The University of the Philippines was ranked 398 in the latest 2007 Times Higher Education survey (THES) of top 500 universities worldwide. Across Katipunan Road, the Ateneo de Manila came at 451. De La Salle and University of Santo Tomas once part of the 500 have dropped out of the list. The UP website has this article about taking the survey results seriously. Ateneo's administrators have this to say and explain in detail how the rankings are made. The UP and De La Salle have opted out of the surveys. The THES apparently used the 2006 data. Both Ateneo and UP have said that the surveys do not really reflect the contribution of the university to Philippine society. Unfortunately, the surveys cannot be ignored. In the globalized world economy, higher education is more of a commodity than ever. The THES could change market preference for universities. That's why overseas universities take these surveys quite seriously. One Aussie university even had a press release on its ranki...
"It is surely harmful to souls to make it a heresy to believe what is proved" - Galileo