in baguio, in october

google's aerial view of baguio

view of the cathedral surrounded by structures along session road

view of burnham park

university of the cordilleras and the huge bowl behind it

session road

as i post this entry...

these days, there aren't too many pine trees in baguio. still, i decided to go up to finish a couple of manuscripts. baguio has always been good to me. i completed many poems here. i used to take long trips in college from manila to this city as a tutor-volunteer to underprivileged students. i spent many summers with writer-friends during the annual u.p. national writers' workshops. most importantly, i could not finish anything solid in manila. i need this short break very badly.

here, i've been walking to my favorite coffee shop daily. tantalized by the aroma of benguet coffee, i write religiously from noon to dusk. then i take a long walk back to my hotel room to work till dawn.

i'm back to my australia schedule. stay tuned.

p.s. occasionally, i bump into old friends and former students. while walking, a handful of local residents would stop and ask me if i am THAT person from the TV commercial. local and national newspapers are still running advertorials about me and the milk campaign. magaling talaga mag-promote ang nestle at ang chris cahilig consultancy inc. because of these guys, i am not totally isolated from the rest of the world.

From UP Vice President Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo: UP did not participate in the THES-QS university rankings

In the 2008 university rankings recently released by the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) and Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), only the University of the Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila University (among Philippine universities) made it to the top 400. UP rose from 398 in 2007 to 276 this year; Ateneo rose from 401-500 to 254. De La Salle was ranked 415th and UST was ranked 470th.

According to UP Vice President for Public Affairs Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo, UP President Emerlinda R. Roman did not receive any invitation to participate in the survey this year or any questionnaire to answer. What President Roman received was an email message from QS Asia Quacquarelli Symonds’ Regional Director (Asia Pacific), Mandy Mok, informing her that UP had “gone up in the rankings.”

Since UP had not been invited to participate in the survey and had not provided any data, UP officials do not know where and how the figures were obtained on which the ranking was based.

Hidalgo revealed that the message also contained this statement: “In view of the good news, would you like to consider signing up the following at a very attractive package price?” The “package price,” which includes a banner on topuniversities.com, a full page full color ad in Top Universities Guide 2009, and a booth at Top Universities Fair 2009, amounts to $48,930.

“UP can hardly be expected to spend more than 2 million pesos on publicity for itself involving a survey conducted by an organization that refuses to divulge where it obtains its data,” Hidalgo said.

In 2007, UP was invited to participate in the survey, but when THES-QS refused to explain where it obtained the data used to determine UP’s rank in the 2006 survey (where UP was ranked No. 299), university officials decided not to accept the invitation to participate in the 2007 survey. Moreover, the university was given barely a week to respond to the questionnaire.

UP wrote THES-QS in July 2007, informing them of this decision, and again in September 2007, requesting the organization to respect UP’s decision. In response, research assistant Saad Shabir wrote back saying that if it did not receive the information it would be “forced to use last year’s data or some form of average.”

These rankings are supposedly meant to serve as “the definitive guide to universities around the world which truly excel.” In evaluating institutions it computes half of the index based on its reputation as perceived by academics (peer review 40%) and global employers (recruiter review 10%). Since it does not specify who are surveyed or what questions are asked, the methodology is problematic.

An earlier statement, released by UP in August this year, and carried by several national dailies, said: “Even peers require standardized input data to review. But according to the International Ranking Systems for Universities and Institutions: A Critical Appraisal, published by BioMed Central, the Times simply asks 190,000 ‘experts’ to list what they regard as the top 30 universities in their field of expertise without providing input data on any performance indicators (http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/5/30). Moreover, the survey response rate among selected experts was found to be below 1%. In other words, on the basis of possible selection biases alone, the validity of the measurement is shaky.”

According to the statement, the other half of the index is based on such indicators as student-to faculty ratio, the number of foreign faculty and students in the university, and the number of academic works by university researchers that have been cited internationally. “Data for these indicators, however, typically depend on the information that participating institutions submit. An institution’s index may be easily distorted if it fails to submit data for the pertinent indicators, or if it chooses not to participate.”

As Dr. Leticia Peñano-Ho said in an article carried by the UP Forum last year: “The crux of the matter is to identify the indices that can approximate the different landscapes of universities. There might be a need to relate these indicators to the unversities’ mission statements. UP’s constituents can identify their own indicators and decide on their desirability, relevance and reliability. These criteria should, as an added value, provide international comparisons.”

