Two private universities (PTS) from West Java, Widyatama University and Parahyangan Catholic University (Unpar), are included in the top 50 most popular universities in Indonesia according to the 2010 version of 4 International Colleges & Universities (4ICU). Out of approximately 141 universities throughout Indonesia listed on the website, Unpar ranks 26th, while Widyatama ranks 43rd.
Head of Public Relations and Marketing at Widyatama University, Fitrah Rumaisa, said that for Widyatama, this achievement is not yet optimal. However, it is proof that Widyatama, as one of Indonesia’s private universities, has been and will continue to improve its quality in order to compete in the current climate. The 4ICU university ranking does not assess organizations and institutions. “The assessment on the website is based on the popularity of university websites that are most searched for on the internet.
This site assesses the number of searches people conduct on the websites of the universities in question,” he explained when we met recently. The website 4ICU.org assesses the popularity of universities around the world based on their respective websites. The assessment refers to how many times a university’s website is searched for through three well-known search engines, namely Google Page Rank, Yahoo Inbound Links, and Alexa Traffic Rank. The top five positions in Indonesia are dominated by well-known state universities (PTN).
The Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) ranks at the top, followed by the University of Indonesia (UI), Gadjah Mada University (UGM), the Sepuluh November Institute of Technology (ITS), and Padjadjaran University (Unpad). Meanwhile, at the Asian level, Indonesia only has one university in the top 100. This position was achieved by ITB, which ranked 11th in Asia. Despite its high ranking, Indonesia still lags behind its neighbor Malaysia, which has three universities in the top 100. The main objective is to help universities in various countries understand their level of popularity and assist international students in determining which universities they should aim for in other countries. To date, 4ICU has listed approximately 9,200 university websites across 200 countries. (Source: Pikiran Rakyat Bandung)
