What in the green world is happening?

Headline

By Felipe F. Salvosa II
Business World (06/16/208)

IN A COUNTRY where diplomas are displayed prominently in living rooms and name plates bearing professional credentials hang outside homes for the neighbors to see, degree holders who have spent a fortune on their college educations will be dismayed to find out that Philippine universities do not fare well in global rankings.

Only four Philippine universities out of the country’s more than 2,000 higher education institutions have produced flickers on the global radar screen - state-run University of the Philippines (UP) and three Catholic schools: Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, and the University of Santo Tomas (UST).

But in the latest global Top 500 ranking, only two universities remain in the elite circle: UP, which fell to 398th in 2007 from 299th in 2006, and Jesuit-run Ateneo, which rose to 451st from 484th. La Salle and UST have dropped out of the Top 500, ranking 519th and 535th, respectively.

In measuring quality, the yearly survey by The Times Higher Education Supplement and consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds (THES-QS) relies on ratings by "peers" and job recruiters as well as indicators like student-to-faculty ratio, the presence of foreign faculty and students, and whether university researchers have been cited internationally.

Much importance is placed on ratings given by peers (who are not allowed to vote for their own universities), which have a weight of 40%, followed by student-to-faculty ratio (20%), citations per faculty (20%), "graduate employability" through the recruiter review (10%), and international faculty and students (5% each).

In a field where number one Harvard University scored 100 and Cambridge, Oxford, and Yale universities were almost perfect, UP scored 34.7 and Ateneo, 30.8. La Salle and UST tallied 23.9 and 20.8, respectively.

Comparing Philippine universities to the Ivy League may be foolhardy, but the problem is that Indonesian, Indian, Thai, and Malaysian universities also rank better.
Thailand and Malaysia have five universities in the Top 500. India has eight on the list. Indonesia has three, all of them higher than UP: Gadjah Mada University (360th), Bandung Institute of Technology (369th), and the University of Indonesia (395th). Thailand’s prestigious Chulalongkorn is way up at 299th.

Another ranking by a Chinese think-tank attached to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University does not have Philippine universities in the top 500. This survey is tougher: universities must have Nobel Prize winners, Fields medals for mathematicians, highly cited researchers, or articles in Nature or Science. Not surprisingly, Japanese, Israeli, and Australian schools dominate that list.
There are other rankings with entirely different methodologies. The "Webometrics" ranking by a Spanish research body, which measures a university’s Internet presence and the volume of research output freely accessible online, has UP and La Salle dominating other local universities.

Last year, the ꣯le des Mines de Paris ranked each university according to the number of alumni who are CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. In Asia, only Japanese, Indian, Korean, and Chinese universities made it to the list.

With school prides hurt, the rankings have generated much debate. Some Internet blogs and forums are devoted to attacking their methodologies.

Catholic universities say that working to improve their showing in the THES-QS indicators might not be in keeping with their avowed missions.

Ateneo de Manila President Bienvenido F. Nebres, S.J., for instance, has declared that the university’s priority is producing a new generation of leaders who will be "at the service of others."

Ateneo may have become the top private university in the Philippines based on the THES-QS survey, but the global ranking is something it would rather not promote in official brochures.
The university’s associate dean for academic affairs, Eduardo Jose E. Calasanz, said: "We see the survey from two points of views. We see it as a way to improve ourselves and at the same time it tells us not to bow down to the criteria of the other institutions."

"The problem with the Times survey is that there is a different set of priorities. For instance, they put more premium in internationalization and research but for us, we give more priority on national development.

"The survey does not speak of the entirety of the quality of a certain school because each school has its own set of criteria and mission and vision. Moreover, a university should be judged based on its discipline," he said.

Jose Mari S. Magpayo, executive director of La Salle-Manila’s Marketing Communication Office, said: "It is hard to gauge the impact of rankings as the methodology and criteria change year after year."

La Salle, which ranked higher than Ateneo in the 2006 THES-QS listing, acknowledges that being in the Top 500 would be good "from a marketing standpoint."

"[But] at the end of the day ... we should ask ourselves: ’Who is conducting the survey? What methodology has been employed? What is the purpose of the survey? What is it measuring?’ These surveys are useful for us to know how others perceive us," he said.

Locally, these schools are way ahead of the pack. La Salle enjoys the distinction of being the first private academic institution to receive the rare Level 4 status - the highest level given by a private accreditation body. Most other schools are only Level 3.

