Republic Act 11010, an Act amending Republic Act 10600 establishing the Surigao Del Norte State Univeritywas signed into law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte on March 27, 2018.

Section 1, Section 9 of Republic Act 10600 was amended to read as follows: The University shall be headed by a President, who shall render full-time service and who shall be appointed by the Board, subject to the guidelines, qualifications and standards set by the Board upon recommendation of a duly constituted search committee. The University President shall have a four year term of four (4) years and shall be eligible for reappointment for another term. Provided, that, in order to effect a smooth transition to a state university, the incumbent President of SSCT shall serve as the first President of the University.

Section 2 of Section 25 of RA 10600 was also amended to remove a deadline for SSCT to comply with the necessary requirements set by the Commission on Higher Education or CHED. Top on the list of the operational requirements for a university is the Level III accreditation or equivalent under CHED policies for at least four (4) of its undergraduate programsand two (2) of its graduate programs.

Other requirements include ratio of qualified full-time faculty with requisite degrees to number of students, adequate library and laboratories, research and development output of practical and commercial application to the community, relevant linkages and outreach programs that are of service to the community, as well as relevant academic policies, systems and processes.