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©The
Star (Used by permission)
by Simrit Kaur
Malaysia’s top local universities’ improved ranking in the Times Higher
Education-QS (THE-QS) World University Rankings 2008 is an achievement to be
proud of, said Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
“It is something to be proud of that a number of Malaysian institutions have
attained such high positions in the rankings. I believe that our local
universities will improve even further in the years to come,’’ he told The
Star.
Asked about the drop of the ranking of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) from 307
to 313 despite its status as an apex (accelerated programme for excellence)
university, Khaled said the criteria used for the rankings and the apex
programme were different.
“In the apex university, we are looking to the future and choosing a university
that is the most capable of being transformed and becoming world-class in 10 to
15 years,” he said.
USM deputy vice-chancellor (Academic and International Affairs) Prof Ahmad
Shukri Mustapa Kamal said the university would scrutinise the data to see the
reason for its drop.
“I am from the school of thought that the rankings are useful but not absolute,”
he said.
Acting Universiti Malaya (UM) vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Muhamad Rasat
Muhamad said UM’s improved showing proved that the university’s strategic plan,
implemented two years ago, was showing results.
“UM fully supports the ministry in realising the national aspiration of having
one or more of Malaysia’s universities in the top 200 of the THE-QS ranking by
2010,” he said.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Sharifah
Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin said the improvement in the ranking was a
collective effort.
“We have worked very hard by consolidating our research, publishing our work,
having more international collaborations and monitoring the number of citations
per month,” she said.
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Nik Mustapha Raja
Abdullah said UPM improved by overcoming weaknesses identified through analyses
of the previous years’ results.
“There have been improvements in several areas including the number of papers
published in high impact journals, increase in citations and aggressive
internationalisation programmes,” he said.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Zaini Ujang
said the university had improved in three of the six criteria used to compile
the rankings.
Vice-chancellors not too concerned
©New Straits Times
(Used by permission)
Putik Lada with Seira Sacha Abu Bakar
• Malaysian universities rise in 'Times' rankings
UNIVERSITI Kebangsaan Malaysia Vice-Chancellor Professor
Datuk Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin has been asked the same question
this time of the year for the past five years.
It is the time of the year when universities get to know
where they are ranked among the other universities in the Times Higher
Education-QS World University Rankings 2008.
"How do I feel? There's no feeling here," she told the New Straits Times.
To her, the world ranking is just that; a ranking.
As Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin aptly puts it:
"It's not the be all and end all of universities' evaluation."
"Many other universities the world over are very critical
about the evaluation process.
"So while we won't stop any of our universities from being evaluated, we must
remember that their criteria is not exhaustive," he added.
This year, the country's three universities -- Universiti Malaya, Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia -- are ranked higher than 2007
while the apex-status university, Universiti Sains Malaysia, saw a drop in its
ranking.
The universities' vice-chancellors said "the ranking is not everything".
The VC club insisted that they had their own strategic and transformation plans,
adding that they were consistently making progress.
Sharifah Hapsah said the university kept on improving, with its progress
constantly monitored.
"We have been making steady progress, in terms of our research work,
publications, citations ..." she said.
UPM Vice-Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Nik Mustapha Raja Abdullah pointed out
that the criteria used by the THE-QS changed from time to time.
As such, universities like UPM would not be able to score in some areas such as
in terms of foreign student intake.
International students and international faculty represent five per cent each in
the evaluation.
Nevertheless, he added that the ranking by discipline by THE-QS was very useful
as it helped the university identify where it needed to improve.
"Our strongest area is life sciences, where we appeared in the 213th spot in the
ranking by discipline for life sciences and biomedicine," he said, adding that
the ranking was also an effective way for universities to promote themselves.
According to Nik Mustapha, UPM had set their target to get on the top 200 list
by 2015.
UM acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Muhamad Rasat Muhamad said while
the university has its own transformation plan in place, "we may think we have
done good, when that may not be the true picture. It is good sometimes to have
our performance measured by others."
UM hopes to make it to the top 200 list by 2010.
USM deputy Vice-Chancellor (academic and international affairs) Professor Ahmad
Shukri Mustapa Kamal insisted that he did not know the university's ranking but
was told that it had "dropped a few places".
"It is always difficult to comment when one drops in rankings because if you
start to question the rankings or justify the drop, the excuses will certainly
not be acceptable.
"There has been some perception, however, among many universities not in the top
50 that the rankings have been rather volatile.
"I have always been from the school of thought that this ranking is useful but
it is certainly not absolute," he said.
Ahmad Shukri added however that they would need to "scrutinise the data further
to see what the reason for the drop is."
Despite claims that the criteria and evaluation process are flawed, the THE-QS
ranking would still continue to influence those who are considering furthering
their studies either at local or foreign universities. -- By Jennifer Gomez and
Irdiani Mohd Salleh
Malaysian universities rise in 'Times' rankings
By Jennifer Gomezand Irdiani Mohd Salleh
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian universities improved their standings, but none joined
the top 200 list of the Times Higher Education-QS Quacquarelli Symonds World
University rankings for 2008.
It is understood, that Universiti Malaya, Universiti Putra
Malaysia and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia improved their standing, while
apex-status Universiti Sains Malaysia dropped in the world ranking.
UM acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Muhamad Rasad Muhamad, when
contacted yesterday, said the country's oldest university moved up from 246 last
year to 230.
UPM Vice-Chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Nik Mustapha Raja Abdullah said the university
was ranked 320, up from 364.
UKM Vice-Chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin said the
university was ranked 250 from 309 last year.
USM deputy Vice Chancellor (academic and international
affairs) Professor Ahmad Shukri Mustapa Kamal said the university had dropped
from 307th spot but he was not able to confirm the current standing.
On Monday, the THE-QS website will release the rankings of those below the top
200.
The rankings are compiled based on six distinct indicators -- academic peer and
employers' reviews, faculty-student ratio, citations per faculty, proportion of
international faculty and international students.
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