Table shows the top three Philippines schools’ ranking in 2009 and 2010 released by the London-based Times Higher Education-Quacqerelli Symonds survey on Asia’s top 200 universities. Graphics by Carla T. Gamalinda

THE UNIVERSITY welcomed the new academic year—and its Quadricentennial—on a high note by securing the 101st spot in the annual listing of Asia’s Top 200 Universities by the London-based Times Higher Education-Quacquarelli-Symonds (THE-QS), UST was tied with Japan’s Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology and Thailand’s Prince of Songkla University. Last year, it placed 144th.

De La Salle University trailed behind UST at 106, while no significant changes were seen im the rankings of Ateneo de Manila University and University of the Philippines, which landed 58th and 78th, respectively.

In the field of Social Sciences, the University fell from 75 last year to 83 this year. It also declined in Arts and Humanities, dropping from 55 to 69.

However, UST went notches higher from 85 to 69 in Biomedicine.

But still, the Asian rankings placed UST behind Ateneo in Life Sciences and Biomedicine despite the fact that UST offers more courses, dominates licensure exams, and is the acknowledged pioneer in the field.

Commenting on the results of the survey, Prof. Fortunato Sevilla, member of Malacanang’s Presidential Coordinating Council on Research and Development and former dean of the College of Science, said UST should be thankful that it got into the survey.

“We should be happy about (landing 101st). At least UST has been acknowledged. Imagine how many universities there are in Asia. Last year, UP and Ateneo complained because of their rankings. I think we should view this in a positive light and try to be happy about where we stand now,” he said.

Hong Kong schools got the first two spots: University of Hong Kong,followed by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Neighboring countries have more schools in the Top 200 than the Philippines: Taiwan has 17, India 12, Malaysia six, and Indonesia six.

Countries which dominated the Top 20 include Japan with eight schools, South Korea with four, Singapore with two, China with two, and Hong Kong with four.

The criteria were global academic peer review (30 percent), citations per faculty (20 percent), student faculty ratio (20 percent), global employer review (10 percent), international faculty(five percent), international students(five percent).

UST failed to get a slot in Natural Sciences and the Information Technology and Engineering categories.

This year saw Ateneo took the lead on each area among Philippine schools except in Life Sciences and Biomedicine, and Social Sciences. UST dropped behind the three Philippine universities in Social Science and Arts and Humanities with scores of 16.20 percent and 17.90, respectively.

But among the Philippine schools, UST was the most improved overall. This was due to the fact that UST landed in the top 10 in one key criterion, citations per faculty. In fact, it placed eighth in the criterion.

“Our researches are entered in the Scopus,” said Fr. Arthur Dingel,O.P., assistant to the Rector for planning and management. “Scopus is a kind of journal wherein all the scientific researches around the world is entered. If we can get to be published in the journal then that would mean added points for us. But the thing is, this year we did not meet the deadline for the journals. We are still in the process of reapplying. If granted, maybe our rank will go higher.”

In the Recruiter Review category, all Philippine schools showed declines in their ranks. UP ranked 22nd (from 10), Ateneo 25th (from 11), La Salle ranked 29th (from 15) and UST 59th (from 21). According to the Asian University Rankings website, the Recruiter Review is like the Academic Peer Review.

But UST’s Waterloo remains Academic Peer Review.

UST landed 90th. Both UP and Ateneo improved their positions, ranking 23rd and 24th, respectively. La Salle fell from 70 to 72.

“There is such a thing as Academic Peer Review wherein deans and presidents of different universities are given survey forms to answer,” Father Dingle explained. “Their questions mainly revolve on what school pioneered in the field of health related sciences and medicine and nursing. The choice of each person would depend heavily on what school advertises the most. UST is still new in this system.”

In International Faculty and Students, no Philippine university figured.

Other local universities figured in some categories. In the Student to Faculty Category, the University of South Eastern Philippines rose from zero to No. 43.

In the category of Student Exchange Inbound, the University of San Carlos and Ateneo de Manila placed 53rd (from 39) and 48th (from 56), respectively.

