Seeking distinction
The dean of Universiti Tenaga Nasional’s College of Engineering Assoc Prof Dr Izham Zainal Abidin says, “The main difference between D- Setara and the QS World University Rankings is that the QS rankings assess research, consultancy and publications of a university.
“D- Setara focuses on undergraduate teaching, learning and quality outputs of the graduates.”
To have its programmes rated, Neethiahnanthan from Taylor’s shares, “A university must first qualify by having a full cycle of bachelor’s degree programmes and a batch of graduated students to participate.
“The programme will then go through a rigorous test of selected criteria set in the rating instrument before it is rated based on its scores.”
Carried out throughout 2012, these assessment activities included team meetings, stakeholder consultations, data collection and verification processes, analysis and report writing.
Neethiahnanthan believes that the D- Setara ratings have given credence to participating universities and assured potential students and their parents on well- credited education courses.
“The D- Setara results provide a greater understanding on the quality of learning in each institution, specifically on the particular programmes that are of interest,” says Neethiahnanthan.
Building on this comment, Prof Pook says, “The initiative also supports the Malaysian Higher Education Blueprint 2013- 2025 to raise the quality standards of our education system and to stay ahead of global trends that will continuously reshape the business and social landscape.”
Despite the advantages of having this rating system in place, the MQA has decided not to repeat the D- Setara exercise yet. This decision, however, is unlikely to cause a lasting negative impact on the country’s higher education.
The agency’s continuous efforts in accrediting all programmes developed and taught at universities ensure that undergraduate students in Malaysia will always receive quality education.
Furthermore, the D- Setara highlighted key areas for universities to improve on as they compete against more distinguished international universities in other ranking systems.