was changed to Malayan Colleges, although the entire institute continued to operate under the Mapúa brand.

On May 18, 2017, the Commission on Higher Education granted the institute university status; the institute was renamed as Mapúa University. On January 8, 2018, YGC and Ayala Corporation, through a joint press statement, announced the merger of Ayala Education and iPeople (IPO), Mapúa's parent company, with IPO being the surviving entity. The merger was completed on May 2, 2019, with the Yuchengco Group of Companies owning 51.3% of iPeople and Ayala Corporation with 33.5% share of the said company. On August 1, 2021, the old Makati campus at Gil Puyat Avenue was closed. It relocated its site at a former Bormaheco property along Pablo Ocampo Street, which was acquired and converted by the Yuchengco Group in 2018. The lot was previously owned by Bormaheco before being purchased by the university in 2018. The new 8 storey Makati campus hosts the senior high school, School of Information Technology (SoIT) and E. T. Yuchengco School of Business and Management. It previously occupied the Mapúa Information Technology Center (MITC) at the corner of Gil Puyat Avenue and Reposo Street from 2002 to 2021.

The Malayan Education System Inc., operating under the name Mapúa University, owns and operates the Mapúa Malayan Colleges Laguna in Cabuyao (who in turn operates the Mapúa Malayan Digital College or MMDC), the Mapúa Malayan Colleges Mindanao in Davao City, and the Malayan High School of Science in Paco, Manila as its subsidiaries. The university's parent company, iPeople Inc. (IPO) merged with AC Education, the education arm of Ayala Corporation in 2019, acquiring its subsidiaries: University of Nueva Caceres, National Teachers College, and APEC Schools. The university operates on a quarter system called the "Quarterm", shifting from a semestral system in 2002. This academic system was intended to allow students to graduate faster (e. g., the original 5 year engineering programs could be taken in four years) and to focus on less, interrelated course subjects in an 11 week term. In 2006, the university shifted its educational system to an outcome based system. According to Mapúa president Reynaldo Vea, this was done to address structural unemployment in the Philippines. In 2020, the university launched the Mapúa Ubiquitous Online Experience (Mapúa ÚOx), offering fully online asynchronous graduate and undergraduate programs.

The university administers the Mapúa Scholastic Aptitude Exam (MSAE) annually. In 2020, 2021, and 2022, MSAE was replaced by the Mapúa Program Placement Assessment (MPASS) because of the COVID 19 pandemic. The MPASS measures the student's abilities to identify the suitable college programs or senior high school strand for the applicant.