Ateneo is also at Level 4. Eleven academic programs have been declared by the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) as "centers of excellence" or COEs while two are "centers of development" or CODs. Ateneo’s John Gokongwei School of Management was the first to be declared a business and entrepreneurship COE among over a thousand business schools nationwide.

La Salle has 11 COEs and four CODs. As a perk, these programs receive state grants for scholarships, faculty development, library and laboratory upgrading, and research, among others.

Not counting UP, which has the lion’s share of COEs and CODs at more than 50, the country’s top private universities have the biggest number of these centers entitled to state aid.

At school opening ceremonies last week, the UST rector, Fr. Rolando V. de la Rosa, O.P., noted that among private universities, UST had consistently obtained the highest average passing rates in board exams and the most number of CHEd centers of excellence and development (17), even without state subsidies.

In a report released by the CHEd and the Professional Regulation Commission last year, UP-Diliman and UST were the top schools in terms of average passing rates in board exams from 1999 to 2005. The rest of the top 10 are Saint Louis University of Baguio City, UP-Los Baños, Xavier University of Cagayan de Oro, Ateneo de Davao University, Ateneo de Manila, Silliman University, University of San Carlos, and Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology.

Marilyn C. Mabini, assistant to the rector for planning and development, said the nearly 400-year-old UST is still competitive "globally especially in the area of health sciences." Enrolment levels may also indicate which schools are perceived by the market as offering quality education, she said.

Despite expensive tuitions, Catholic universities still enjoy a large student population. La Salle has more than 13,000 and Ateneo, more than 11,000. UST, a middle-class bastion, has 33,000 students, the biggest Catholic university in the world in one campus.

UP, meanwhile, has not been giving data to THES-QS survey for two years, said Jose Wendell P. Capili, associate dean for academic affairs of the College of Arts and Letters, and yet it continues to rank. While something to crow about, there is a sense in UP that it’s still better than a number of universities on the THES-QS list. Many UP officials also feel the ranking is skewed toward schools with money, and that it does not have emphasis for fields such as arts and the humanities, Mr. Capili said.

But UP economist Solita C. Monsod said Philippine universities should treat the rankings as a "wake-up call."

"[We should not have this] false sense of righteousness ... everybody is being compared to everybody," she told BusinessWorld.

Local universities should also not take offense that others in the region have a higher rank, because "it is what it is." At least, the global rankings are a "consistent benchmark," Ms. Monsod said.

Mr. Capili pointed out that there are simply too many state colleges and universities tending to eat up the government’s resources and leaving UP, the "national university," with less.
There are more than 500 government-run higher education institutions, of which 436 are state colleges and universities, including satellite campuses. This year, state colleges and universities have a P26.2-billion budget, out of which P19.4 billion will be funded by direct subsidies.
The entire UP system - which has more than 50,000 students in 246 undergraduate and 362 graduate programs - has a P6-billion subsidy this year. The total expenditure this year is P7.2 billion, some P135,000 per student.

"Many state colleges and universities are of poor quality, and serve only as milking cows of politicians," the UP official argued.

Senator Edgardo J. Angara, a former UP president, has the same assessment: "Many of [the state colleges and universities] may not be qualified even to be universities.."

Ms. Monsod agreed but said this was different matter. For UP, celebrating its centennial this year, a new charter passed recently by Congress is "a very big step in the right direction," providing more flexibility in fund-raising and faculty recruitment. It gives UP an additional P100 million in state funding every year for the next five years, and allows the development of the university’s assets.

Some private schools, meanwhile, are thriving under a smaller scale. Far Eastern University (FEU), with some 24,000 students in 50 academic programs, spent around P1 billion last year, or about P43,000 per student. The publicly listed school booked P628 million in profits. Another listed school, Centro Escolar University (CEU) which has around 20,000 students, spent P883 million last year or P44,000 per student. It reported P238 million in profits for the fiscal year ending March 2007.

But overall, the situation could be as problematic as the mushrooming of substandard state colleges.

Out of nearly 1,500 private sectarian and nonsectarian higher education institutions, the government could grant autonomy to only 22, most of them in Metro Manila: UST, Ateneo, La Salle, CEU, and Miriam, St. Joseph’s, and Assumption colleges.

