UST fails to secure 2023 Times Higher Education ranking, gets ‘Reporter’ status

by PRINCE RONSON SABADO

THE UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas (UST) finally made it to the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings but still fell short of securing a ranking due to a lack of published research works.

UST was granted a “Reporter” status in the 2023 World University Rankings, a yearly publication that provides a “definitive list of the world’s best universities.” The publication aims to evaluate university performances on the global stage with an emphasis on research, impact and teaching.

The newly-created “Reporter” status seeks to recognize universities that provided data to evaluators but did not meet the eligibility requirements to be granted a rank.

In an email interview with The Flame, THE disclosed that UST had failed to meet the research publication threshold, the “only reason” why it was not able to secure a ranking.

“We can say that the threshold is that a university meets the 1000-paper threshold over the past five years, and has at least 150 papers in each of these years. Unfortunately, [the University of] Santo Tomas missed the yearly threshold for the year 2018,” THE said.

THE advised the University to “focus on publishing high-quality journals” to meet its only missed criteria.

The THE World University Rankings is determined through the following criteria: teaching (the learning environment); research (volume, income, and reputation); citations (research influence); international outlook (staff, students, research); and industry income (knowledge transfer).

Four Philippine universities were able to secure rankings in this year’s assessment, namely, the Ateneo de Manila University (351-400), University of the Philippines (801-1000), De La Salle University (1201-1500), and Mapúa University (1501+). The University of the Philippines and De La Salle University have been on the list for more than five years.

Aside from UST, five other Philippine universities were recognized by THE but did not get a ranking, namely, Cebu Technological University, University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines, Mindanao State University, Tarlac Agricultural University, and Visayas State University.

“It is great to see the inclusion of two universities for the first time in the Philippines with Ateneo de Manila University and Mapúa University,” THE’s Chief Knowledge Officer Phil Baty told The Flame through a representative.

“With increased participation year on year in THE World University Rankings with this year reaching 1,799 universities from 104 countries and regions being ranked, all universities are working hard on the eligibility criteria to maintain or to receive their rankings,” Baty added. F