" UA" STARS, RATINGS
In September, the UK's THE, one of the three most prestigious and influential university ranking organizations in the world, announced the 2024 World University Rankings. Accordingly, Vietnam has 6 ranked representatives including Hanoi National University, Ho Chi Minh City National University, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hue University, Duy Tan University and Ton Duc Thang University.
Among them, Duy Tan University and Ton Duc Thang University are both in the 601-800 group out of 1,900 universities in the world and leading Vietnamese universities, while Hanoi National University is in the 1,201-1,500 group. Previously, in this ranking in 2023, Duy Tan University and Ton Duc Thang University also led at 401-500, Hanoi National University was in the 1,001-1,200 group. Ho Chi Minh City National University, Hanoi University of Science and Technology and Hue University ranked 1,501+ in both 2023 and 2024.
Many Vietnamese universities in the rankings
In July, the Cybermetrics Labs (under the Spanish National Research Council) also announced the second Webometrics ranking in 2023. Vietnam has 186 participating schools, of which 5 are leading units including Hanoi National University, Ton Duc Thang University, Duy Tan University, Nguyen Tat Thanh University and Hanoi University of Science and Technology.
Most recently, on November 8, Vietnam also had 15 representatives in the 2024 Asian University Rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS, UK), with a total of 857 schools. Of which, Duy Tan University ranked 115th, Ton Duc Thang University ranked 138th, followed by Hanoi National University ranked 187th and Ho Chi Minh City National University ranked 220th. Nguyen Tat Thanh University is in the 291-300 group, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education, University of Transport and Van Lang University are in the 401-450, 651-700 and 701-750 groups, respectively, Hanoi University of Education falls into the 801+ group.
In addition, many Vietnamese universities also participate in the ranking of research institutes and universities in the world conducted by SCImago Institutions Rankings and high rankings belong to universities such as Duy Tan, Ton Duc Thang, Hanoi National University, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Nguyen Tat Thanh University...
In addition to participating in the rankings, many universities are also awarded stars by QS, a certification that is valid for 3 years. Accordingly, QS Stars will give an overall rating from 0 to 5 stars or more on criteria including teaching, student employment rate, internationalization, academic development, training programs, facilities, social responsibility and comprehensive development. The star rating is entirely based on the records and data sent by the schools to this organization.
Up to now, there are dozens of universities that have been awarded stars by QS Stars such as Ton Duc Thang, FPT, Ho Chi Minh City Industry, Hoa Sen, Ho Chi Minh City Economics - Finance, Ho Chi Minh City Technology, Nguyen Tat Thanh, British University Vietnam, Ba Ria-Vung Tau... In which, most have 4 stars, with British University Vietnam having 5 stars.
According to experts, being listed in the rankings will enhance the brand of the university and Vietnam in the international arena.
ENHANCE YOUR BRAND INTERNATIONALLY
Professor Nguyen Van Tuan (University of New South Wales, Australia) believes that university rankings are a common and inevitable trend, although many people oppose and point out mistakes in the ranking method. "Through university rankings, we know what the strengths of universities are, and will help learners make wise choices. In the process of integrating into the world, it is normal for Vietnamese universities to participate in rankings," Professor Tuan commented.
According to him, most Vietnamese universities still have low rankings in the world. However, being listed in the international rankings also has some positive impacts. "First, being listed in the rankings will enhance the brand of the university and Vietnam in the international arena; second, being listed in the university rankings will also enhance the opportunity to cooperate with universities of the same caliber in the world. Normally, Western universities like to cooperate in science and training with universities listed in the world university rankings; third, participating in the university rankings is also a way to know where they stand in terms of university education and science in the world."
The number of articles in the rankings is a vulnerable criterion.
According to Professor Nguyen Van Tuan, any index in university rankings can be abused, but the criterion of the number of published scientific articles is the most easily influenced.
"Some universities abuse the convention of work address and research address to increase the number of articles for themselves. There are universities in Saudi Arabia that do not do much research, but they sign contracts with famous scientists in the US to have them list their research address in Saudi Arabia, and thus increase the number of scientific articles and improve their position in the rankings. This is an abuse that has not been resolved yet," said Professor Tuan.
T MORE FAVORABLE IN ADMISSION
Explaining why a university's ranking can also vary significantly between rankings, Professor and Doctor Luong Van Hy, University of Toronto (Canada), Chairman of the Research Ethics Council of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City National University, said that each ranking sets different criteria with different weights for the selected criteria.
"However, research-related factors account for 60-62.5% of the total score (in the QS and THE rankings) and up to 90% of the total score (in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University and US News rankings). Even in the global ranking of National Taiwan University, the number of publications in prestigious academic journals accounts for 100% of the total score. These factors include the number of publications in prestigious academic journals or research books of lecturers and researchers, the academic or research reputation of the university, the number of Nobel Prizes and other major awards of the faculty...", Professor Luong Van Hy informed.
Therefore, according to Mr. Hy, only research universities or universities with a research orientation have the opportunity to enter these global rankings. However, universities that do not focus on research can also perform very well in their teaching mission, can have very competitive admissions, and can be ranked highly in national rankings with criteria unrelated to research such as the US News rankings of the US, or the MacLean rankings of Canada.
"But despite the differences, global or national rankings help universities compare themselves with other universities. Rankings also give the public a quick look at universities. From there, they also help high-ranking universities have an advantage in recruiting students as well as raising funds from businesses and society in general," said Professor Luong Van Hy. (to be continued)
Highly ranked university
will lead to good admissions
Faced with the current situation in Vietnam, some Vietnamese universities, despite having high rankings in the rankings, have low entrance scores, experts have shared their thoughts.
Through his work experience, Professor Luong Van Hy affirmed: "I have not known any university in the West that is highly or quite highly ranked but has difficulty in recruiting and attracting good students, trainees, and researchers. It is very unusual for a university that is highly or quite highly ranked to have difficulty in recruiting. The schools ranked in global rankings for research universities, or in national rankings including those that do not focus on research, are usually highly or very competitive in terms of admission. Students who get into these top schools are often talented people, with many prospects for success in the future."
Professor Nguyen Van Tuan also said: "In Australia, there has been an analysis of the relationship between university rankings and the number of students enrolled and tuition fees. The results of this analysis show that highly ranked universities often have an increase in the number of students and tuition fees. Even the principal's salary increases according to the university's ranking." "That shows that a highly ranked university will attract good admissions. But perhaps this will only be true for universities that are highly ranked based on their actual strength," Professor Tuan acknowledged.
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