West Visayas State University

The Quezon Hall, WVSU

West Visayas State University (WVSU) was founded on June 16, 1902, forming part of the early Philippine school system under the American regime. Known as the Iloilo Normal Institute and later the Iloilo Normal School, WVSU was one of the five tributary schools created to address the need to train Filipino teachers under the tutelage of the Thomasites.

In 1924, with the completion of its main building (now Quezon Hall) and laboratory school building, INS became a distinct educational institution itself. It was also when a secondary normal school program, which eventually became a four-year normal college course, was established.

The INS became the West Visayas State College by virtue of R.A. 4189 on May 4, 1965, offering courses in the university level.

It was named a Center of Excellence by the late Sen. Blas P. Ople and Center of Excellence for Teacher Education by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

On January 27, 1986, the College became the West Visayas State University, integrating the Iloilo National College of Agriculture (INCA) into its system. In 1987, the University acquired the Don Benito V. Lopez Memorial Hospital which became the WVSU Medical Center, a 300-bed tertiary, teaching and training hospital.

The enactment of the Higher Education Modernization Act (1997) brought more developments in the University. In 2000, four CHED-supervised schools in Calinog, Janiuay, Lambunao, and Pototan were integrated into the WVSU System. The University Distance Education program through the Diploma in Teaching (DIT) course began in Summer 2003. By 2005, The Local Government Unit of Himamaylan entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the WVSU for the establishment of the WVSU Himamaylan Campus.

The University is a member of the Association of Universities in Asia and the Pacific and one of the participating universities in the University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific.