The Philippines has modeled its higher education system almost totally upon the American model, with similarities in organization, degrees, curricula, teaching methods, governance, and faculty roles. The University of the Philippines was established in 1908, and between 1901 and 1926, eight regional normal schools were established to train public school teachers. In 1949 the Philippine Normal College became a four-year institution and began to grant bachelors' degrees. By 1947, there were 309 college-level institutions, of which 294 were private. Currently, most of the state institutions and many of the private colleges include high school components and postsecondary vocational schools, and in many cases, elementary schools, due to the practice of extending existing institutions to the college level. Almost half of the public institutions were established, or had collegiate components added, since 1966. During the period of rule by decree, President Marcos made marked changes in public higher education. In come cases, several schools were combined under one administration to form a college or university. Limitations in the development of universities include funding problems and lack of faculty with graduate degrees. (SW)