QS Stars Client Guide v.5.1 (16 Nov 20)

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QS Stars User Guidelines, methodology v.5.1
Contents
I. Introduction and Overview ........................................................................................................................................ 3
About This Document ................................................................................................................................................. 3
Categories ....................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Overall Thresholds and Pre-requisites ................................................................................................................. 5
Category Thresholds ................................................................................................................................................... 6
Time Period Considered ............................................................................................................................................ 7
Conversion rate ............................................................................................................................................................. 7
Online Learning and the Effects of COVID-19................................................................................................... 7
Formula for Calculating Scores ............................................................................................................................... 8
Profiles on Topuniversities.com .............................................................................................................................. 8
Timeline ............................................................................................................................................................................ 9
How to use the QS Stars Portal ............................................................................................................................. 10
II. Methodology and Data Collection Portal ......................................................................................................... 12
Teaching 150 points.......................................................................................................................................... 14
Employability 150 points ................................................................................................................................ 22
Internationalization 150 points ...................................................................................................................... 26
Research OR Academic Development 150 points ..................................................................................... 31
Research .............................................................................................................................................................................. 31
Academic Development................................................................................................................................................ 33
Learning Environment 100 points................................................................................................................. 37
Facilities ............................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Online Learning ................................................................................................................................................................ 40
Specialist Criteria 200 points ........................................................................................................................... 46
Subject Ranking ............................................................................................................................................................... 46
Program Strength............................................................................................................................................................ 50
Advanced Criteria 50 points each .................................................................................................................. 58
Arts and Culture ............................................................................................................................................................... 58
Innovation .......................................................................................................................................................................... 62
Social Responsibility ....................................................................................................................................................... 64
Inclusiveness...................................................................................................................................................................... 67
QS Teaching- and Research-Intensive Classifications....................................................................................... 70
Interim Data Summary Report ................................................................................................................................... 71
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I. Introduction and Overview

QS Stars is a university rating system used by hundreds of institutions around the
world. Participating institutions take part in an in-depth assessment across areas
such as Teaching, Facilities, and Innovation.
At the beginning of the project a dedicated QS Stars analyst is assigned to the

project; the analyst will work with the main contact at the university to collect the
necessary data and supporting evidence.
At the end of the evaluation institutions receive an overall rating, as well as a rating
in at least eight categories. These ratings are detailed in the QS Stars report, which is
provided to the university along with a certificate summarizing the category ratings.
If the university has a valid licence, it will also receive a set of QS Stars badges
(available in JPG, PDF, and PNG versions). These images have the rating received in
each category, and can be used in the university’s own marketing materials.
About This Document

This document is designed to provide comprehensive instructions, definitions,
examples, and guidelines to assist institutions during a QS Stars evaluation.
We will start with general concepts that apply to the entire process, followed by a
collection of all the relevant definitions used in the latest version of the
methodology. We recommend consulting the online data collection portal
(https://qsstars.gomovein.com) whenever possible. This portal has been designed to
provide the best interactive experience, providing contextual data and easy
navigation. You should always use the portal to upload and submit the data for the
QS Stars evaluation, unless otherwise agreed with the primary analyst.
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Categories
The QS Stars rating system is a comprehensive audit of a university’s performance,
rating your institution against eight of 13 key categories across four category types:
• Core Criteria: Teaching, Employability, Internationalization, Research, and

Academic Development
These categories feature the key building blocks of a university whether focused
globally, domestically, or locally. Teaching, Employability, and Internationalization
are mandatory for the evaluation. Institutions can select between Academic
Development and Research for the final Core Criteria category.
• Learning Environment: Facilities or Online Learning
Only one of these categories will be count towards the overall result of the QS
Stars evaluation.
• Advanced Criteria: Arts & Culture, Innovation, Social Responsibility, and
Inclusiveness
These categories look at areas which universities might concentrate on in order to
advance to a higher level of performance and global recognition. Recognizing
that institutions vary in specialization, this section requires that two out of four
categories be chosen and assessed.
• Specialist Criteria: Program Strength or Subject Ranking
This section allows institutions to highlight an area of specialization. This is done
either by looking at a university’s performance in a global subject ranking, or by
the university selecting and submitting evidence about a high-performing degree
program.
In the case of alternate categories and indicators institutions may submit data for
each of them, but only the best-performing categories/indicators will count towards
the final ratings. (For example, you can submit data for both Research and Academic
Development, but only the higher-rated category will be included in the final report).
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Overall Thresholds and Pre-requisites

