AUC Tops Qs World University Rankings in Egypt

ovember 20, 2014, Cairo – The American University in Cairo (AUC) was ranked as the top university in Egypt and the fourth in the region, according to the recently released 2014 – 2015 QS World University Rankings. The rankings were based on several criteria, mainly academic reputation, followed by student-to-faculty ratio, citations per faculty, employer reputation, as well as international student and international faculty ratios. “The QS World University Rankings include a broad range of indicators, many of which prioritize high-quality teaching, selectivity of students, overall reputation, class size, and percentage of international students and faculty,” said Ted Purinton, associate provost for strategic and international initiatives and associate professor of international and comparative education in the Graduate School of Education. “That is why we rank well with QS.” According to QS blog story on the launch of the first edition of rankings of Arab universities in the region, extensive consultation has been undertaken with university leaders in the region to identify a suitable methodology – over 100 academics attended a QS methodology fact finding meeting in Abu Dhabi in May 2014. “This first, pilot edition is based on the nine criteria – academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty student ratio, international faculty, international students, staff with PhD, web impact, papers per faculty and citations per paper. We are considering adding a tenth indicator in future editions – Arabic language papers per faculty – as a standalone criterion, but are still working with partners to be able to verify the accuracy, reach and robustness of this measure from available sources,” the blog said. The nine indicators for the Arab region ranking were divided as follows: 30% for the academic reputation; 20% for the employer reputation; 20% for faculty student ratio; 10% for web impact; 2.5% for proportion of international faculty; 2.5% for proportion of international students; 5% for proportion of staff with PhD; 5% for citations per paper and 5% for papers per faculty.  Purinton emphasized that AUC’s best features that make it a top university are its student-centered approach, promoting high-quality, liberal arts education to produce well-rounded graduates. “Indeed, we are not driven by the rankings; we are driven instead by the desire to be the best educational institution in the region,” he said. “As a University, we will not pursue high rankings if the indicators are not congruent with our beliefs and with the qualities that have made us strong and globally respected for nearly a century. We will continue to have extraordinary confidence that what we do as a student-centered liberal arts institution is valuable to students and alumni, and critical to the development of active and engaged global citizens.”