About

St. Michael's College

SMC has grown and evolved for 100-plus years, passing many milestones and forging traditions along the way.​

St. Michael’s College is a Catholic Institution of learning administered by the Religious of the Virgin Mary (RVM) Sisters offering four levels of education: elementary, secondary, tertiary and graduate school. She is distinguished as the oldest Catholic institution in the provinces of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte, and the only catholic school with Higher Education in the city of Iligan serving clientele with diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. She is committed to provide transformative education to the people of Iligan City and the surrounding areas of the two aforementioned provinces.​

SMC's history timeline

1914

St. Michael’s College of Iligan, Inc. began in 1914 when Jesuit Fathers opened a catechetical school for boys.

1915

Followed by the arrival of the RVM Sisters in 1915, who formally established Escuela de San Miguel for girls

1917-1929

By 1917, the school received government recognition and expanded its facilities, completing a three-storey building by 1928 and adding Grade 7 in 1929

1930-1962

In the 1930s, the school became St. Michael’s Academy, and by 1938 opened its first high school classes. After World War II disruptions, classes resumed in 1945, and SMC opened collegiate programs in Liberal Arts, Education, and Commerce by 1946–47. The Jesuits turned over full administration to the RVM Sisters in 1949, and the first collegiate commencement was held in 1951. In 1952, the institution was renamed St. Michael’s College of Iligan, Inc., became exclusive for girls in 1954, and rebuilt after a major fire in 1962.

1963-1996

From the 1960s–1980s, SMC expanded with new buildings, opened the Chemical Engineering program, gained government recognition for its Graduate School (1971), and achieved its first PAASCU accreditations (1987). The school continued to grow with community extension centers (1986–87), major building construction (1988), and Basic Education accreditation (1990). In the 1990s, more programs were added, including Early Childhood Education, Computer courses, and Small Business Management, while the high school transferred to Tibanga in 1994. PAASCU reaccreditations followed in 1994–95, and new IT and engineering-related programs were permitted starting 1996

2000-2014

The 2000s brought major developments: gymnasium construction (2000–01), new programs like BSIT and BSECE (2002–03), and the opening of Nursing and Criminology (2004), producing topnotchers by 2008–09. Infrastructure improvements, including a hotel laboratory and enhanced libraries, continued. During 2009–2011, more courses such as Accountancy and Information Systems were added, and the institution launched scholarship initiatives like Iskolar ni San Miguel. Typhoon Sendong in 2011 heavily damaged the Tibanga campus, prompting massive rehabilitation while further renovations and facility upgrades continued through 2013–14.

2014-2020

Between 2014–2020, SMC achieved multiple Level III PAASCU accreditations, celebrated its Centennial in 2015, and embraced the K–12 reform with the full opening of Senior High School programs in 2016. The school gained CHED recognition for various graduate and undergraduate programs and completed new buildings like the Sacred Heart SHS facility (2018). The pandemic in 2020 shifted all learning to online modalities and led to the construction of the new four-storey Library Building.

2011-present

From 2021 to the present, under the leadership of S. Maria Rodina M. Bongoc, RVM, the school opened the Bachelor of Science in Tourism Management (2023), launched Eduventure programs for Basic Education, and continued its mission of providing transformative Catholic education grounded in the Ignacian-Marian spirit.