The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Wednesday, June 15, announced that 12 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) from the Philippines scored in the different categories of ranking in the 2022 World’s Universities with Real Impact (WURI) Rankings.
“I am happy that the previously unrecognized achievements of Philippine HEIs are now measured and ranked by international groups,” said CHED Chairman Popoy De Vera.
Of seven Philippine HEIs on the list last year, CHED said that five entered this year’s ranking.
Overall, CHED said that Philippine HEIs shine by placing in the Top 50 of all the six criteria under the ranking which are Industrial Application, Entrepreneurial Spirit, Ethical Value, Student Mobility and Openness, Crisis Management, and Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“This is a welcome addition to the traditional metrics - research publications, employability, faculty credentials, and faculty/students mobility - measured by other ranking bodies in the past,” De Vera explained.
“These new metrics will provide a more comprehensive assessment of what HEIs are doing especially in producing graduates that answer to the demand of the fast-paced technology and the 4th Industrial Revolution,” he added.
Exceptional higher education in Asia
Meanwhile, De Vera noted the performance of these HEIs proves that the “Philippines is indeed a country offering exceptional higher education in Asia.”
He added that CHED “takes pride in this development as it has provided an enabling platform that puts a premium on internationalization.”
De Vera said that the CHED International Affairs Staff (IAS) continues to assist Philippine HEIs that want to internationalize.
WURI is a new international ranking established by the Organizing Committee of the Hanseatic League of Universities (HLU).
This year’s ranking was organized by the Policy and Strategy on National Competitiveness (IPSNC) of South Korea and supported by four other organizations including the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), HLU, the Institute for Industrial Policy Studies (IPS) from Seoul, South Korea, and the Taylor Institute of Franklin University Switzerland (FUS) from Switzerland.
CHED said that the ranking seeks to deviate from the traditional rankings by highlighting the innovative programs of the universities instead of the usual quantitative metrics which give credence to research and academic systems.
PH global universities
WURI has been seeing a gradual increase in participation since its inception in 2020. For this year’s ranking, 792 innovative programs were submitted by 309 universities for evaluation.
Under the major category of Global Top 100 Universities, Far Eastern University (FEU) heads the Philippine HEIs this year by placing at Rank 74, which is five rankings higher than it was in 2021.
FEU is also joined by its technological campus, FEU Institute of Technology (FEU Tech) at Rank 98. The rest of the Philippine HEIs were placed at Rank 101-200.
For the criteria of Industrial Application, Cebu Technological University (CTU) leads the Philippine HEIs by landing at Rank 35 on the list. CTU is followed by Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) at Rank 36 and Samar State University (SSU) at Rank 43. Under Entrepreneurial Spirit, FEU Tech tops the Philippine HEIs at Rank 30 and is followed by FEU at Rank 38.
For the 3rd criteria of Ethical Value, FEU excels at Rank 15 with St. Paul University Philippines (SPUP) at Rank 33.
Topping the 4th criteria of Student Mobility and Openness is Tarlac Agricultural University (TAU) at Rank 32, with 7 ranks higher than its placement last year. TAU is joined in the criteria by FEU Tech at Rank 44, CTU at Rank 48, and SPUP at Rank 49.
With the highest ranking achieved by a Philippine HEI among the six criteria, FEU models at Rank 13 in Crisis Management. FEU is joined by 6 other Philippine HEIs in the ranking with Cebu Normal University (CNU) - Rank 15, Biliran Province State University (BiPSU)- Rank 22, FEU Tech - Rank 37, SPUP - Rank 38, MMSU - Rank 49, SSU - Rank 50.
CHED noted that one of the highlights in this 2022 ranking is the release of a new criterion - the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
“This new criterion evaluates the adaptability of universities to cope with the high demands and fast acceleration of high technology, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), and how they are able to utilize such in higher education,” CHED explained.
This criterion, CHED added, is made “more praiseworthy” with SSU ranking at No. 1 among its international and local peers.
With MMSU in Rank 4, CHED said that FEU in Rank 19, SPUP in Rank 20, FEU in Rank 28, Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite in Rank 39, and TAU in Rank 46, Philippine HEIs dominate the new criterion with 7 universities in the list.
Given this, De Vera noted that the collective efforts of Philippine HEIs, assisted by CHED, “are now showing results.”
De Vera also assured that CHED will continue accelerating internationalization, strengthening diplomatic relations, expanding linkages, and fostering partnerships to bring more HEIs into international rankings.