West Visayas State University history

In 1916, it was a secondary school (an adjunct with the Iloilo High School) complete with elementary and training departments.

In 1934, it was renamed Baybay Agricultural High School (BAHS) and was later converted into the Baybay National Agricultural School (BNAS) with the approval of Commonwealth Act No.

The Secondary Laboratory School was opened in 1969.

The institution attained rapid growth and development following its conversion into Visayas State College of Agriculture (ViSCA) on May 24, 1974 through Presidential Decree (PD) No.

The doctoral program of the Graduate School was also founded in 1977.

The B.S. in Biological Science, AB in Mass Communications, and B.S. Forestry programs began in 1981.

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 Hospital, a 150-bed tertiary, teaching and training hospital.

The enactment of the Higher Education Modernization Act (1997) brought more developments in the University.

In 1999, four institutions of higher education in the province of Leyte were integrated into the College to create a five-campus ViSCA system.

In 2000, four CHED-supervised schools in Calinog, Janiuay, Lambunao, and Pototan were integrated into the WVSU System.

Likewise, in 2001, the Bachelor in Statistics and Research program was introduced.

By the first semester of 2003 four new courses were commenced: Bachelor/n Hotel and Restaurant Management, Bachelor in Broadcasting, Bachelor in Journalism, and Bachelor of Science in Development Communication.

In 2007, the university's administrators, scholars and histories collectively agreed to change the institution's founding especially on its logo from 1924 to 1902, the year WVSU was founded as a tributary unit of the Philippine Normal School System. It was in the said year also (2007), that the university celebrated its centennial.

In February 2008, the university hosted an international research conference in Iloilo City, in conjunction with its year-long centennial celebration.