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SheikMilkShake
Joined: 02 Jul 2014
Posts: 84
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 Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 12:37 pm Post subject: On the list |
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Three Saudi universities have improved in rankings in the QS World University Rankings for the 2014-2015 academic year out of a total of 800 universities on the index.
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) ranked number 225, surpassing the renowned Paris Sorbonne University and the UK’s Dundee University, as well as the University of Miami and other well-known institutions.
King Saud University (KSU) also ranked 249, sharing the spot with the American University of Beirut, while King Abdulaziz University (KAU) ranked number 334, surpassing City University in London and the University of Iowa.
King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KACST), meanwhile, ranked number 296, making these the only Arab universities in developing countries to make into the top 300.
Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University ranked within the top 500, taking over universities such as Hull in Britain, Boston University in the US and Mumbai University.
The ranking describes KFUPM as an average-sized university, with 12,000 students, and interest in scientific research among students as “very high.”
Both KSU and KAU were described as “very large” institutions, with about 30,000 students each. Interest in research at both institutions was also described as “very high.”
Institutions that were surveyed were each examined for research potential, employability, quality of faculty, innovation, specialization and facilities.
KSU scored high for employability, as well as for quality of facilities. The university was also described as easy to attend and ranked high for innovation.
KAU also ranked high in terms of employability among graduates, in addition to quality of faculty, facilities, foreign student enrollment, innovation and ease of enrollment.
The university was one of the only Arab and developing countries to rank among the top 300 universities, with the exception of the other Saudi universities mentioned.
Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah ranked in the 551-600 category, while King Khalid University in Abha came in 601-650 ranking. King Faisal University ranked 701.
http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/631836 |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 1:35 pm Post subject: |
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Well... I guess that makes it clear how meaningless this list is... as are most of them.
VS |
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Betrayer of Hope
Joined: 08 Aug 2011
Posts: 72
Location: in a dark place
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| Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 1:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Yeah, the rankings are meaningless. I can't imagine students showing 'very high' interest in research. I especially laughed at that part. Although most students do show a lot of interest in researching on youtube. |
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jaffa
Joined: 25 Oct 2012
Posts: 403
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| Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 5:41 pm Post subject: |
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They clearly haven't taken into account teachers giving the answers pre-exam or aiding and abetting students during the exam. Nor have they included hard cash, Rolex watches, blackmail threats, sexual favours going under the table in the teachers' direction. Or maybe the 'surveyors' were also offered the latter?  |
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sicklyman
Joined: 02 Feb 2013
Posts: 930
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| Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2014 7:02 pm Post subject: |
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| jaffa wrote: |
| They clearly haven't taken into account teachers giving the answers pre-exam or aiding and abetting students during the exam. Nor have they included hard cash, Rolex watches, blackmail threats, sexual favours going under the table in the teachers' direction. Or maybe the 'surveyors' were also offered the latter? |
it might be naive to assume that these factors only affect scores at universities in Saudi  |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 9:29 am Post subject: |
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| Min of HE in KSA and the universities take these rankings very seriously. Great attention is paid to the performance indicators used.(eg percentage of work done online) As with GOSPLAN in the USSR economy, this leads to distortions in what happens in the world of the classroom. |
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hocus pocus
Joined: 29 May 2013
Posts: 55
Location: Continental drifting
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| Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 9:59 am Post subject: Big Joke |
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| Knows that Saudi Universities don't even really rank with most community colleges in the USA. |
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plumpy nut
Joined: 12 Mar 2011
Posts: 1652
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| Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 10:25 am Post subject: |
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| The Saudis that make it into PhD programs in the West must come from high tier international schools. I don't see any other way a Saudi could make it into any kind of a high demand educational situation without that kind of a background behind him. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 10:27 am Post subject: Re: Big Joke |
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| hocus pocus wrote: |
| Knows that Saudi Universities don't even really rank with most community colleges in the USA. |
This is based on what? Your perceptions of how your Saudi students are as English language learners? |
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hocus pocus
Joined: 29 May 2013
Posts: 55
Location: Continental drifting
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| Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 1:46 pm Post subject: Re: Big Joke |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| hocus pocus wrote: |
| Knows that Saudi Universities don't even really rank with most community colleges in the USA. |
This is based on what? Your perceptions of how your Saudi students are as English language learners? |
Would you rather have a Doctor from Saudi or from pretty much any other country in the world?
Would you rather have a Saudi trained pilot or one trained at a USA community college? |
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Betrayer of Hope
Joined: 08 Aug 2011
Posts: 72
Location: in a dark place
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| Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 1:51 pm Post subject: |
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| plumpy nut wrote: |
| The Saudis that make it into PhD programs in the West must come from high tier international schools. I don't see any other way a Saudi could make it into any kind of a high demand educational situation without that kind of a background behind him. |
This is not always the case. Most Saudi students have very good high school scores. However, these scores were often just granted to them and are probably not earned. You could ask your students what their high school grades were and you will find almost all of them have very good scores, even the not so bright students. The western universities that accept such students are not the best in the west. In order for such universities to make money, they have no problem accepting students from Saudi Arabia. In some cases, these universities may even reduce the difficulty level when grading Saudi students' papers. Keep in mind that western educational institutions also need to fill their wallets and not all of them are high tier. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 2:37 pm Post subject: Re: Big Joke |
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| hocus pocus wrote: |
| nomad soul wrote: |
| hocus pocus wrote: |
| Knows that Saudi Universities don't even really rank with most community colleges in the USA. |
This is based on what? Your perceptions of how your Saudi students are as English language learners? |
Would you rather have a Doctor from Saudi or from pretty much any other country in the world? Would you rather have a Saudi trained pilot or one trained at a USA community college? |
You're evading my question. What is the basis for your premise that Saudi universities rank lower than most US community colleges? |
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hocus pocus
Joined: 29 May 2013
Posts: 55
Location: Continental drifting
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| Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 3:23 pm Post subject: Re: Big Joke |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| hocus pocus wrote: |
| nomad soul wrote: |
| hocus pocus wrote: |
| Knows that Saudi Universities don't even really rank with most community colleges in the USA. |
This is based on what? Your perceptions of how your Saudi students are as English language learners? |
Would you rather have a Doctor from Saudi or from pretty much any other country in the world? Would you rather have a Saudi trained pilot or one trained at a USA community college? |
You're evading my question. What is the basis for your premise that Saudi universities rank lower than most US community colleges? |
Does it matter?
Won't the answers to my questions point to what's "real" and what's "imagined"? Saudi universities may rank higher than others in the ME, but comparing them to even the lowest schools in the West is ridiculous.
Another question, cultural differences aside , and just focusing on academics...would you rather send your child to the top Saudi university or to any accredited university in the West? |
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The Fifth Column
Joined: 11 Jun 2014
Posts: 331
Location: His habitude with lexical items protrudes not unlike a damaged pollex!!!
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| Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 3:41 pm Post subject: |
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ANSWER HER dagnabbit!!!  |
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hocus pocus
Joined: 29 May 2013
Posts: 55
Location: Continental drifting
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| Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 3:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Answer: From my own limited observations. Are they wrong? |
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