“Right now we are trying to pattern the University’s website to suit the qualifications of the THE-QS,” Dingle said. “We do hope that our combined efforts in advertising our University would soon bear fruit.” Monica N. Ladisla

63 COMMENTS

  1. Careful about your report. Ateneo did not complain about its ranking last year, neither in the Asian survey nor in the world edition.

      • The University of the Philippines placed 63rd last year while Ateneo placed 84th.

        And person interviewed said, Ateneo complained last year. Not this year.

      • DUH. We all know that Ateneo is just a money making institution. Hindi nga kayo makaporma sa bar exams, And according to CHED, the BIG 3 are UP, UST and DLSU.

  2. Dear Mr. Anonymous,

    Please be careful also. Did you see the quotation marks there? Mr. Sevilla was the one who said that “Ateneo and La Salle complained,” not the writer of the article. That’s the essence of journalism: we are only reporters of others’ languages. If ever what they say is not true, then the paper should not be held liable for that.

  3. With Ateneo’s financial might from the very high tuition fees it charges, it should be in the top 10 not where it is now. Ditto with UP, it should be way, way up in the survey with all the tax money that it receives from the government. UST with its limited resources compared to the others is obviously doing a better job.

  4. Dear Mr. anonymous, if you have any queries about the said statement, you can personally go to Mr. Sevilla and ask him yourself. If what Mr. Sevilla said was wrong, the publication cannot be blamed because as what Mr. Magtulis said, we are only reporter’s of other people’s language.

  5. You better go to Mr. Sevilla and tell him your arguments personally, okay? OR just do not read the Varsitarian if you think that their reportage is “inefficient.” Go read your own paper.

  6. tama na yan. let ateneo have their cake. tuloy lang, uste! remember that old joke? about the pope assigning the dominicans against the albigensians and the jesuits against the protestants? harharhar!

  7. I felt glad about UST not the least among the top performing schools in the philippines for the year 2010. Though, UST administration should exert more effort in figuring out the internal problems at first. One of the most important concentrations that I see is to improve the verbal communication in english for it will be so much helpful for Thomasians as they pursue their careers in their chosen fields. We Thomasians can not just say that we excel in Medicine and other medical programs. We should be well-rounded and flexible. Thus there are certain rooms for improvement UST ought to accomplish. And in particular, if UST would like to be well-marketed, then it has to start off from our university website. I hate to compare however, the other big three Philippine universities caters more information here and abroad. Please don’t take these insights personally. I love UST. Few years from now, if UST would be open-minded to the reality that it needs improvement, UST can possibly be the standard of Philippine Education anew. We should not only behold the name the Pontifical University rather, the Pontifical University of higher learning.

    • I also get the impression that UST is not well marketed abroad. I also get the impression that UST is lagging behind in IT (late bloomer ang UST as far as ITC is concerned). Remember guys, Information is Power.

    • You know what? I frankly AGREE with you. but with a little qualification:

      UP’s, Ateneo’s, and La Salle’s losses are UST’s gains. Simply because we know how to nurture, not to be nurtured.

      ***No offense meant to the other institutions.

    • Oh really? Is this what the “Big 3” institutions teach their students, to look down on other institutions? Now I know why elitism exists in this God-forsaken country!

      “Hindi maiiwasan sa online forums ang pagpapataasan ng ihi ng mga estudyante mula sa magkakaibang pamantasan. Minsang nagbabasa ako, isang pahayag ang nakapagpanting sa tainga ko. Aniya, hindi raw dapat ikumpara ang UST sa umano’y “Big Three” na mga pamatasan sa Katipunan, Diliman at Taft dahil sa “less stellar alumni roster” ng UST. Natawa na lamang ako.

      Payo ko lamang sa kaniya (sakaling mabasa niya ito), subukan niya munang magsaliksik bago siya magbitiw ng “kamangmangan.” Hindi malayong Tomasino pala ang propesor na nagbibigay ng “de kalidad” na edukasyon sa kanilang pamantasan.”

      From http://www.varsitarian.net/editorial_opinion/opinion/20091006/kamatayan_at_kamangmangan

    • Here goes stereotyping again. Dear, many Thomasians didn’t even bother taking the ACET and DLSUCET. tsk! tsk! Your insecurity (or bitterness) shows, really.

