BDO and partner schools: Coping with the pandemic and learning from it

Not only have companies been fighting to stay afloat throughout the pandemic; schools have also been doing their best to stay afloat and keep their doors open for the benefit of their pupils and teachers. Manuel S. Enverga University (MSEUF) in Lucena, Quezon Province, is one example of a school that has bravely faced the pandemic’s challenges.

Since its inception in 1947, the institution has given countless generations the hope of education and a better future. When the pandemic hit, the institution had to change its administrative procedures to ensure the safety of its staff and students while still providing a high-quality education.

Because face-to-face lessons were restricted by the community quarantine, MSEUF had to switch to a combination of online learning and asynchronous modular learning for its students.

The school had to change its administrative procedures to allow the majority of its employees to work from home. This entailed switching to an internet platform to handle critical processes like disbursement and payment collection, which included tuition. The institution turned to its bank, BDO, for assistance.

“BDO’s SME Online Banking facility is a huge solution they supplied to our institution. We used to have to manually check with parents for the name of the student and the amount paid in order to track their payments. “We had to update passbooks every day to make sure we were keeping track of the payments properly,” Carl Rodriguez, the university’s Treasury Office director, said.

“In addition, BDO SME Online Banking provided parents with extra payment alternatives. They could pay by sending money from their BDO account to our BDO account via BDO online channels, Mobile Banking, or Online Banking. They can also pay at any BDO branch in Lucena or the surrounding areas. Despite the epidemic, all of this made operations easier for us. Because many parents have BDO accounts, it has also proven to be the most efficient.”

BDO also assists the university in processing its personnel payroll in addition to collecting tuition money. “BDO processed our paycheck even during the shutdown, when it was difficult to get around due to travel restrictions. They figured out how to keep our payroll process running efficiently without causing any delays,” Rodriguez explained.

MSEUF is able to function despite the pandemic’s problems, thanks to the dedication and smart thinking of its university administrators, as well as the assistance of its banking partner. Call (632) 88407500, email cms-sme@bdo.com.ph, or go to www.bdo.com.ph for more information on BDO’s Cash Management System.