Friday, October 17, 2008

2008 world's top 200 universities

Times Higher: World University Rankings

2008 Rank	2007 Rank	Institution name	Country
Source: QS Quacquarelli Symonds (www.topuniversities.com) Copyright © 2004-2008 QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd. Click here for copyright and limitations on use.
1	1	HARVARD University	United States
2	2=	YALE University	United States
3	2=	University of CAMBRIDGE	United Kingdom
4	2=	University of OXFORD	United Kingdom
5	7=	CALIFORNIA Institute of Technology (Caltech)	United States
6	5	IMPERIAL College London	United Kingdom
7	9	UCL (University College London)	United Kingdom
8	7=	University of CHICAGO	United States
9	10	MASSACHUSETTS Institute of Technology (MIT)	United States
10	11	COLUMBIA University	United States
11	14	University of PENNSYLVANIA	United States
12	6	PRINCETON University	United States
13=	13	DUKE University	United States
13=	15	JOHNS HOPKINS University	United States
15	20=	CORNELL University	United States
16	16	AUSTRALIAN National University	Australia
17	19	STANFORD University	United States
18	38=	University of MICHIGAN	United States
19	17	University of TOKYO	Japan
20	12	MCGILL University	Canada
21	20=	CARNEGIE MELLON University	United States
22	24	KING'S College London	United Kingdom
23	23	University of EDINBURGH	United Kingdom
24	42	ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)	Switzerland
25	25	KYOTO University	Japan
26	18	University of HONG KONG	Hong Kong
27	32	BROWN University	United States
28	26	École Normale Supérieure, PARIS	France
29	30	University of MANCHESTER	United Kingdom
30=	41	University of CALIFORNIA, Los Angeles (UCLA)	United States
30=	33=	National University of SINGAPORE	Singapore
32	37	University of BRISTOL	United Kingdom
33	29	NORTHWESTERN University	United States
34=	33=	University of BRITISH COLUMBIA	Canada
34=	28	ÉCOLE POLYTECHNIQUE	France
36	22	University of California, BERKELEY	United States
37	31	The University of SYDNEY	Australia
38	27	The University of MELBOURNE	Australia
39	53=	HONG KONG University of Science & Technology	Hong Kong
40	49	NEW YORK University (NYU)	United States
41	45	University of TORONTO	Canada
42	38=	The CHINESE University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
43	33=	University of QUEENSLAND	Australia
44	46	OSAKA University	Japan
45	44	University of NEW SOUTH WALES	Australia
46	47	BOSTON University	United States
47	43	MONASH University	Australia
48	93=	University of COPENHAGEN	Denmark
49	53=	TRINITY College Dublin	Ireland
50=	117=	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de LAUSANNE	Switzerland
50=	36	PEKING University	China
50=	51=	SEOUL National University	Korea, South
53	48	University of AMSTERDAM	Netherlands
54	71=	DARTMOUTH College	United States
55	55=	University of WISCONSIN-Madison	United States
56	40	TSINGHUA University	China
57	60	HEIDELBERG Universität	Germany
58	58	University of CALIFORNIA, San Diego	United States
59	55=	University of WASHINGTON	United States
60	161=	WASHINGTON University in St. Louis	United States
61	90=	TOKYO Institute of Technology	Japan
62	74=	EMORY University	United States
63	71=	UPPSALA University	Sweden
64	84	LEIDEN University	Netherlands
65	50	The University of AUCKLAND	New Zealand
66	59	LONDON School of Economics and Political Science	United Kingdom
67	89	UTRECHT University	Netherlands
68	105	University of GENEVA	Switzerland
69	57	University of WARWICK	United Kingdom
70	51=	University of TEXAS at Austin	United States
71	73	University of ILLINOIS	United States
72	61	Katholieke Universiteit LEUVEN	Belgium
73	83	University of GLASGOW	United Kingdom
74	97=	University of ALBERTA	Canada
75	65=	University of BIRMINGHAM	United Kingdom
76	68	University of SHEFFIELD	United Kingdom
77	69	NANYANG Technological University	Singapore
78=	63	DELFT University of Technology	Netherlands
78=	67	Technische Universität MÜNCHEN	Germany
78=	92	RICE University	United States
81=	114=	University of AARHUS	Denmark
81=	74=	University of YORK	United Kingdom
83=	97=	GEORGIA Institute of Technology	United States
83=	76	University of ST ANDREWS	United Kingdom
83=	64	The University of WESTERN AUSTRALIA	Australia
86	70	University of NOTTINGHAM	United Kingdom
87	142=	University of MINNESOTA	United States
88	106	LUND University	Sweden
89	96	University of CALIFORNIA, Davis	United States
90	85=	CASE WESTERN RESERVE University	United States
91=	100	University of HELSINKI	Finland
91=	93=	Université de Montréal	Canada
93=	128	Hebrew University of JERUSALEM	Israel
93=	65=	Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (MUNICH)	Germany
95	132=	KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology	Korea, South
96	110	University of VIRGINIA	United States
97	77=	University of PITTSBURGH	United States
98	117=	University of CALIFORNIA, Santa Barbara	United States