    • You’re saying that UST is a school for dumbs. I think you are becoming so careless of what u say. Good thing you did not put you’re school’s name on your name tag. You are so arrogant and selfish et cetera. If I were the administrator of your school and make your affect domain matter more, I think I’ll reject you.

      So what if rejects of UP, ADMU and DLSU go to UST? Don’t they have the right to access quality education. What’s with being UP, ADMU or La Salle student? All schools are studying the same curriculum and gearing towards a functionaly literate nation! You’re so “mayabang” I think. Next time think before you post something on a forum.

      Learn the word UNITY and HUMILITY. Okay?

  8. The problem with UST is their population. UST is a good school but not comparable to the other 3 (UP, Ateneo and DLSU).

    UP only accepts 8,000 freshmen while ADMU-3,000 and DLSU-4000. On the other hand, UST accepts as many as 15,000 freshmen every year and thus, the school is being filled with mediocre and below-average students.

    UP, ADMU and DLSU are very selective with their students and they get the best while UST just accepts average and below-average students. Hence, this is where UST should work on.

    • Your statements are defective. Who taught you logic 101? defective premise leads to defective conclusion. First do you really think that the 8000, 3000 and 4000 which UP, Ateneo and La Salle accepts as freshmen are the creme of the crop for the entire Philippines? what is your basis. So following your defective reasoning only 15,000 of the entire freshman applicants for university and college degree are already mediocre and below average? if we follow your argument then im sure your no 15,001 in this list. Sure hope you will retake your logic 101 again. Because im sure whoever taught you and passed you is such a bad professor and should not be given teaching load.

      • what do you mean? pa defective defective ka pa diyan, grammar mo naman mali mali. Haay, ang hirap sa mga taga UST, trying hard mag english pero mali mali naman.

        And admit it, compared sa UP, Ateneo and La Salle, ang UST ay napugaran ng napakaraming bobo at tangang estudyante!

        truth hurts diba. At bakit mo naman pipiliin ang UST kung nakapasa ka sa Ateneo o dlsu?

        Kung pera lang ang usapin, bakit mo pipiliin ang UST kung pumasa ka sa UP?

        Ang sagot ay UST lang kasi ang napasahan mo, at UST lang ang tatanggap sa mga bobo so sorry na lang.

        • Wow. parang kilala ko toh ah. ikaw yung troll sa PEx. wag ka makisawsaw dito! hindi ka estudyante ng UP, Ateneo o La Salle noh! hanggang dito troll ka pa rin. taga-Morayte ka ‘pre!

        • Yung classmate ko ng highschool pumasa sa UPCAT, ako hindi… kasi sobrang quota ang BS BAA so La Salle lang at UST ang pinasahan ko… pero pinili ko UST kasi mas afford ko. Sayang, mura sana tuition sa UP, di pa ako kailangan mag working student.

          anyway after 13 years, nag-apply sya sa akin sa company ko, tinanggap ko sya as assistant ko. She works really well sa finance dept. Mas ok sana kung CPA tlaga nakuha ko kaso hindi pero ok lng masipag naman eh. Saka even if I’m abroad, she can still do her job without supervision . Magaling kasi magturo boss nya na galing sa USTe hehe..

          Anyway, yung valedictorian namin nakapasok sa UP, chem eng, after two years, nabuntis sya tpos took her 5 years para makatapos na hindi chem eng, at hindi rin sa UP.
          Our salutatorian naman statistics sya sa UPD din, ngayon isa sya sa mga nag C-CI sa mga credit card applications ng china bank.

          Ang point ko dito lng dito, it doesn’t matter if you’re from UP or UST, hindi rin ibig sabihin na kung hindi pumasa sa UP bobo na, kasi kung bobo ako, hindi ko mapapasahod itong taga-UP kong assistant. ang company ko ay tinayo ko base sa mga values na natutunan ko sa UST and i can say that it’s working out so far. Hindi ko natutunan sa UST na maging value ang pagiisip ng ganito “UST ako at ang hindi pumasa sa UST ay bobo na.. ” tulad ng pagiisp ng ibang taga UP na katulad mo. Mabuti na lng yung valedictorian (inaanak ko pala yung anak nya) at yung salutatorian namin (naapprove naman ako ng credit card nya kahit di ako nag-apply) ay hindi katulad mo mag isip.
          Kaya mga nakababatang kapatid, don’t argue over these non-sense.

