Polytechnic University Online: 5 stars in international QS ranking
In autumn 2020, St. Petersburg Peter the Great Polytechnic University was first audited by the international ranking agency QS Quacquarelli Symonds, which evaluated the resources and potential of online education and readiness of the University for distance learning. Polytechnic University showed a worthy result and received the 5 stars category.
“Over the past five years, Peter the Great Polytechnic University has done a great job in developing online education: more than one hundred mass open online courses have been created, advanced training courses for teachers in the field of online education have been organized not only for teachers of St. Petersburg University, but also for partner universities,” Elena RAZINKINA, Vice-Rector for Educational Activities of St. Petersburg State Pedagogical University, commented on the event. “We work with several open educational platforms. Following the trends of time, we implement various interactive formats of interaction between students and teachers. Getting the ‘5 stars’ category in the nomination QS Stars Online Learning is the merit of all participants of this difficult process of learning online.
She emphasized that a very significant contribution to the international recognition of high quality online education at Polytechnic University was made by the staff of the Open Education Center under the direction of Svetlana KALMYKOVA.
“Audit of online education is a relatively new initiative of the International QS Ranking,” said the head of the Department of Strategic Planning and Development Programs Maria VRUBLEVSKAYA. “This year, Polytechnic University was audited for the first time; it is important for us to have an expert assessment of how competitive we are in this aspect in the international arena. Polytechnic University received 93 points out of 100, and this is a perfect result. Such a high estimation of the International QS Ranking is first of all the merit of the team involved in the development, monitoring and implementation of remote technologies. This is a complex and time-consuming process for all participants of the educational process, and we have something to strive for, but we want to believe that the high status will serve as a moral bonus for our teachers and students and a good marketing tool in recruiting talented applicants both abroad and in Russia.”
The international QS Stars rating: Online-learning consists of seven indicators from 5 to 30 points each. The maximum number of points is 100.
- “Involvement of students and scientific and pedagogical staff” is evaluated according to five criteria: the possibility of students’ personal communication with professors through video or audio technologies; live broadcast of lectures with the possibility of schedule feedback; live broadcast of seminars with professors; provision of video courses in recording; possibility of students’ feedback and evaluation.
- “Interaction with students” implies their participation in discussions on digital platforms or online forums, availability of a website accessible to alumni.
- “Services and technologies for students:” access to digital library databases, access to online resources for people with disabilities, online access to career center information is evaluated.
- “Outsourcing of online services and products of the University” includes a list of organizations that use the university’s online services or technologies.
- “Ratio of applications to the number of students enrolled in online courses and ratio of students to the academic staff participating in the distance learning format.”
- “Interest in online education:” the percentage of degrees and certificates obtained online is estimated.
- “Experience of practical work:” successful implementation of online programs should be 10 years from the date of first release
Prepared by the SPbPU Office of Strategic Planning and Development Programs