99=	77=	PURDUE University	United States
99=	80=	University of SOUTHAMPTON	United Kingdom
101	82	VANDERBILT University	United States
102=	151=	University of NORTH CAROLINA	United States
102=	119	University of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA	United States
104	80=	University of LEEDS	United Kingdom
105	90=	PENNSYLVANIA STATE University	United States
106=	62	University of ADELAIDE	Australia
106=	140=	University of ZURICH	Switzerland
108	177=	University College DUBLIN	Ireland
109	231=	TECHNION - Israel Institute of Technology	Israel
110	102=	GEORGETOWN University	United States
111	111	MAASTRICHT University	Netherlands
112	102=	TOHOKU University	Japan
113	85=	FUDAN University	China
114	151=	TEL AVIV University	Israel
115	85=	University of VIENNA	Austria
116	123	Université catholique de LOUVAIN (UCL)	Belgium
117=	108	MCMASTER University	Canada
117=	88	QUEEN'S University	Canada
119	95	University of ROCHESTER	United States
120	112=	NAGOYA University	Japan
121	120	OHIO STATE University	United States
122=	109	DURHAM University	United Kingdom
122=	79	University of MARYLAND	United States
124=	114=	University of OTAGO	New Zealand
124=	102=	National TAIWAN University	Taiwan
126	163=	ERASMUS University Rotterdam	Netherlands
127	224	STONY BROOK University	United States
128	130=	EINDHOVEN University of Technology	Netherlands
129	112=	University of WATERLOO	Canada
130	121	University of SUSSEX	United Kingdom
131	114=	University of BASEL	Switzerland
132	140=	University of CALIFORNIA, Irvine	United States
133=	99	CARDIFF University	United Kingdom
133=	130=	Technical University of DENMARK	Denmark
133=	101	University of LIVERPOOL	United Kingdom
136	124	University of GHENT	Belgium
137=	146	Freie Universität BERLIN	Germany
137=	122	TEXAS A&M University	United States
139	126=	HUMBOLDT-Universität zu Berlin	Germany
140	157	Ecole normale supérieure de LYON	France
141	155=	University of Science and Technology of CHINA	China
142	148	WAGENINGEN University	Netherlands
143	125	NANJING University	China
144=	173=	University of GRONINGEN	Netherlands
144=	163=	SHANGHAI JIAO TONG University	China
146	134	University of ARIZONA	United States
147=	149=	CITY University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
147=	144	Universität FREIBURG	Germany
149	132=	Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie PARIS VI	France
150	192=	Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)	Mexico
151	177=	RUTGERS, The State University of New Jersey	United States
152	145	University of BATH	United Kingdom
153	137=	University of ABERDEEN	United Kingdom
154	307=	Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD)	India
155=	304=	VU University AMSTERDAM	Netherlands
155=	142=	Eberhard Karls Universität TÜBINGEN	Germany
157	159=	TUFTS University	United States
158	136	KYUSHU University	Japan
159	126=	The University of WESTERN ONTARIO	Canada
160	149=	QUEEN MARY, University of London	United Kingdom
161	217	University of LAUSANNE	Switzerland
162=	197=	CHALMERS University of Technology	Sweden
162=	129	NEWCASTLE University, NEWCASTLE Upon Tyne	United Kingdom
164	139	SIMON FRASER University	Canada
165	135	University of FLORIDA	United States
166=	223	CHULALONGKORN University	Thailand
166=	168=	Universität GÖTTINGEN	Germany
168	155=	University of NOTRE DAME	United States
169	209=	Universität FRANKFURT am Main	Germany
170=	166=	University of CALGARY	Canada
170=	137=	INDIANA University Bloomington	United States
170=	147	University of LANCASTER	United Kingdom
173	192=	KTH, ROYAL Institute of Technology	Sweden
174=	151=	HOKKAIDO University	Japan
174=	269	Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB)	India
174=	191	RENSSELAER Polytechnic Institute	United States
177=	185=	University of LEICESTER	United Kingdom
177=	188=	University of OSLO	Norway
179	200=	University of CAPE TOWN	South Africa
180=	107	University of COLORADO at Boulder	United States
180=	180=	WASEDA University	Japan
182	168=	MACQUARIE University	Australia
183=	154	Université Libre de BRUXELLES (ULB)	Belgium
183=	231=	Lomonosov MOSCOW STATE University	Russia
185	208	BRANDEIS University	United States
186=	194	University of BARCELONA	Spain
186=	188=	University of CANTERBURY	New Zealand
188=	203=	Technische Universität BERLIN	Germany
188=	233	POHANG University of Science and Technology	Korea, South
190	165	Universität STUTTGART	Germany
191	175=	University of MASSACHUSETTS, Amherst	United States
192=	214	University of BERN	Switzerland
192=	173=	University of BOLOGNA	Italy
194	180=	University of READING	United Kingdom
195	187	University of ANTWERP	Belgium
196	175=	University of SAO PAULO	Brazil
197=	264=	University of BUENOS AIRES	Argentina
197=	221=	DALHOUSIE University	Canada
199	197=	KOBE University	Japan
200=	248=	University of ATHENS	Greece
200=	185=	University of TWENTE	Netherlands