          Salamat.

    • Where did you get the 15,000 figure? Just so you know, UST has been accepting around 12,000 freshmen for the past years.
      And you are equating student population with the quality of education?
      Many students apply to UST because of the affordable education it offers.
      While I cannot contest your opinion that UST accepts mediocre students, these people, which according to you are below average, fare well in state licensure exams after graduating, go and and look at the data of the PRC and find out which among YOUR TOP 3 SCHOOLS can beat the number of registered professionals UST produces every year.

      I cannot stop you from throwing invectives and harsh remarks to UST, this is a free country, but intelligent creatures should research first before preaching their opinions.

      And I beg you, please do away with your stupid and baseless reasoning.

    • The nice thing with UST is that it does not discriminate against mediocre / average / below average students. I myself am one, but I can attest to the fact that even though we came in UST as average students, we get to excel in many fields of study we engage in. We might not boast about it as much as the others, but if you look at PRC data, number of awards in arts, sports, humanities, medicine, science etc. Thomasians have made their mark already. We even have Saints in our alumni roster… would the other schools be able to top that?

      The other “top” private schools do not get as many freshmen because they have lesser courses than UST and their tuition fees are way more expensive thus limiting accessibility to the masses who want to get quality Catholic education without breaking the bank. We accept more freshmen because we have more courses. However, if you look at the number of applicants we accept only a small percentage of applicants still. UP is another story, they have to maintain the high quality of freshmen right from the start because it is their mandate as a State University to be at the forefront of higher education. We cannot blame them for that because they are funded by our taxes.

    • Let’s say that you are right about UST’s policy of accepting below average students or “rejects ” to make it more fitting to some elitists but in my opinion It has always been the mission of the university to reach more young individuals and train them in the light of Catholic education and Dominican charism. Interestingly, these people whom you classify as “below average” are the same people who reap outstanding board exam results in numerous PRC professional exams. Talk about UST’s magical powers in transforming “trash” into gold! Pax!

    • This one sounds irrelevant but I think its one of the university’s strengths: breeding more thomasians. More Thomasians means more fame

    • With all your talk of CRAP, and your Government filled with the Philippines finest “minds” from your so-called “blue-blood” Academia (UP, DLSU and Ateneo), why is the Philippines still a Third World country? It is because your beloved Institutions espouse elitist, corrupt, in-breeding and so it produces inutile, corrupt, and dysfunctional citizenry. When Benavidez established UST his goal was the education of Manila, the Filipino masses. He should be proud of what UST is now, a bastion of Faith, Medicine, Sports, and Learning. Who cares about your Stupid Ranking!

  9. Huwag na patulan ang mga atenista. Mga insecure lang ang mga yan. According sa CHED , number ang UP and number 2 ang UST followed by DLSU, tapos yung mga bobitong Atenista e number 9 lang!

  10. Mga atenista parang latang walang laman kaya puros ingay.ingay.ingay. Traffic nga lang sa Katipunan di pa nila maayos kaya daming tao ang napeperwisyo. Mga hambog.

  11. The result of the QS World University Ranking 2010 is out.

    The current list of the top 200 institutions features the following universities in the top 10:

    1. UNIV. OF CAMBRIDGE
    2. HARVARD UNIV.
    3. YALE UNIV.
    4. UNIV COLLEGE LONDON
    5. MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECH.
    6. UNIV. OF OXFORD
    7. IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON
    8. UNIV. OF CHICAGO
    9. CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECH.
    10. PRINCETON UNIV.

    The performance of the Philippine Universities for 2010. (not in the list but as featured in their respective QS profiles)

    ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY – 307 (from 234)
    UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES – 314 (from 262)
    DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY 451-500 (from 401 – 500)
    UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS 551 – 600 (from 501-600)

    Performance of Philippine Universities per subject indicators:

    ARTS & HUMANITIES

    UP – 126
    ADMU – 196

    ENGINEERING & IT

    UP – 271

    LIFE SCIENCES & BIOMEDICINE

    UP – 147
    ADMU – 221
    UST – 269
    DLSU – 292

    NATURAL SCIENCES

    ADMU – 132
    UP – 216

    SOCIAL SCIENCES

    UP – 173
    ADMU – 204

    DLSU takes back 3rd spot as Philippines’ top universities.