Autonomous status allows universities to design their own curricula, offer new programs and put up branches or satellite campuses without having to secure permits, confer honorary degrees, and carry out operations without much interference from CHEd.
Another 12 schools led by Ateneo de Naga University, Jose Rizal University, and FEU have "deregulated" status, with the same privileges as autonomy. They must still secure permits for new programs and campuses.

Mr. Angara said the better performance of other Southeast Asian universities in the latest survey is something that "we have to worry about."

"As I see it, the weakness in our educational system is in the teaching of mathematics and science and technology, which are considered as the weakest links in the educational chain," he said.

More investments in education are needed to improve research and development and faculty qualifications, he added. — with Kristine Jane R. Liu and B. U. Allauigan

Not only archers commit errors...Ateneo Spelling!

Let's be "sport" about this, alright? We all make mistakes.

I personally took this picture. This from a month ago, on the AdMU signboard along Katipunan.

What is there to defend?

Yes. It is embarassing. Gosh.

Cliché of the Day: Lasallian Apathy

I would like to believe that Lasallians are involved and active in worthwhile activities. I, for one, have found interest in current events, travel, human interest pieces, and history. In short, I’m not too caught up with just fashion, showbiz, and my booming nightlife (or lack thereof) as others assume Lasallians to be.

Yes, I would like to believe it, but as we all know, we really can’t have it all.

Just the other day, I had an opportunity to drop by the DLSU campus after almost a year of not stepping foot on its premises. I was a bit amused that my trip back to the halls that housed my college existence didn’t at all feel like the time I went back to my high school after graduation. The whole place was the same. Things didn’t look smaller. No feeling of misplacement.

As I wandered from one building to another, across the different halls, I came across almost familiar faces. I knew I didn’t have an idea in the world who these faces were. I knew I haven’t met them at all. But they were nonetheless familiar. Affinity. Maybe that was it. They looked proverbial to me maybe because we shared the same thing in that we are all Lasallians. We have been walking the same halls.

But more than any characteristic we share, these people (who I supposedly don’t know) that roam my alma mater’s premises at present, look a lot like the people who roamed this same school back when I still attended it. Same hairstyle. Same lingo. Same porma. I see these people and there is no doubt in my mind that I am in La Salle.

Yes. It does sound so—well—generically, pathologically, and stereotypically La Salle. This doesn’t do me any good, but there is just no denying it. Aesthetics calls for some serious business in our school. It (the “it” being fashion, porma, and get-up) creates so much fuss, it is no wonder to me that most outsiders have a hard time getting over a very superficial image.

This image has become more superficial because of association. From maporma comes mayaman. Then ka-coñohan follows. And it is concluded by bobo and mababaw. Of course, the entrance of the age old stereotype relating to Lasallian apathy comes to the picture. The logic being:

All those who are maporma are apathetic.
Most Lasallians are maporma.
Therefore, Lasallians are apathetic.

Observe the fallacy in the syllogism. It indeed has flaw in its logic, but others (or the people who have not gone to and/or attended school in DLSU) will rarely see it. Wait, strike that. Others will choose not to see it.

I could start yet another battle of defense, but I want to take a different route this time around. I have lived my life as a Lasallian always wanting to disprove the otherwise false accusation regarding our concern for current affairs. I have always argued, even just in my blogs (hehehe), that Lasallians are not at all the apathetic airheads others think of us. I have gone on and on (and on) about how it is simply a hasty generalization. Now, however, I think it is time for me to step out of this green box and try to see what the others see. Let me try to deconstruct this.

What are they calling us? Ah, yes. Apathetic. Indifferent to a world that is full of issues and affairs. Ignorant to the call for activism. Stoic to the cries for help coming from the needy. Concerned with nothing but just the things that will actually affect their lives. In short, self-absorbed.

Is there truth to this? I would say no for the mere reason that I know that I, myself, am not apathetic. Yet, it is still possible for others to call Lasallians as such and reach some degree of accuracy in the matter.

They would see most of us in our “designer outfits”, “killer rides”, and “elite cliques” and simply assume, again by association, that this bunch of assholes—er—kids are too self-absorbed to be concerned with anything outside their superficial lives. I’d normally say that these are merely the image most of us project. We are actually into current affairs and saving the country and shit. We are not apathetic. Take our Student Council as an example. Our SC calls for activism. We can’t be apathetic. Or can we?

