Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University - Open University

Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University was created on 15 January 1981 by Presidential Decree No. 1778, which merged four state institutions in La Union: the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State College at Bacnotan, the Southern Ilocos Polytechnic State College at Agoo, and both the La Union School of Arts and Trades and the La Union Community College at San Fernando. Sapilang Elementary School, which stood inside the Bacnotan campus, was integrated as well. The Open University System is based at the Mid La Union Campus in the City of San Fernando, the provincial capital, alongside the campus that descends from the La Union School of Arts and Trades and the La Union Community College. Open university systems in Philippine state universities deliver degree programmes through distance and flexible modes, aimed largely at working students who cannot attend a campus on a conventional schedule. Its location in San Fernando places it at the province's transport and administrative centre.