  12. With all your talk of CRAP, and your Government filled with the Philippines finest “minds” from your so-called “blue-blood” Academia (UP, DLSU and Ateneo), why is the Philippines still a Third World country? It is because your beloved Institutions espouse elitist, corrupt, in-breeding and so it produces inutile, corrupt, and dysfunctional citizenry. When Benavidez established UST his goal was the education of Manila, the Filipino masses. He should be proud of what UST is now, a bastion of Faith, Medicine, Sports, and Learning. Who cares about your Stupid Ranking!

  13. hindi man lang nga kasali ang UST sa mga review centers, puro UPCAT, ACET at DLSUcet lang.

    Wala naman daw kasing bumabagsak sa UST entrance exams at panay mga bobo lang ang nagaaral.

    So high school students do not prefer UST.

    • Pity on you! Based on what I read, I assume that you are not a Thomasian! From what school did you graduate from or study in? I guess your school does not teach you manners! And what you just said bounces back on to you!

    • These are merely preconceived notions. Get over them. And if you’re going to bash UST based on biases, you better not read the Varsitarian. It welcomes minds open to criticism, but definitely not based on rumors. If you do have facts, (whether quantitative or qualitative), then by all means, present them. If you don’t, I find this baseless.

    • tinitingnan ko mga ads ng MSA etc. sa quezon city, kasama naman ang USTET. although may times lang talaga na si siya kasama. but anyways, maganda pa rin ang UST. better than la salle 🙂

  14. HAS TENEBRAE CINGUNT MENTIS CALIGINE TERRAS
    HOC SANCTI THOMAE UNIVERSITATES OPUS: LUMINA PANDIT

    The English translation thus read: “Darkness covers this land in a mental mist. This is the task of the University of Santo Tomas: to spread the light.”

    I think this is the reason why UST accepts average students. UST is burdened with spreading the light of education… That is UST’s commitment since the very beginning…

    The difficulty level of an entrance examination is not the basis of quality education…

    UST accepts average students and turn them in to excellent individuals… UST turns lead into gold…

  15. HAS TENEBRAE CINGUNT MENTIS CALIGINE TERRAS
    HOC SANCTI THOMAE UNIVERSITATES OPUS: LUMINA PANDIT

    The English translation thus read: “Darkness covers this land in a mental mist. This is the task of the University of Santo Tomas: to spread the light.”

    I think this is the reason why UST accepts average students. UST is tasked with spreading the light of education… That is UST’s commitment since the very beginning…

    how can an institution spread the light of quality education if it will cater only for the elite?

    The difficulty level of an entrance examination is not the basis of quality education…

    UST accepts average students and turn them to excellent individuals… UST can turn lead into gold

  16. Congratulations to ADMU for getting the top spot in THE-QS’ RP rankings.

    It’s great that UST is getting more acknowledgement for its contributions. We Thomasians should keep it up, there’s still a long way to go.

    Just to share; I passed the UP, ADMU, DLSU, and UST Entrance Exams but I chose to study in UST because I wanted to be an Architect and I felt that UST-CA had the best program for me.

    It’s definitely true that UST had the easiest entrance exam out of the 4, but what I’ve learned most from my college experience is that the quality of each student is not solely based on scores.

    I think it’s wonderful that there are 12,000 students on-campus. It makes for a very diverse student body. You get to know and learn from people from all walks of life. Mayaman man o mahirap, from the academically competent to the academically challenged.

    As the largest Catholic University in the world, we are home to more than 200 student organizations including the world-renowned UST Singers, the Sallinggawi Dance Troupe, the Varsitarian, and some of the finest athletes in the UAAP League.

    I believe that there’s a right school for every Filipino student. There’s no such thing as “The best school in the Philippines”. Each university has its own strengths and weaknesses. What is important is to learn from our own mistakes, and exert effort in correcting what is wrong in our own internal systems.

