Would anyone not under
the influence of drugs believe that NUS and NTU are better universities than
Princeton, Cornell or Yale? Well, some Singaporeans are gloating over this
great achievement by the two local universities, no ill intent in my statement
as one is my alma mater. I should be proud that my alma mater is better than
top Ivy League universities in the US. Soon many top American universities
would be asking for joint NUS degrees to boost up their reputation instead of
Singapore begging to host joint Singapore American university degrees here.
Some of the Singaporeans
that were so impressed with the rankings are the uninformed or ill informed
uncles in the kopitiams and aunties in the wet market. I heard them chirping
about it with great excitement, and I can understand, given their exposure and
lack of understanding on the QS criteria for judging.
Ok, maybe on face value,
maybe the top American universities are living on their past glories while NUS
and NTU are what they are today by today's standard. The good American
universities were good in the past but no longer. Time has changed. For the
well informed, the comments are different and some are outright cynical of the
outcome with good reasons. Below are some comments taken from the
onlinecitizen.
'On Thursday (8 June),
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) was named Asia’s top university in the
2018 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings, surpassing the
National University of Singapore (NUS).
NTU is also ranked 11th
in the world, ranking above other notable institutions such as Princeton
University, Cornell University and Yale University, and two positions above its
previous 13th spot.
Below is a response
written by John Ouserhout on question-and-answer site, Quora on
the question of "How accurate are the 2018 QS rankings? They seem to rank
Nanyang Tech higher than Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Columbia, and Berkeley."
Ouserhout's response in
full
First impressions
suggest it is almost laughably inaccurate. UC Berkeley at #27? This is
the same university that is affiliated with 91 Nobel Laureates, 13 Fields
Medals, 23 Turing Awards and 16 elements of the Periodic Table. The rest of the
ranking seems similarly strange as well; NUS and NTU ranked right alongside or
higher than Princeton, Cornell, Yale, Columbia and Johns Hopkins?
(Haha, this Ouserhout
does not know of the many great Nobel laureates hiding in the Singapore
universities or akan datang, ie coming soon, going to happen).
Is it just my
Anglo-American bias speaking? I know these universities have made rapid strides
in funding and encouraging cutting edge research, so perhaps it’s inevitable
that they’ve caught up and surpassed the more well known Ivy League
universities. That is obviously partly the case, but after digging around for a
bit, there seems to be a whole host of articles about the flawed methodology
and downright shady practices of the QS organisation.
Some of the flaw
methodology include counting more foreign students and faculty as good without
any relations to academic merits. More foreigners mean more points. How silly.
And 50% of the points
come from surveys from Academics and Employers. Look, there are hundreds of
good American universities and only 2 or 3 good Singapore universities. In the
latter, all the scores would go to these 2 or 3 universities while in the US
the scores would be thinly spread. See the flaw? Which university would the
Employers hired from? In the US they could hire from hundreds of universities
but only 2/3 in Singapore.
Ouserhout went on with
many other flaws in the methodology. Below are a few more.
Secondly, QS’s business
model is really shady:
- A dubious Star ranking system,
where universities pay to be evaluated. (Conflicts of interest anyone?)
- ‘Branding Opportunities’ for
$80,000 with QS Showcase
- A highly lucrative ‘consultancy
service’ to help universities rise up the rankings
In short, ranking
systems might have their flaws, but this one is downright shady and unethical.
No need to
say anything more, just let the daft to gloat over this mirage as a badge of
honour. I don’t blame the uncles in the
kopitiams or the aunties in the wet market. I understand where they are coming
from. Would any reputable academics bother to question the allegation by Ouserhout that the ranking system 'is downright shady and unethical'?
