11 September 2012, 5:10 p.m. – UST and De La Salle University are out of this year’s Quacquarelli-Symonds’ (QS) world university rankings, leaving only two Philippine schools on the annual list.
University of the Philippines (UP) dropped 16 notches to No. 348 from No. 332 while Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila dropped to the 451-500 bracket from last year’s No. 361.
La Salle, which was placed in the 551-600 bracket last year, joined UST in the 601+ bracket this year. Last July, UST also failed to enter the QS subject rankings.
The United States’ Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) emerged as the top university, replacing University of Cambridge of the United Kingdom which had been on top for two consecutive years.
MIT ranked third in the survey last year.
MIT scored a perfect 100 while Cambridge got 99.8. Harvard University trailed at third place with a score of 99.2 score. Nikka Lavinia G. Valenzuela
According to the latest world ranking of universities, my two alma maters, UST and DLSU, are out of the Top 600 higher learning institutions in the world. Does that make me less as a professional being their product? No. They developed my competence and built my character, and my possible contribution to the world as a Thomasian-Lasallian is simply incalculable. No survey can set boundaries to what my educational institutions have achieved, is achieving, and can achieve. Animo, La Salle! Viva, Santo Tomas! 🙂
I strongly agree. Good opinion Mr. Ringgo. The QS survey on the TOP 600 UNIVERSITIES IN THE WORLD does not reflect the real image of UST and the other top 3 universities in the Philippines. A developing Asian country like the Philippines has other goals to achieve in relation to the contribution of the fresh college graduates such as beefing up the productive workforce, improving services, enriching research culture for the benefit of the nation, and diffusing Filipino values to the next generation. Philippine schools, based on my research, have been improving their systems through their accredited programs, CoE/CoT titles, and high passing rates in PRC licensure examinations. Furthermore, testimonies of foreign employers show that Filipino college graduates are values-oriented and competitive employees. All of the aforementioned points are sufficient proofs that Philippine schools, especially the UP-ADMU-DLSU-UST cluster, have done their responsiblity of forming world-class employees. We do not need QS surveys, which draws conclusions based on a big percentage from international employers’ perspective of universities outside their progressive country, and followed by research papers’ appearance in international journals. Besides, QS is an agency that ranks schools for students who cannot afford their expensive local colleges and universities, and wanted to attend a university elsewhere that is cheaper yet has almost the same global prestige and quality curricular offerings of their “dream Ivy League” schools. A Filipino student affected so much by QS surveys is similar with somebody who thinks that his country’s greatness relies on a “traveller’s guide to the countries around the world.” LET US BE PROUD OF OUR SCHOOL BECAUSE WE WERE NURTURED TO BECOME QUALITY FILIPINO CITIZENS AND CHILDREN OF GOD.
I am disappointed with the latest survey. This is bad news for UST and other Philippine universities. However, this list of the world’s top 700 universities does not reflect the real image and quality of UST, UP, DLSU, ADMU, and the other Philippine schools. For me, the higher education institutions in the archipelago continue to improve their systems through their accredited degree programs, CoE/CoD titles, and partnership with other schools abroad. In other countries, testimonies of the employers in progressive countries such as the U.S. , U.K., and the U.A.E. indicate that their Filipino employees are productive in the workplace. In terms of research and development, the different universites publish papers at an exponential rate in both local and international journals. All of the aforementioned points are proofs that the Philippine colleges and universities are not lagging behind but keep up with the latest global standards of quality higher education but the international agency called QS uses criteria that cannot measure all the achievements; its criteria are heavy on international publications and employer reputation (which may be based on the perceptions of selected executives in top companies who normally hire alumni of G20 schools). Besides, QS surveys are released as guide for international students who cannot afford the expensive fees charged by their own country’s universities,and wanted to attend schools outside their nation that are chepear yet comparable with the standards and technology of their dream “Ivy League” schools. People who are so affected by QS are similar with those who think that their country’s greatness is based on its appearance in a “traveller’s guide to the countries around the world.” It is unfair to limit the Phil. schools in a box provided by QS. QS, just like Time magazine’s BEST ASIAN MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCHOOLS, may suffer with controversies, lose followers, may close decades from now, and be replaced by another survey sponsored by another agency.