DLSU slips in Asian universities rankings

De La Salle University maintained its rank in the 151-160 range for the third consecutive year in the recently released 2014 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) University Rankings for Asia, and now placing second lowest among five Philippine universities included in the top 300 Asian schools. The other universities who made the list are University of the Philippines (UP) at 63, Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) at 115, University of Santo Tomas (UST) at 141, and Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU) at the 251-300 range.

The QS University Rankings employ various criteria when assessing academic institutions. These include academic reputation, employer reputation, student-to-faculty ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio, and international student ratio. The Asian rankings, meanwhile, consider similar criteria while also considering the number of inbound and outbound exchange students in its list of indicators.

Steady decline?

The University also fell out of the QS University Subject Rankings in English Language and Literature after previously placing in the 101-150 bracket out of 200 listed schools. DLSU peaked at rank 44 in the said subject last 2012 and started in the 51-100 bracket in 2011, the year it was launched.

Meanwhile, the University’s ranking in Asia has steadily declined for the last five years. In 2009, the year the Asian rankings were initiated, the University attained the rank of 76, while the current classification DLSU was awarded with is the same as last year’s.

Contrasting reactions

The news of the University’s latest rankings in Asia led members of the University from different sectors giving different opinions on the matter. Jon Ridge Ong (II, CIV) believes that DLSU’s inclusion in the list is already an impressive feat, considering that only five Philippine universities made the cut. 

On the other hand, Giorell Osabel (II, PSM-FIN) finds it dismaying that the University placed fourth. “We placed third before, but it is alarming that DLSU was ranked the last among the four top universities here in the Philippines in international context,” he explains.

A professor from the Br. Andrew Gonzalez College of Education who wishes to remain anonymous states that the “Rankings do matter, but we must remember that rankings are ‘political’ as well.” The professor states that the solutions to improve the University are not straightforward and that much reflection must be done before implementing them. 

“We must go back to our principles (both into the explicit and hidden curriculum) as an institution and make sure that we will not be offering a cure that will worsen the disease,” the professor believes. 

The professor also shares that the University is not doing enough in terms of internationalization, saying, “We (students and concerned offices) are not really making the most out of our student exchange programs and other internationalization efforts, since the need to do so is not properly relayed to the students.” 

The faculty member is referring to the availability of international study opportunities at DLSU, and that these are not maximized because of little attention and importance is given to such opportunities.

In an article published by The LaSallian last June 2013, DLSU President and Chancellor Br. Ricky Laguda FSC stated that “It (the rankings) doesn’t capture what we do in terms of community engagement. It doesn’t capture how Lasallian mission want to capture its objectives.”  He also added that “We equipped our learners not only with certain technical skills needed by industry but values that make them more human and better citizens.”

Constant call for improvement

While the news of the rankings has garnered different reactions from the University’s stakeholders, the call for improvements in the University has been unanimous. Ong suggests that DLSU should focus on improving the faculty and student ratio. The student cap per class should decrease from the present 45 count, so the faculty member will be able to effectively facilitate the class, given the smaller enrollees per class size.

“DLSU should keep this ratio in check as it is very essential to opening enough classes and improving the learning of students,” he furthers. 

Osabel looks into the admission policy of DLSU saying that the University should be stricter in filtering applicants who are most deserving of a Lasallian education. He furthers that the stringent filtering process should not stop once the student has been accepted into the University, but be extended until the student’s graduation.

Laguda, meanwhile, shares that the survey results may give the administration an idea of what else the institution could work on and improve on in order to be a better Lasallian educational institution. “The survey is not the end but only a means to understand ourselves better,” the University’s President and Chancellor emphasizes.