I would have to revert to my recent visit back to my beloved alma mater. As a former member of the DLSU-SC myself, I feel rather inclined to look for updates on SC goings-on. So, naturally, I walk around the amphitheater and along SJ walk and the hall in front of Medrano hall, where all the different SC bulletin boards are, and intently look at each board’s content.

Don’t blink now, as I think I’m starting to see what the others find so—bleh—about taga-Lasalles.

Ask me what I saw on the bulletin boards. If I saw impressive platforms and programs for the student body. If I read taglines that promoted student involvement and activism. If I saw even a sign to disprove the idea that Lasallians are apathetic.

So what did I see? Plastered on the walls are large, colorful, probably expensive tarpaulins. However, no significant policy or issue was featured on these posters. Rather, all I saw were the smiling faces of the batch representatives. One girl was even in a pose we’d usually see on a Starstruck participant’s poster. They were, at least, promoting the different activities lined up for the rest of the term. But the activities were all lame. They ranged from newspaper drives and used plastic bottle drives, to career talks and sportsfest festivities.

There I was, all unimpressed and disappointed, with the poster of four Starstruck hopefuls staring me in the face. Yes, the faces were handsome and pretty, but that was all that was positive about it. The display was flashy but it completely lacked of any substance whatsoever. Anything that would promote involvement. Anything that would tell an on-looker, “Hey, get up your lazy ass, go out there, and do something about it.” All there was was potential. Potential to become the next Mark and Jennylyn.

I was feeling grave frustration and rage running up my brain. It couldn’t be. They couldn’t be true. We’re not apathetic. We’re not boneheads. We’re not just about what we wear and how we style our hair. Damn it.

The SC should have been the standard bearer of all things “involved” and “currently aware”. But in truth, all it has borne is star quality. During the elections, the heartthrobs and head-turners win. In the office, these kids run a shallow show. The organization who should have steered the student body out of apathy may have well been the promoters of the evil stereotype. Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure these kids have the best of intentions. We all do. But their intentions don’t reflect all too well in the image they are projecting.

After seeing what I have, I’d go about things differently from now on. I’d still take a defensive stance upon hearing any kind of DLSU bashing. But now, I will take a moment and remember that ugly poster (a poster that could be the quintessence of the Lasallian brand of apathy). I will be reminded that I would always like to believe that most of us are not apathetic and overconsumed by ourselves. Yes, I would like to believe it, but I definitely can’t have it all.

Kill the Lasallian Stereotype

It has been hard being a Lasallian alumnus. It has been hard being a Lasallian—period.

I once walked the halls of the LS building and the rest of my beloved university thinking that what I was experiencing, then, as a BSA major was the toughest series of hurdles I will ever have to leap over.

Now, I could just adore and be amazed of my surprisingly naïve undergrad self.

Getting to class on time, understanding God-knows-what computations, completing good-accounting-format quizzes, and meeting the 2.0 mark are no way near the things that worry me now. Then again, getting anywhere on time, for me, has always been difficult.

Many times did I hear legends of what the “real” world is: the world beyond the green gates and graduation. Those stories intimidated the simple-minded girl that I was. Accounts of killer bosses, destroyed social lives, and rock-bottom wages composed the corporate horror story book. Hearing them made me think that I will not last a second in the so-called real world.

I work a supposed eight-to-five job but actually get to leave the office at nine—on good days. Work can go as late as eleven and even as early as…the next day. Pressure and tension, you ask? It’s an emotional rollercoaster that will shame Enchanted’s Space Shuttle. How about the pay? Hmm, I still want to maintain political correctness, so I should simply invoke my right to privacy on this one. Queer and truly out of my character: still, no amount of this culture shocked me or drove me out of my sanity.

What did, though, was how people in this real world that I am now dwelling in see us Lasallians. I have always known that others tag us as rich, affluent, apathetic, English spewing coños who would rather be thrown in jail than be caught eating in some God-forsaken turo-turo or wearing some cheap signature brand imitation. I have always found it a little humorous, really, because everyone else do have tags of their own. But never did I expect that I will one day be offended by this long-lived stereotype.

My officemates and I were discussing our plans to further our careers. There was this girl who was saying how she wanted to migrate to the States and establish a decent career (“decent” actually meaning ridiculously high-paying). I told them that I had no plans of moving for a job. I shared this without making any reservations and not knowing that I was being, apparently, a wee bit tactless.

“Kayo talagang mga taga-La Salle, ayaw niyo mag-abroad, noh?” She commented, implying that she has heard other “taga-La Salles” say the same thing. “Palibhasa hindi niyo na kailangan.”

