Investment pays off for Asian universities

The release of both the QS World University Rankings in March and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings this month has shown the steady rise of Asian universities, at the expense of British and US institutions.

Campuses across the world have been rated by close to 18,000 academics, showing that the quality of British Universities is second only to those of the US. The rankings were a sobering read for American academics however, as they saw 51 US universities drop in the top 200.

Asia has not only just started pouring money into its higher education institutions; the last decade has seen the continent trying to ‘Westernise’ its educational and research methods, alongside much government and private investment  in its universities.

So while the rise may be surprisingly speedy, it’s not completely unexpected. Universities in China, Singapore and Australia made the biggest gains in numbers of universities moving upwards, and South Korea saw all of its universities get a higher place. Seoul National University was one of the biggest risers, moving from 124^th place in 2011 to 59^th this year. Speaking to the New York Times, editor of the Times Higher Education rankings Phil Bary commented “We’ve been talking for years about the rise of Asia… But this is the first solid empirical evidence.”

Asia’s population demographic is also playing a part in its success, as its increasing numbers of young people are demanding a higher quality of education. Youth is clearly on the march in Asia, with four of the continent’s top 10 universities less than 50 years old. The continent boasts thousands of universities, with many new ones opened each year. In the 2011/12 QS survey of young universities, Asia fill four of the top five places. The more recent figures included in the specialist Asian rankings published today suggest that they will make an even bigger mark this year.

Perhaps surprisingly, the University of Manchester has not been one of the many British universities seeing their place fall. Ranked 32^nd in the 2012 QS league table, Manchester sees itself above Durham, St Andrews, LSE and Warwick. Just a few weeks after the National Student Survey showed Manchester’s student satisfaction levels are among the lowest in the country, Manchester is shown to be steady climbing the world league tables.

The President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester, Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell said “Manchester is now tantalisingly close to realising the vision mapped out by my predecessor, Professor Alan Gilbert. Although we are already planning well beyond 2015, this is an important milestone in our continuing journey towards becoming one of the top 25 universities in the world, and it is a tribute to the outstanding staff here at Manchester.”

However, the future of British universities outside the ‘golden triangle’ (Oxbridge and London) is uncertain at best. The increase in student fees only covers what was subsidised by the government before, and does not result in the universities actually receiving any more money. Many predict that if British universities do not manage to generate some extra income in the following years, there is a danger of a real slippage in standards. “Outside the golden triangle of London, Oxford and Cambridge, England’s world-class universities face a collapse into global mediocrity, while investment in top research universities in Asia is starting to pay off,” rankings editor Phil Baty told the Guardian.

What is also interesting about the league tables is the nature of the universities that have been big climbers. The QS table has put Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the number one spot, which is a science-focused, networked and translational university. Other universities which have these qualities have also been big climbers, possibly revealing a trend that may be a pointer to what the role of higher education is to be in the future. While the classical, ancient blue-skies reach institution may not quite be on its way out yet, it may soon be seen as equal to specialist technical universities and colleges.

Wendy Piatt, Director General of the Russell Group, speaking to The Telegraph said “Our institutions already do more with less, beating many key rivals despite lower expenditure. But as these tables show, cuts in public investment have seriously weakened some US public universities. We cannot afford to take this path. If we are serious about staying on top, the Government must concentrate investment where it will have the most impact: in our world-class research-intensive universities.”

As the university of the future attempts to establish itself, the success of the investment schemes in Asia should be noted in Britain. At a time when every British economic policy has the aim of maintaining the country’s global competitiveness, trebling tuition fees and cutting university funding does not seem the right path to take.