Thai universities drop several points in latest world rankings

[webfact]

Thai universities drop several points in latest world rankings
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has beaten Harvard and Cambridge to retain its top spot in the 10th annual QS World University Rankings, published yesterday on TopUniversities.com/Rankings2013.

The eight Thai universities ranked in the survey have lost ground from their 2012 positions. The QS rankings this year were the most comprehensive ever as more than 100 universities were added, making it an 800-strong list with 76 countries represented.

They took into account 62,094 academic and 27,957 employer responses, making both surveys the largest of their kind in the world.

The US took 11 of the top 20 positions, but its dominance has eroded since the financial crisis. Of the 83 US universities in the top 400, 64 ranked lower than in 2007/8.

The 43 US public universities in the top 400 lost an average of 20 places since 2007/8, following successive government funding cuts.

In contrast, 70 per cent of the 62 Asian institutions in the top 400 ranked higher than in 2007, but still no Asian institution is in the top 20.

Of the Thai universities who made the listing, two remain in the top 300.

Chulalongkorn University was ranked 239 in 2013, losing several places from its 201 rank in 2012; and Mahidol University getting 283 from 256 last year.

Ben Sowter, chief of research at QS says: "The government's plans to push for a education reform has come at the right time as the rankings show that though Thailand still has two institutions firmly in the top 300, the overall performance of its institutions this year has dropped across all the indicators."


-- The Nation 2013-09-10

[bigbamboo]

That's no so bad. Man U have dropped five points in just two weeks.

[yourauntbob]

I think they are being extremely generous including them anywhere near the top 800 let alone top 300. I wonder if they include such things as being able to pay your way to an "A" or admittance by family name.

Edited September 10, 2013 by yourauntbob

[Thai at Heart]

Firmly in the top 300?

So about equivalent to an old polytechnic in the UK?

[selftaopath]

Interesting. But denial will benefit many who want to believe differently and "save bloody face." (BS)

[geriatrickid]

One does need to take these rankings with a grain of salt or two.

I have always found it questionable that Chula is ranked higher than Mahidol. With all due respect to the airy folks at Chula, IMHO Mahidol's medical and research oriented academics appear to be more frequently cited when it comes to practical stuff. If one looks at joint studies particularly infectious and tropical diseases, Mahidol researchers and profs are the most prominent from Thai universities.

[CMSteve]

It may be true about pay your way and admittance by family name, but Harvard and Cambridge are still really good schools.

I think they are being extremely generous including them anywhere near the top 800 let alone top 300. I wonder if they include such things as being able to pay your way to an "A" or admittance by family name.

Edited September 10, 2013 by CMSteve

[jaltsc]

However, the report was written in English. So no one in Thailand understands where they stand. When several university students were asked by a western news service what they thought about the report, their only response was: "Haallooo"

[jalansanitwong]

I think they are being extremely generous including them anywhere near the top 800 let alone top 300. I wonder if they include such things as being able to pay your way to an "A" or admittance by family name.

True.....but Oxford and Cambridge dont ? What about all those silly Ivy league colleges in the USA. Universities these days are a business that markets and promotes itself like any else.

[chooka]

No need to worry, they are still the HUB of education.

[Mampara]

No need to worry, they are still the HUB of education.

But in Asia only

[harrycallahan]

Do they do the Bachelor of Science In Marketing at Thai unis? Popular in the Philippines.

[Considered Opinion]

I think they are being extremely generous including them anywhere near the top 800 let alone top 300. I wonder if they include such things as being able to pay your way to an "A" or admittance by family name.

I think that's a mistake of interpretation. It's whether the family name is on the list of 300 HiSo families in Bangkok, and whether your son/s have killed anyone to get a degree.

[Considered Opinion]

However, the report was written in English. So no one in Thailand understands where they stand. When several university students were asked by a western news service what they thought about the report, their only response was: "Haallooo"

And they also noted they "miss you velly much". And "mother's buffalo is ill, can I please have 60,000 baht to take to vet, prease dahring".

[Lobo4819]

No need to worry, they are still the HUB of education.

But in Asia only

But in Thailand only.

[hellodolly]

It may be true about pay your way and admittance by family name, but Harvard and Cambridge are still really good schools.

I think they are being extremely generous including them anywhere near the top 800 let alone top 300. I wonder if they include such things as being able to pay your way to an "A" or admittance by family name.

But at least with those two schools once you are in you will get a good education. Your scores will reflect the quality of your workmanship not the size of Mommy and Daddy wallet.

When you get a diploma from them you will have a degree recognized around the world as a quality education.

[Nickymaster]

There is nothing positive coming out of Thailand lately.

[yourauntbob]

It may be true about pay your way and admittance by family name, but Harvard and Cambridge are still really good schools.

I think they are being extremely generous including them anywhere near the top 800 let alone top 300. I wonder if they include such things as being able to pay your way to an "A" or admittance by family name.

family name maybe...in some cases at Harvard and Cambridge, but i dont think people can pay for an "A." Harvard's endowment fund is some 40-50 Billion dollars, they dont need money. although if your the kid of a president or senator you probably have a better shot at getting in.

here its just called schooling.

