Universiti Malaya (UM) is the highest ranked at 42, followed by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) at 58 and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) at 69.

Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) is at 77, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) at 82 and International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) at 159.

QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd managing director Nunzio Quacquarelli told The Star that Malaysian universities had done well, with most institutions holding close to last year’s position or improving.

Rankings are a way for universities to measure their performance against one another.

There are other placings such as the QS World University Rankings seeking to identify world-class universities, while the Academic Ranking of World Universities is compiled by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

The best-known college and university rankings in the United States are compiled by US News & World Report.

This is the second time top Asian universities were evaluated in a regional ranking from QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd, which compiles the annual QS World University Rankings.

QS Intelligence Unit head Ben Sowter said the data collection process for the latest rankings was from late 2009 until the end of March this year.

UKM vice-chancellor Prof Tan Sri Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin said rankings was only one of the measures of a university’s global recognition.

“UKM will learn from the rankings and continue to pursue our core functions of research, teaching and service according to our transformation plan,” she added.

UPM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Nik Mustapha Abdullah thanked university staff for working hard.

IIUM rector Prof Datuk Dr Syed Arabi Idid, who is attending a conference in Azerbaijan, said ranking was important, although programmes to make graduates employable were more vital.

UTM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Zaini Ujang said the university was progressing well according to its five-year plan, and he was glad that despite UTM not being a research university, it had ranked comparably.

USM vice-chancellor Prof Tan Sri Dzulkifli Razak said the university had formally informed QS that it was not participating in any of its rankings because of methodological flaws.

The University of Hong Kong tops the Asian University Rankings this year, followed by the Hong Kong University of Science and Techno-logy, the National University of Singapore and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

For full results, log on to www.topuniversities.com

Via : The Star

Before you apply for admission to any courses in Malaysia, it is important for your to check the accreditation of the programme. In Malaysia, the body that responsible on the courses accreditation is Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA). MQA was established in November 2007.

The main role of the MQA is to implement the Malaysian Qualifications Framework (MQF) as a basis for quality assurance of higher education and as the reference point for the criteria and standards for national qualifications. The MQA is responsible for monitoring and overseeing the quality assurance practices and accreditation of national higher education both the public and the private sectors..

As a quality assurance body, the functions of MQA are:

1. To implement MQF as a reference point for Malaysian qualifications;
2. To develop standards and credits and all other relevant instruments as national references for the conferment of awards with the cooperation of stakeholders;
3. To quality assure higher education institutions and programmes;
4. To accredit courses that fulfil the set criteria and standards;
5. To facilitate the recognition and articulation of qualifications; and
6. To maintain the Malaysian Qualifications Register (MQR).

To check your courses accreditation you can do it online at MQA portal.

Based on a simulation of past performance, it is estimated that approximately two per cent of head teachers and principals will be eligible for the reward under this programme.

The eligibility criteria are:

• A specified target composite score or target improvement in their performance rankings. This would give head teachers and principals a chance to receive the reward regardless of their starting point; even those with lower starting positions will be able to receive the reward if they show significant improvement in their ranking.
• Annual Appraisal Report score higher than 90
• Unqualified financial audit report from the state’s education department
• Free from disciplinary action
• Achieves school literacy and numeracy targets (for primary schools)

Some of the key points under the transformation programme as follows :

• The head teachers and principals, who exceed targets, will be rewarded financially and non-financially by a RM7,500 payment, accelerated promotion and a Certificate of Recognition.
• For those who significantly exceed targets for three consecutive years, an attachment programme to a reputable institution, locally or abroad, will be offered.
• Teachers in schools where the head teacher or principal qualifies for the reward will also be eligible for a financial reward. The top five per cent of teachers in the school will receive RM 1,800, the next 90 per cent receives RM900 while the bottom five per cent will not be eligible for the reward.
• About 10 per cent of the bottom performing head teachers and principals will be provided with training in an effort to improve their performance. In the first year, these head teachers and principals will undergo Institut Aminuddin Baki’s Performance Management Programme, to draw up plans to improve the performance of their school. If the situation continues for a second year, these head teachers and principals will be given coaching and mentoring support by qualified officers from the institute to help them improve. If, despite these measures performance continues to be poor, action such as transfers and voluntary separation will be taken.

