Australian unis ace QS report cards

Australia has dominated one of the latest online university ratings reports, producing five of the 10 universities worldwide to receive a five-star plus report card under the QS Stars University ratings system. Australian National University, the University of Queensland, the University of NSW, Monash University and the University of Western Australia all received the highest rating possible under the system. According to Top Universities (TU) ratings agency, which operates the QS stars university ratings system, the evaluation model aims to take a more nuanced account of a range of aspects, including the employability of graduates, community engagement, facilities, online or distance learning, culture and excellence in specialist areas. Institutions rated under the system are charged annual fees to take part and are required to submit data. Amongst the five non-Australian institutions to achieve the five-star plus ratings this year were US schools Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Ohio State University and, from New Zealand, the University of Auckland. The QS star ratings sit apart from TU’s international rankings system, under which Australia’s top-performing university remains the Australian National University at 27th overall. University of Western Australia pro vice-chancellor international Iain Watt said that whilst he was pleased with the university’s latest rating, it remained UWA’s goal to achieve a top-50 ranking by 2050. UWA is ranked 84th in the world by TU. Watt said ratings systems were an important means for universities to determine how they performed against international benchmarks. “As our level of engagement internationally increases, we hope that a higher profile will bring greater awareness of UWA's strengths and consequently better performance in peer review elements of university ranking processes,” Watt said. “Universities need to be improving continually just to maintain their existing rankings, so moving up the table will require continued substantial investment in improving the quality of the teaching, research and other activities in which the university engages. “We will focus on longer-term trends, rather than annual fluctuations.”