    Why are we pulling each other down? Instead of competing with each other, why not compete with the world? Philippine Universities still have a long way to go…

    • My mistake, what i meant was that im glad UST accepts more than 12,000 freshmen per year.

      However, I do think UST could still very much improve on it’s quality of instruction by reducing the number of students per class.

      I do believe that decreasing the student-to-professor ratio could very much improve the quality of instruction. In our college for example, sometimes there are more students than seats and/or desks in the classroom. For lab subjects the norm should be 20 instead of 40-50 students maximum per instructor.

      I love UST to bits but sometimes I just can’t help but feel that for the 56,000 php our parents are paying each sem, we aren’t getting our money’s worth…

      If the University is accepting 12,000 freshmen each year, it needs to fulfill its obligations to each one and offer the best possible education and service that each student is entitled to. Kaya naman eh…

      What we need are new and innovative programs in our University that are both relevant and cutting-edge. We need to diversify the faculty as well. Hire faculty that are Graduates not just of UST but of different Schools and Universities from all over the Philippines or even abroad, and we will have a wider pallet of ideas to share with our country and with the world.

      We have some of the finest and most beautiful collections of art and literature in the country. Why is only 2% of the UST Museum of Arts and Sciences on display at the Main Building? Let us share it with the whole Philippines and the world.

      We hail from a 400 year old tradition, the oldest in Asia, and count ourselves as some of the finest breed of Filipinos. May that statement be as true then and now as it will be always. Viva Santo Tomas!

    • The quality of university education in the Philippines (even in our top schools) is still very much “third world” quality. No wonder breaking into the top 100 in Asia is the pride and joy of Philippine universities instead of focusing on getting into the top 20 perhaps. Therefore, we must stop all the bickering and petty competition and focus on raising the quality of education in the country, not as Thomasians, Ateneans, La Sallites or Iskolars ng Bayan but as Filipinos who care about the quality of education we want our children to inherit.

    • I so agree with you sir. I am from UST Education High School and Faculty of Arts and Letters. Engaging in arguments on who’s best at this or that is an unending discussion. Each one would always position their strengths but more often that not, hide their flaws.

      UST has been around the local academic scene for four centuries, and as an existing institution, it has earned the respect and integrity not only here bit also abroad. Although UST evidently is having a tough time adapting to global changes being imposed by these surveys of who’s the best, I can say that the atmosphere in UST is the best.

      We house all types of social classes, and we are united by the teachings inculcated in us to practice humility at all times. UST has a culture that is very distinct, and that common trait would be our ability to be flexible individuals.

  17. hello po mga kapwa ko tomasino! wag na lang po natin patulan yung mga negative comments ng iba. syang lang oras natin sa mga yan. alam naman natin sa puso natin na ang pamantasan natin ay matino at magaling. di ugali ng mga thomasians na patulan ang mga walang ka-kwenta kwentang mga negative issues. kaya relax lang po tayo. let’s just let our actions do the talking kung sino talaga ang magaling. ang mga putak ng putak na puro senseless lang ang sinasabi, wala pong patutunguhan yan. pax! Viva Santo Tomas! 🙂

  18. Tingnan niyo muna ang mga kurso na inooffer ng Pamantasan na ito kung may kapaki pakinabang nga ba sa tunay na buhay? Kung iisipin niyo, puro walang pakinabang ang mga kurso sa burgis na pamantasan na ito.

    Ilan ang Arkitekto, CPA, o Inhinyero na nagtapos sa Ateneo de Manila? Wala… Ano ba ang ipinagmamalaki ng pamantasan na ito bukod sa galing nila sa “SLANG” at ingles… Wala naman matutunan dito kundi sosyalan lang.

