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The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) has been rated ‘excellent’ in a national assessment of teaching and learning.
The Rating System for Malaysian Higher Education — known as Setara — ranks UNMC among the elite in its latest report. No other institution in the country received a higher rating.
By confirming both the quality of teaching and learning at UNMC, and the calibre of its graduates, it underlines the University’s place in the premier league of higher education in Malaysia.
Institutions winning ‘excellent’ or ‘Tier Five’ status receive extra incentives such as being able to enrol local and foreign government sponsored students, having access to government grants and determining their postgraduate student intake. They are also eligible for ‘research university’ status.
Professor Ian Pashby, Provost and Chief Executive Officer at UNMC, said “This latest accolade highlights again that The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus provides only the highest quality of education provision and I am delighted with the outcome of this Setara exercise.
“It is through the hard work and commitment of our exceptional staff and the quality of our students that we can maintain our position as an elite provider of international education.”
Each of Malaysia’s 58 public and private universities were assessed by inspectors in five key areas: governance, physical and financial resources, talent, curriculum, and quality of graduates.
Higher Education Minister, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, announced the Setara outcome and added that Tier Five private institutions would also be exempted from certain provisions of the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996.
This means institutions have flexibility and exemptions in applying for teaching permits for lecturers, can determine the salary of foreign lecturers, and have the freedom to set tuition fees.
Professor Stephen Doughty, Vice-Provost for Teaching and Learning at UNMC, said: “This latest accolade follows the recent conferment of Self-Accrediting Status on The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus by the Ministry of Higher Education, which highlighted the quality of UNMC’s teaching and learning, and granted UNMC the power to approve and accredit its own degree programmes.”
UNMC was granted Self-Accrediting Status by the Malaysian government in May 2010.
This latest indicator of quality comes in a special year for the institution — 2010 is the tenth anniversary of the launch of The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. The 125-acre site, near the capital Kuala Lumpur, is now home to 3,600 students from more than 70 nations.
All UNMC students study in English, for University of Nottingham degrees that are taught and assessed in the same way as those in Nottingham UK.
Nottingham took a pioneering role in 2000 when it became the first British university to open a campus overseas, building on a strong and longstanding relationship with Malaysia. The parkland campus in Semenyih takes its design cues from University Park, Nottingham — with a signature lakeside building which echoes the UK’s Trent Building.
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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 100 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to RAE 2008, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Research Fortnight analysis of RAE 2008 ranks the University 7th in the UK by research power. In 27 subject areas, the University features in the UK Top Ten, with 14 of those in the Top Five.
The University provides innovative and top quality teaching, undertakes world-changing research, and attracts talented staff and students from 150 nations. Described by The Times as Britain's “only truly global university”, it has invested continuously in award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. Twice since 2003 its research and teaching academics have won Nobel Prizes. The University has won the Queen's Award for Enterprise in both 2006 (International Trade) and 2007 (Innovation – School of Pharmacy), and was named ‘Entrepreneurial University of the Year’ at the Times Higher Education Awards 2008.
Nottingham was designated as a Science City in 2005 in recognition of its rich scientific heritage, industrial base and role as a leading research centre. Nottingham has since embarked on a wide range of business, property, knowledge transfer and educational initiatives (
www.science-city.co.uk) in order to build on its growing reputation as an international centre of scientific excellence. The University of Nottingham is a partner in Nottingham: the Science City.