Higher Education in Malaysia 101
the remaining one (2 per cent), in Tier 3 as “good”. None were in Tier 6
nor in Tiers 1 and 2.^5
MyQuest was developed by the MOHE as an instrument to evaluate
the current performance of private colleges in Malaysia in terms of
students, programmes, graduates, resources and governance. It is biennially
conducted, based on self-evaluation with external auditors.
The MOHE has shown commendable initiative in implementing the two
instruments. However, outcomes indicate that much work still needs to be
done. Many in the industry view SETARA results with some reservation as
the use of the same indicators for both public and private HEIs across all
aspects of quality assurance is questionable. Reviewing the ranking results,
conventional wisdom suggests that the instrument needs to be refined and
better discriminate between strong and weak performers. Concerns have
been expressed also regarding MyQuest’s use of measures which tend to
be based on arbitrary ratios and percentages, with negligible input from
stakeholders and an absence of peer assessment.
International Ranking Exercises
International rankings, however controversial, have played a significant
role in Malaysia influencing national and institutional strategic planning,
reforms and identification of priorities such as research funding. At the
same time they have helped to subject Malaysia’s five research universities
to more scrutiny and accountability than ever before, increasing inter-
university competition for funds and acclaim. The government prizes
rankings which can earn international respect, attract and help recruit
students and faculty while justifying investments in HEIs. Government also
looks for returns to investments usually in terms of higher levels of research
productivity which underlies the policy of increasing proportions of
postgraduate students. The weak performance of Malaysian institutions in
global rankings, despite substantial budgets, has given rise to considerable
soul-searching.
Among local public HEIs, UM has fared rather well, gaining 377th
place in the 2014 Academic Ranking of World Universities and 151st (up
from 167th in 2013) place in the 2014 QS World University Rankings,
far ahead of the four other designated research universities in Malaysia.
Compared with regional universities, however, such as National University
of Singapore (NUS) in 22nd place in the 2014 QS World University Rankings,