Qué Pasa Rankings

University rankings have been published annually for the last six years in Chile by Qué Pasa, a weekly newsmagazine. Qué Pasa publishes various rankings with tables ranging from the very general “university prestige” to the specific “best architecture program”.

One of the Qué Pasa rankings is based exclusively on university admission requirements; however, the majority of rankings rely exclusively on survey information provided by business professionals, specifically those who make hiring decisions. The magazine’s rankings clearly value college education in terms of its ability to produce workforce professionals as opposed to criteria covered by university rankings compiled in other sources such as quality of research, curriculum or diversity of programs offered.

While one definitive ranking of Chilean universities does not exist, by comparing the multiple tables Qué Pasa provides, one might discern which schools in Chile offer a high quality education in general or in a desired field.

Methodology  – University Prestige, Notoriety and Career-track Rankings

• Type of Study: Quantitative, descriptive
• Technique: Telephone and online surveys utilizing a structured set of questions
• General Sample: Executives from the private and public sectors that participate directly or indirectly in the hiring of professionals
• Career Samples: Professionals in the field, executives, boards of directors, government officials, and others who participate in the hiring process for professionals in the fields of architecture, law, business, civil engineering, journalism, medicine, and psychology
• Distribution Sample: 700
• Time Period: Survey conducted between Oct. 31 and Nov. 11, 2005

Survey respondents were asked to rate each university based on a scale of 1 to 7. An answer of “1”, in the prestige survey for example, meant a university had “little or no prestige”, and an answer of “7” signified a university that was perceived as “very prestigious”.  The Prestige, notoriety, and the career-track institution rankings are based on the aggregate scores from survey respondents.

Source: Qué Pasa

Source: Qué Pasa

Source: Qué Pasa

Selectivity Ranking

In addition to its survey-based rankings, Qué Pasa ranks universities based on the quality of student enrollments. Specifically, the ranking is calculated according to the average scores achieved by incoming students on Chile’s college-entry exam, the University Selection Test (Prueba de Selección Universitaria or PSU). Chilean students who score in the highest percentile on the PSU are provided with federal scholarship money and Chilean institutions garnering the largest selection of high-scoring students also receive federal funds. The ranking assesses average entry scores and the percentage of students on federal scholarships.

Source: Qué Pasa

Central Bank Rankings

In 2004, the Central Bank of Chile published a working paper entitled, “Ranking Chilean Universities According to the Salaries of their Graduates”.  In this paper, two researchers from the University of Chile and one from Chile’s Central Bank ranked universities based on income data for graduated professionals a few years into a variety of careers. Salary data was gathered on professionals’ salaries two years after graduating and at five years after graduation for comparison. After compiling the data, the researchers ranked the universities into the broad categories of first-, second-, and third-class institution based on the overall salary average for all universities. Results are offered on an all-of-university basis and by career path.

The Central Bank concluded from the study that the ranking of each institution depended directly on the career track in question and that rankings systems that consider different groups of graduates stand up best against challenges of inaccuracy from critics. The results of the study suggest that universities in the same region as the cities of Valparaíso and Santiago, both with long-established institutions, predominated among institutions in the first-class ranking. Graduates from well-established and prestigious institutions tended to pull in higher salaries in the two-year period after graduation, but this became less obvious after five years of employment.

Below is an example of the Chilean Central Bank’s findings:

Institutional Categories:

• Federal Public University: University under the oversight of the Federal Government
• Regional Public University: University under the oversight of Regional Government
• Private University – Established: A well-known institution in existence before expansion of private institutions of higher education in Chile throughout 1970’s and 80’s.
• Private University – New: A private institution established after economic reforms
  enacted during the 1970’s and 80’s and under federal oversight
• Private University – New, Regional: A private institution established after economic
  reforms enacted during the 1970’s and 80’s and under regional oversight
• Branch University – Federal: An institution offering both technical and academic degrees
  under the auspices of another Chilean institution and under Federal oversight
• Branch University – Regional: An institution offering both technical and academic
  degrees under the auspices of another Chilean institution and under regional oversight

Source: “Ranking Chilean Universities According to the Salaries of their Graduates“.