[Utley]

The Thai universities probably dropped in rank because many of their students refuse to wear uniforms.

[Stradavarius37]

These threads always produce the trolls who love to slag all Thai universities with the same tar brush. But, I've been at Mahidol for 11 years and it is a quality institution. Some of the faculties are truly world class (medicine, science, music), some are quite strong (MUIC, CMMU), and most are average. There is not grade paying here, although I have no doubts it happens at other institutions. Our biggest challenge currently is that the slide has occurred under our new president, who is an unimaginative bureaucrat, especially when compared with our previous university president, under whose inspired leadership saw MU rise to that 256 marking - with innovative polices and plenty of "Tough love" for all faculties. Hope we can get back up there again.

Sorry to interrupt your "All Thai universities are terrible" diatribe - please continue, with my apologies.

[The Usual Suspect]

These threads always produce the trolls who love to slag all Thai universities with the same tar brush. But, I've been at Mahidol for 11 years and it is a quality institution. Some of the faculties are truly world class (medicine, science, music), some are quite strong (MUIC, CMMU), and most are average. There is not grade paying here, although I have no doubts it happens at other institutions. Our biggest challenge currently is that the slide has occurred under our new president, who is an unimaginative bureaucrat, especially when compared with our previous university president, under whose inspired leadership saw MU rise to that 256 marking - with innovative polices and plenty of "Tough love" for all faculties. Hope we can get back up there again.

Sorry to interrupt your "All Thai universities are terrible" diatribe - please continue, with my apologies.

Thanks for the relativity, Stradavarius37!!! Refreshing, to say the least!

[drdoom6996]

It may be true about pay your way and admittance by family name, but Harvard and Cambridge are still really good schools.

I think they are being extremely generous including them anywhere near the top 800 let alone top 300. I wonder if they include such things as being able to pay your way to an "A" or admittance by family name.

But at least with those two schools once you are in you will get a good education. Your scores will reflect the quality of your workmanship not the size of Mommy and Daddy wallet.

When you get a diploma from them you will have a degree recognized around the world as a quality education.

And here you get a picture of your class in from of a poster they painted with Hitler on it. To show everyone how much you actually learned.

[atyclb]

Do they do the Bachelor of Science In Marketing at Thai unis? Popular in the Philippines.

Yes as a matter of fact the female enrollees at Nana University are all proficient at BS marketing

[cbluck58]

It will be due to the increasing number of uniformed students skipping classes to have sex...

[Soutpeel]

What is the ranking of the university in the US that YK went to ?

[ramrod711]

Mahidol University getting 283 from 256 last year.

No big deal except for the awkward school cheer. Having to chant, we are 283 and falling, while your team is driving for goal doesn't enhance school spirit.

[lee b]

Looks like they will have to stay on a few extra years to catch up

[seminomadic]

True.....but Oxford and Cambridge dont ? What about all those silly Ivy league colleges in the USA. Universities these days are a business that markets and promotes itself like any else.

Great, thanks very much for now having made it clear what a complete ignoramus you are. We now know how much stock to invest in your posts forthwith.

[Thai at Heart]

It may be true about pay your way and admittance by family name, but Harvard and Cambridge are still really good schools.

I think they are being extremely generous including them anywhere near the top 800 let alone top 300. I wonder if they include such things as being able to pay your way to an "A" or admittance by family name.

They only accept the top 1% of all the highest applicants anyway. They are the cream of the crop.

[Docno]

One does need to take these rankings with a grain of salt or two.

I have always found it questionable that Chula is ranked higher than Mahidol. With all due respect to the airy folks at Chula, IMHO Mahidol's medical and research oriented academics appear to be more frequently cited when it comes to practical stuff. If one looks at joint studies particularly infectious and tropical diseases, Mahidol researchers and profs are the most prominent from Thai universities.

Exactly. The university I used to teach at is ranked in the top 30 globally on the list, so I've had some experience with these things, and I can assure you that there's always a bit of game-playing going on. .Universities (esp business schools) spend a fair bit of cash to 'plump the numbers'. In many cases, there is a staff member who's main job is to gather and present the data required by the ranking bodies and to identify what can be done to improve the rankings. Sometimes it gets a little absurd. For example, in the past (at least), IT and internet access for students was one of the criteria that some ranking organisations used to judge universities, and I am aware of cases where access points were installed in ridiculous places around a campus just to improve the student / access-point ratio. Why go to the trouble? Because higher rankings mean more/better students means more government/private funding etc etc. Or even more cynically: higher rankings mean greater rewards for university administrators. Now these sorts of things aren't going to move a university hundreds of places in the rankings, but they can have a significant impact. That said, not knowing much about the Thai university system at all, I would assume from these rankings that there is some real 'fixing' to be done (and I don't mean 'fixing' the numbers).