The Times Higher Edu­­cation (THE) Quacquarelli Sy­­monds (Qs) has recently released the Top 100 Asian Universities List. This is the first regional ranking The Times.

Universiti Malaya leads four other universities at 39th spot. The other four universities were Universiti Ke­­bang­­­saan Malaysia (51st), Universiti Sains Malaysia (69th), Universiti Tek­nologi Malaysia (82nd) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (90th).

QS managing director Nunzio Quac­­quarelli said the result of the QS.com Asian University Rankings was based on regional relevant mea­sures of excellence.

“The top performing universities were distinguished not only by quality but also by high productivity of research, compared to their regional peers,” he said in a statement here yesterday.

He said Malaysian universities per­formed well, with high numbers of international students and faculties, which made Malaysia an attractive option for international students.

The Top 10 ranking as follows :

1. University of Hong Kong
2. The Chinese University of Hong Kong
3. University of Tokyo
4. Hong Kong University of Science & Technology
5. Kyoto University
6. Osaka University

You can view full ranking here.

Are we not good enough or what ?

SINGAPORE: The Nanyang Business School here has broken into the top 25 in a world ranking of Master of Business Administration (MBA) programmes — a first for Singapore universities.

Nanyang was placed 24th globally, up from 46th last year in the Financial Times’ closely watched annual MBA rankings.

NUS Business School also had something to boast about. Its MBA programme rocketed 46 places to this year’s 35th spot in the Financial Times table from its previous 81st position in 2007.

NUS was unranked last year due to “incomplete data collected.” The previous dean, Professor Christopher Earley, had stepped down and a replacement had to be found.

The Financial Times ranking assesses three broad criteria: The career progression of alumni; international diversity; and how well ideas are generated.

The Nanyang Business School scored well in these areas: Career progress, gender diversity and the international nature of its board, faculty and students.

Nanyang and NUS were also ranked fourth and sixth respectively among its peers in the Asia-Pacific region, which also includes Australia.

The Financial Times MBA rankings have traditionally been dominated by business schools in the United States and Europe.

However, the latest rankings show that more business schools in countries such as China, India and Singapore are beginning to emerge as strong players in the lucrative MBA arena.

For example, in 1999, 17 of the top 20 business schools were from the United States, but fast-forward to 2009 and there are only nine US business schools in the top 20 rankings.

This year, Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania and the London Business School jointly topped the rankings, while Harvard and Columbia were placed third and fourth respectively.

Other Asian business schools which have made it into the top rankings include Shanghai-based China European International Business School (eighth) and the Indian School of Business (15th).

By coming eighth in the rankings, the China European International Business School was also the first China-based business school to make the list of top 10 business schools globally. — ANN/ The Straits Times

None of our college/universities listed in the best 30. But our neighbour has their Singapore National University at 3rd place.

I don’t know what happen to our system here but the government need to do something about it to improve our education system quality.

For details visit USNEWS.

Its Acting Vice-Chancellor Datuk Dr Muhamad Rasat Muhamad said the position showed that UM’s strategic plan which was implemented two years ago under the leadership of Vice Chancellor Datuk Rafiah Salim and the excellent support of the staff was bearing fruit.

Muhamad Rasat in a statement here today said the university fully supported the Ministry of Higher Education in realising the national aspiration of having one or more of Malaysia’s universities in the top 200 of the THE ranking by 2010.

The summary for Malaysian University as follows :

1. UM (#246)/ (#192)
2. USM (#307)/ (#277)
3. UKM (#309)/ (#185)
4. UPM (#364)/(#292)
5. UTM (#415)/ (NA)

None of the private universities in the rankings, what happen actually. Does this means that Public Universites is very much better than them. Maybe government of Malaysia can thing something so that we can have our own University Ranking. I believe Lembaga Akreditasi Negara has all the required manpower, tools to do this rankings job.

Via : QS Top Universities