KUCHING – Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus retained the Tier 5: Excellent rating in the Malaysian Qualifications Agency’s 2011 Rating System for Higher Education Institutions (SETARA ’11).
This is the second time Swinburne Sarawak achieved the rating. It first received the accolade in 2009.
The university is among 35 institutions awarded a Tier 5 rating, which represents about 67% of the total population of universities and university colleges rated, said the MQA which released the results of SETARA recently.
The MQA is responsible for monitoring and overseeing the quality assurance practices and accreditation of national higher education in Malaysia.
“I couldn’t be happier after hearing about Swinburne Sarawak’s excellent position in the latest SETARA rating. This is indeed good news for all of us, not only for the staff who put in the hard work to bring us thus far, but also for our current and future students as they can be assured of getting an Australian education of the highest quality,” said Professor Ken Heskin, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Swinburne Sarawak.
Heskin, who was the first Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor of the university from 2000 to 2002, was grateful to all who contributed to the latest SETARA rating.
“The commitment and dedication of the staff at Swinburne Sarawak, no matter what the task may be, is highly commendable. I am thankful to be working with such a great team of people,” said Heskin.
Swinburne Sarawak, he said, will continue to strive for excellence in supporting and providing its students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in their career.
The SETARA ’11 rating exercise was carried out between March 2011 and July 2012. Data collected and used for the rating was based on 2011, the agency said.
A total of 54 universities and colleges were rated. No institutions of higher learning were awarded Tier 6: Outstanding, the highest classification.
Swinburne Sarawak is the only international branch campus of Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. It offers programs that are identical to those of its home campus, at a much lower cost.
Since it was set up about 12 years ago, its student population has peaked to 4,000. Of this, 20% are international students from more than 50 countries.