That statement hit like some brawler gave me an uppercut and dislocated my jaw. But I took that blow and did nothing about it. All I could come up with was a disturbed look and a remark that went, “Nye!”

The trouble with me is that though I’m known for my quips and hirits, I rarely come up with wise and hard-hitting comebacks quickly enough to counter an offensive remark. Rather, I settle with pathetic sighs and sound clips of disgust. That is why though I was completely thrown off by what my officemate said, I was not able to shed some light on the matter to disprove any misnomers.

It has been a while since that happened, but I’m still making sense of it. I’m swimming in thoughts of my shoulda-woulda-couldas. I should have told her off. I would have. I could have. But how would I have put it? What could I have possibly said? As I see it now, there is just no right thing to say to defend us Lasallians. I could choke myself explaining how we are not what we have been always perceived to be, but the stereotype will just upstage my lame attempt of defense.

It’s not even just that one incident. Different people that I have come across mostly imply the precise truthfulness of the Lasallian stereotype—commonly for being, well, financially able. I am appalled not because they think all Lasallians are rich. I can’t even blame them if they do because our tuition fees are simply not that affordable, to say the least. I’m getting all riled up because people think Lasallians do what we do just because all of us are rich.

There are Lasallians who come from wealthy families. There are Lasallians who are heirs to a surreal family fortune. There are Lasallians who drive their cars to school. There are Lasallians who are sons and daughters of big time executives. Thing is, there are, but not everyone who is and was once enrolled at DLSU was born with a damn silver spoon in the freaking mouth. Much more, we think the way we do, because of what we’ve learned and not because of what financial indicator we might possess.

Even though I despise the way other people have come to see Lasallians, sadly, I still can’t blame them if they think that we are one bunch of arrogant, elitist, know-nothing, spoiled brats. How could I really? There are just too many visible Lasallians out there who glorify this stereotype as if they thrive on it.

You heard me. THRIVE. As I see it, while the rest of us have been working our butts off to make a reputable name for ourselves, of course incidentally, paying our alma mater back what has been due for providing us education, some low-life, selfish half-wits we call our schoolmates have also been busy embarrassing themselves and not using common sense, of course incidentally, smearing filth across the almost-century-old name of De La Salle University. And because of them, it is harder nowadays to walk with our heads up high.

Well, with the UAAP scandals now embedded perpetually onto our image, how in tar nation could we? If it were the only chance Lasallians were given to show the world what we’re made of, I’d say our detractors are absolutely right. An old, hairy man, who was unfortunately a Lasallian, hit FEU’s star player in the nape. Two scoundrels cheated their way into our school, played ball, and got caught in their pool of lies, only to prove that they were the uneducated and ill-mannered boys they started out to be. Sadly, these three people have represented the millions of Lasallians, students and alumni from across the years. Talk about misrepresentation.

More disappointing is the little known fact that we also have some schoolmates that see being a Lasallian as a status symbol. They find this status symbol as a license to think less of other people. I have come across Lasallians who are so disgustingly elitist. Sometimes, these people try so hard to live up to their so-called status and to impress others, I catch them making up a story to make themselves appear wealthy, namedropping in their anecdotes, or spewing carabao English that cannot possibly be more carabao. I usually laugh at these losers who don’t know that the only one they are fooling is their foolish social-climbing selves. But in my laughter, our image is worsened once more.

Then again, these are just several people. You might be thinking that others can’t be illogical and generalize our population based on the bad things they relate to us. Think again and, this time, try to be less idealistic and naïve. People will always think of us as one group. We may all be different: smart, involved, concerned, aware, kind, humble…but it will only take one undignified schoolmate to ruin it for everybody.

You also might say, “To hell with what other people think.” That’s true. But if we always have to contend with our stereotype and we fail to disprove it, wouldn’t it be harder to hold our heads up high, if at all? I’m sure we are all proud to be Lasallians. Then, we should work together to keep those people, the ones who take our school pride against us, at a minimum (keep the show as graceful and classy, though).

We are more than our tuition fees, designer outfits, cars, and families. Being a Lasallian is not a status symbol. Rather, we should consider Lasallian education a prized accolade. Christian achievers for God and country, we all claim to be. Unless we do anything about this stereotype uprising, these will all remain as claims, when we perfectly know that we’re simply better than what others think.