The Race to Become a World Class University
As a country advances in terms of social, economic and technological
development, it is pertinent to raise its various industries to a
'world-class' level. One of the industries referred to is education,
comprising state-owned and private higher educational institutions.
In
the race to become a so called world-class university, unfortunately,
few attempts have been done so far to clearly define the term
'world-class' itself. What defines a world-class university? What
characteristics make up a world-class university? Is the term
'world-class' only some kind of public relation attempts? Therefore,
since there is no clear definition concerning the terminology, many
state-owned and private universities claim themselves to be of
world-class standard.
World Class is defined by the dictionary
as 'ranking among the foremost in the world; of an international
standard of excellence'. Based on that definition, clearly a world-class
university must be one that is legally listed on some agreed-upon world
ranks. The problem is, who is credible enough to make that ranks?
A
research conducted by Henry M. Levin, Dong Wook Jeong, Dongshu Ou from
Columbia University on two international universities, the Shanghai
Jiaotong University (SJU) and the Times Higher Education Supplement
(THES), suggest each applies different criteria. This explains why
Columbia University is ranked differently.
In the end, the
question remains: what is a ‘world-class university’? Perhaps an attempt
to define the terminology requires collecting some definitions from
experts in order to better understand it as a whole.
Niland
(2001) argued, "For universities, world-class standing is built on
reputation and perception often seen as subjective and uncertain - and
it requires outstanding performance in many events." Clearly, based on
Niland's point of view, world-class is a matter of reputation and
perception in the minds of global societies. Further, he said, "The
title of world class won’t come at a discount price, and without
world-class funding the goal of reaching, and preserving, that high
standard will be rhetoric alone."
Hobbs (1997) argued, "If a
university wishes to attain world-class status, its faculty and students
must understand the divergent cultures that inhabit the world."
Meanwhile, Wang (2001) argued, "World class universities recruit
first-rate professors and enroll students from throughout the world."
And finally, King (2003) asserted, "We are world class in that we have
students from all over the world and, importantly, we have partnerships
with universities, colleges and businesses all over the world." From the
three arguments, we can imply that an internationalization process must
occur in universities that claim to be world-class universities. That
is why overseas students, a multicutural environment and colaboration
with international organizations must be some of the essential elements
that make up world-class universities.
The Asian Development
Bank (2001) argued that "Most graduates are ill-equipped to work in a
market economy which requires skills in interpreting and applying
information." The statement implies that 'practical skills', apart from
'theoretical skills', is one of the key elements to a world class
uiversity's graduates. Min in Jiang (2011) seemed to adhere to ADB's
definition by stating, "Although [research] is integral to the
perception of being deemed a world-class institution, the true
measurements is in the success of a university’s graduates."
Lastly,
Nilan (2000), Liverpool (1995), and Waner (2005) agreed that a
world-class university is "utilizing information technology" by making
information pertaining to the university (academic, admission, tuition,
event, etc) accessible to internal and external parties all over the
world.
President University, as one of Indonesia's prestigious
private higher educational institutions, attempts to become a
world-class university by 2017. In doing so, the University recruits
students from all over the world to study in Indonesia. The majority of
its international admissions every year come from Asia, namely China,
South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, India and many others.
No
distinct treatment is made between local and overseas students, hence
communication becomes a crucial factor in President University. English
is used in daily conversation and cultural tolerance is nicely embedded
in most of the subjects taught in the University.
Apart from
recruiting international students, which now make up 30% of President
University’s students every year, the University also actively
collaborates with other higher educational intitutions all over the
world such as Waseda University of Japan, Deakin University of
Australia, Guang Xi University of China, ULSA University of Vietnam,
International Pacific College of New Zealand and many more.
President
University’s official website is quite sophisticated in the sense that
all students from all over the world can find complete information about
the University, register online, download brochures, check their
placement test scores, and see the University's environment in 3D from
their home. The last feature is hardly found in other local
universities' websites.
What makes President University unique
is not just the fact that the University has an international atmosphere
or that it supports digital access to make learning activities
interesting, but the fact that two semesters (ranging from 8-12 months)
out of 10 semesters studying program are designed to pursue practical
skills and learning experiences in 1,500 of its affiliates. It is
noteworthy that all students could complete their studies plus some
practical skills within three-year and four month programs. Suffice to
say, President University guarantees its graduates employment within six
months after their graduation ceremony.
By Jhanghiz Syahrivar
is a Senior Education Consultant and an Assistant to Lecturer of Faculty
of Economics, President University.