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Chinese universities break into top 100 global index for first time Tsinghua and Peking universities given spots at 58 and 71 respectively while Harvard stays top for 14th year
Universities from mainland China have broken into a global top 100 index in an annual ranking for the first time as Harvard retained its No 1 spot for the 14th consecutive year. China’s prestigious Tsinghua University was 58th, beating Peking University in 71st place, in the Academic Ranking of World Universities compiled by the independent Shanghai Ranking Consultancy. Despite the improved rating of China’s universities, major concerns remain about academic freedom under the leadership of president Xi Jinping. The National University of Singapore also entered the top 100 for the first time, tying for 83rd. For the top 10, Stanford maintained second place but MIT dropped from third to fifth, with the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Cambridge each moving up one spot to take third and fourth. The Shanghai Ranking is consistently largely static at its top levels, and this year nine of the top 20 were in unchanged positions, and another nine moved by only one place. The biggest change was by Britain’s Oxford University, which climbed three spots from 10th to seventh. Princeton University was sixth again, with another three US institutions – the California Institute of Technology, Columbia University and the University of Chicago in places eight to 10. The ranking, which was launched in 2003, has generated controversy in the past for stressing science over the humanities in its grading. According to the consultancy’s statement the rankings were made using “objective indicators” including the number of staff and alumni winning Nobel prizes and Fields medals, and articles published in the journals of “Nature” and “Science”, according to a statement. In the Asia-Pacific region, the University of Tokyo was top at number 20 overall. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich was the highest-ranked entry from continental Europe, in 19th place, while the University of Copenhagen in Denmark – which came 31st – overtook France’s Pierre and Marie Curie University (39th) as mainland Europe’s next best, the statement said.
Exclusive: ACT Inc raises test prices abroad to fund cheating fight
By Steve Stecklow and Alexandra Harney LONDON/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The maker of the ACT college-entrance exam, which has been struggling to contain an international cheating epidemic, is raising its fees for overseas test-takers by $10 to pay for enhanced security. The price increase was described in a letter sent last month to a college counselor in China and reviewed by Reuters. "The fee increases will cover costs for new test security measures," it stated. ACT Inc spokesman Ed Colby confirmed the measure. Beginning next April, the high-stakes exam will cost up to $109.50 for overseas test-takers - $51 more than those in the United States. The ACT and its rival, the SAT, are used by thousands of U.S. colleges to help choose among millions of student applicants. Both have been swamped by cheating abroad. ACT, an Iowa-based not-for-profit, has suffered major security setbacks in recent months. After the October sitting of the exam, ACT canceled scores for an unspecified number of students in Asia and Oceania on the writing section of the test because of a leak. In June, the exam was canceled for all test-takers in South Korea and Hong Kong due to another breach. Starting this Saturday, all South Korean test-takers will be required to take the ACT at a single test center in Seoul. The exam previously was given at 32 South Korean test centers, including sites licensed by the ACT-owned Global Assessment Certificate program. "The move is being made to combat repeated test material breaches in South Korea," ACT stated in a press release last month. In July, Reuters detailed widespread cheating in the GAC program, which offers college preparatory courses (http://reut.rs/2akY3uf). Seven students who attended three different GAC centers in China described how school officials and proctors ignored and were sometimes complicit in cheating on the ACT. ACT’s test-security unit repeatedly had recommended tightening security overseas, Reuters reported, but ACT executives rejected the recommendations. ACT’s chief executive, Marten Roorda, has declined to comment. ACT recently started shipping its test booklets and answer sheets to some locations in lock boxes to guard against leaks. The lock combinations are not distributed until the morning of the test.
China's Water Polo Player Zhang Weiwei Fulfils Her Olympic Dream
By Zeng Jie A 26-year-old Chinese water polo player from the city of Chengdu in northwest China's Sichuan Province excited her fellow townsmen as she raced in Rio De Janeiro on August 9. Zhang Weiwei started playing water polo at the age of 13 and became a member of the Chinese women's water polo team years later. In 2015, when competing with her team at the Kazan World Swimming Championships in Russia, they finished in fifth place, the best score for Zhang personally up to that point. In 2016, Zhang passed the postgraduate entrance examination and was admitted by the Chengdu Sport Institute (CSI), where she continued her studies while practicing water polo. Zhang's height, 1.83 meters, gives her a natural advantage, while her weight, 64 kilograms, makes her appear a little thin and weak, given the fierce fight in water. Therefore, Zhang tried many methods to gain weight, including eating more and adding albumen powder to her diet, but none of these helped much. Li Shuwei, Zhang's coach at CSI said the player was quite demanding of herself during regular training. Zhang insisted on practicing in water even after taking painkilling injections and never asked for leave regardless of injuries or pain. “It was a great regret for Zhang to miss the London Olympics,” Li stated. “At the age of 26, she is older than most athletes; however, Zhang still manages to play water polo while pursuing her studies, a tough task for many of her peers.” “Zhang’s dream of taking part in the Olympics is her source of power that has helped her overcome a lot of difficulties. We will watch her performance on television and cheer her on.”
Knowledge Graph
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1 Examinees walk into the entrance of a classroom building to take part in a three-day entrance exam for postgraduate studies in Hefei.
2 Students check room numbers for the national postgraduate entrance examination at a university in Beijing on Jan. 4, 2014.
3 Chinese candidates waiting to sit for National Entrance Examination for Postgraduate (NEEP) at a university in Beijing, Jan.5, 2013.