    Hindi dapat sila kasama sa rankings, dapat ung mga paaralan na may mga lisensya at mga kursong nagagamit sa totoong buhay… ADMU is a glorified CSB… Yun lang yun mga kapatid, puro mga walang kwentang kurso ang inooffer…

    • WHAT?
      Honestly, I’m also a Lasallian but I really have high regards to the Ateneo. I actually failed the ACET, so I chose to study in La Salle. Ateneo actually offers great courses like Management Engineering, Health Sciences, Political Science, and the double degrees like Chemisty With Materials Science And Engineering, Physics with Materials Science And Engineering, and Applied Math with Finance. Yes, it can be said that students can act “sosyal” or conyo, but these students actually have potentials and brains. It cannot be denied, also, that scholars are numerous in Ateneo. The School Of Science And Engineering houses the best of the students, with its students from great science high schools like Philippine Science High School, Manila Science High School, etc.

      • Hi “Green Blood, Blue Heart.” Thank you for that insight of yours. As an Atenean, I do appreciate someone from La Salle acknowledging the feats of my school. I do hope we cross roads soon. Again, thank you.

        Now, to our friend who lambasted the courses offered in Ateneo. Being a Catholic, Jesuit, Filipino university that it is, the Ateneo capitalizes on valuing the Jesuit training – which is strongly believe (and this with no judgment) is quite different from a Dominican one. The Ateneo believes in the holistic formation of the students, well-trained in academics and in formation and social concern. That is how we embody the big words such as cura personalis and magis (look it up!). We do not believe in focusing increasing your QPI for the simple reason that it does not and should not define you as a person. Life, moreover, is not about studying; it is about learning.

        Moreover, clearly, you failed to recognize the multiverse of rationality in a given society. Living in this monolithic idea or perception regarding any subject does not lead you any further. I do hope your philosophy classes make you read the works of Derrida, Scheler and Habermas to break you open from the den you secluded yourself in.

        I do value your insights as we believe in dialogue than in apologetic (which I do think is highly promoted in your university, truth be told and objectively that is). But summing up my points, know what you are talking about.

        Have a good day.

  19. UST deserves it, kasi naguupgrade po ang UST ng mga facilities nila ngayon katulad sa Central Library na nagbago ng mga computers and sa cfad na balita ko ay may 3 computer laboratories, dalawa doon ay gumagamit ng pinakabagong mga MAC comp. Sa Medicine na gumagamit din ng mga MAC computers. Isa pa ay ang pagrerequire ng admin sa mga prof na tapusin ang mga masteral at mga doctorate degrees nila.

    • That’s very encouraging to know both for present students of UST and her past students as well. I would more than love to see my alma mater during its celebration of her quadrecentennial this January, 2011. God bless UST and all Thomasians both present and past.

    • I love how our university is starting to upgrade its facilities but I really hope that it upgrades in other aspects as well.

      It takes a lot more than improvements in infrastructure and facilities in order to become competitive at a global scale.

      We need improvements in the academic system, in research, in our faculties and colleges.

      Even small changes can make a huge impact…

      Why not open our library 24/7? Just like they do in universities in Singapore and China?

      Why not limit classroom size to 20 students per professor. At least for critical major subjects?

      Why not work on UST’s marketing and image?

      Why not allow students to pursue their individual interests in other academic disciplines? that is, allow more flexibility in the courses that students are allowed to take and giving more power for the student to choose subjects they are interested in.

      Why not offer new innovative and relevant courses, classes, and subjects?

      Why not send more teachers and studies abroad to gain more knowledge and experience?

      Why not become more hands on in terms of nation building?

      The true measure of a good university is one that contributes to the fulfillment of potentials. The potential of individuals, societies, and of nations.

  20. When I found out that UST jumped to rank 101st in 2010, I celebrated like a lotto jackpot winner. I am glad that UST is able to maintain its good image abroad. Though not as glorious as the Asiaweek rankings in the 1990s, so far UST’s place is still good. UST deserves such recognition, and hopefully the improvement persists. I would like to commend the University for fixing everything up since 2008 – the faciilities, the faculty line-up, and the research culture. Now, UST polishes itself into a better teaching and research university; and truly will make itself an ever wise institution at Manila. Who is not proud to be a Thomasian? With the centuries-old legacy and proven records of excellence, UST must be the perfect school to attend to.

  21. You know why you have such a low ranking? Because your school paper writers can’t even get the ‘ñ’ in Malacañang. Alt+163 lang yan mga bata. Ayusin niyo naman ang pagsusulat niyo. This article is poorly written and even more poorly edited, nakakahiya kayo.

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