Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University - South La Union

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 South La Union Campus at Agoo occupies the site of the Southern Ilocos Polytechnic State College. It is the most dispersed of the university's three campuses, operating an Institute of Agriculture at Rosario and an Institute of Fisheries at Sto. Tomas alongside the Agoo site itself. That spread reflects the southern end of the province, where agricultural land inland and fishing communities on the Lingayen Gulf coast sit close together. Note that this university is distinct from Mariano Marcos State University in Ilocos Norte, despite the similarity of the names. The two were created by different decrees three years apart and serve different provinces. The university's three major campuses are North La Union at Bacnotan, Mid La Union at San Fernando, and this one at Agoo in the south.