VSU retains 3-stars QS rating in 2023 with improvement in internationalization

In an email correspondence sent by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the Visayas State University (VSU) maintains its overall 3-stars rating with a one-star improvement in the key criterion of internationalization. 

A 3-stars rating meant that VSU is nationally well-recognized, and may have also begun to attract international recognition. Obtaining this rating further means that the institution maintains a reputable level of research and its graduates are attractive to employers.

Dr. Ana Marquiza M. Quilicot, the Head of the VSU International Affairs Office (IAO), received this news on November 15, 2023, from Indira Ghosh, one of the institutional support analysts from QS who evaluated the documents submitted by the university for this second round of assessment.

VSU first participated in the QS stars rating system in April 2020 with a funding grant from the International Affairs Service (IAS) of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

QS Stars is an opt-in university rating system that helps foreign students select the right university based on the topics that matter to them. Each institution receives an overall rating of 0 to 5+ Stars, as well as 0 to 5 Stars in at least eight of 13 key categories.

Unlike rankings, ratings offer an in-depth picture of the strengths and weaknesses of a university in specific areas. Using QS Stars when searching for future programs is a handy guide for foreign students that allows them to match their curricular interests to the right university.

Just like in 2020, VSU chose to be evaluated in the specialist criteria of agriculture and forestry being the university’s flagship curricular offerings and program mandate, which was consequently rated as 3-stars.

The university scored the highest with 5-stars in two areas of teaching and social responsibility, 4-stars in three key categories of employability, facilities and inclusiveness, and 3-stars for academic development and internationalization.

In an interview, Dr. Quilicot said that there are still many things to be done for VSU to qualify for 4-stars rating/

“While we did not increase our overall rating this year, I’m still very happy that we were able to improve in one key area of internationalization because this has been our biggest challenge in 2020. With a one-star improvement in this key criterion, it only shows that our investment to fund scholarships for foreign students is now starting to bear fruits for us,” the IAO Head explained.

Since VSU’s enlistment as a QS 3-stars university in 2020, many other international assessment systems have also ranked and rated VSU in the succeeding years including a 4-stars research university status from the University Performance Metrics (UPM) in years 2021 and 2022, a Reporter Status in the THE World University Rankings in 2022, one of the top Philippine universities to fulfill the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) via the Impact Rankings in 2023, and many other independent evaluations.

Pushing for greater international reputation and sustained global competitiveness will be one of the pivotal roles of the next VSU administration, particularly in producing more scopus-indexed publications for improved productivity in research and development (R&D).

OIC President Dr. Daniel Leslie S. Tan welcomes this news from QS and commits to help the university in transitioning to a world-class stature that will attract and invite more foreign students from Southeast Asia and other developing countries.

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