In addition to reaching a minimum score, for the overall ratings of 4, 5, and 5+ Stars
there are additional pre-requisites that must be met in order to be awarded the
respective rating. These pre-requisites vary slightly depending on whether the
Research or Academic Development category was assessed for the final rating.
If Research is used, the university will need to fulfil the pre-requisites related to the
number of citations or academic referees. If Academic Development is used, it will
need to fulfil the pre-requisites related to the number of points in the Teaching
category.
If an institution has the required score but lacks at least 1 of the pre-requisites, it will
be awarded the next-best rating for which it satisfies all the conditions. For example,
if an institution has 550 points but does not have at least 1% international students,
it will be awarded 3 Stars.
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Category Thresholds
The thresholds for category ratings are as follows:
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Time Period Considered

Unless stated otherwise, the time period which should apply to any data is the most
recently available annual reporting period. Depending on the indicator this may
be the most recently completed academic, financial, or calendar year.
Conversion rate
For indicators with reference values expressed in USD, conversion will be made based
on the historical exchange rate from local currency to USD on the published by
xe.com first day of the quarter in which the data forms were submitted.
Online Learning and the Effects of COVID-19

The Online Learning category was initially designed to assess degree programs which
are carried out entirely online. However, due to COVID-19 this category is currently
open for programs which were not traditionally online courses but are being carried
out remotely. Institutions will be assessed based on what is available to students at
the time of the evaluation.
The other significant change is the introduction of an alternative indicator to

Applications Per Enrollment, Faculty-Student Ratio.
You can find additional details about this category by downloading the Online
Learning category methodology and FAQs at https://bit.ly/3gd74UW.
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Formula for Calculating Scores

The first part of the assessment focuses on data collection and analysis. Universities
should concentrate on ensuring that any data submitted accurately reflects an
institution’s performance, while QS Stars analysts should make sure that the
validation and calculations are carried out consistently from one institution to
another.
As such, the final scores are calculated shortly before delivering the final results. This
is done after the university has accepted the data from the interim data summary
report as final, and that data is used to calculate the final scores and ratings.
However, it is possible to calculate the points based on data provided. The following
formula is used throughout the methodology; points are scaled and distributed
according to the maximum and minimum threshold in each indicator.
(Data – Minimum)/(Maximum – Minimum) * total points available = SCORE
As an example, consider the Completion Rate, where up to 40 points are awarded for
having between 60% and 90% of students graduating within the expected time for
their course.
• Maximum threshold: 90%

• Minimum threshold: 60%
• Available points: 40
• Data from institution: 78% completion rate
(78 – 60)/(90 – 60) = (18)/(30) = 0.6 * 40 available points = 24 points
Profiles on Topuniversities.com
If the university has a valid licence, it can use the QS Stars badges to advertise the
overall ratings, as well as ratings received in different categories or specializations.
The QS Stars results can also be published on the university’s Topuniversities.com

profile. If your institution does not have a complete profile yet, you can create one
for free. You can download the basic profile user guide at https://bit.ly/2FDVeqy, or
email the QS TopUniversities support team at [email protected].
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Timeline
You can find below a typical timeline for a QS Stars evaluation; the actual times will
depend on the amount of time institutions require to submit the essential data, as well
as the response time of the institution to the requests that arise after the validation.
During the Data Collection & Submission stage, you can contact your analyst if you have
any queries about the methodology. We recommend email as the primary form of
communication as it allows us to research your query before providing an answer. You
will usually receive an answer within a couple of days. We can also schedule occasional
calls to discuss any outstanding questions.
Due to the fact that each audit undergoes a two-stage validation process and some
questions require involvement from the QS Stars Product Manager, for some issues the
final decision will only be taken after the second stage of the validation. It will be
communicated together with final findings in the interim data summary report.
We cannot pre-accept evidence before it has been submitted and reviewed, but we
encourage universities to submit all the data or evidence they believe may be relevant.
After the initial data submission, you will have several opportunities to submit additional
information. After the second-stage validation, but before calculating the final results,
the analyst will provide an interim data summary report for your review. This
summarizes the final data that we intend to use. As part of this report the analyst will
also inform you if they have identified any areas where the university may be able to
improve its performance. You may submit any final evidence or ask questions; once the
interim report has been submitted, we will proceed with the final calculations.
INSTRUCTIONS DATA COLLECTION VALIDATION:

& SUBMISSION Stage 1
Analyst reviews evidence,

Analyst will pre-populate Institution collects and
then sends any questions
form and send submits data
or requests for additional
instructions 6-14 weeks (can be evidence to institution
extended if necessary)
Within 1 week 2-3 weeks
+ response time
FINAL RESULTS INTERIM DATA VALIDATION:

SUMMARY REPORT Stage 2
Analyst compiles summary A second analyst

of final data, institution reviews all evidence
reviews and can submit and calculations
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final evidence
2-3 weeks +
2 weeks + response time response time
How to use the QS Stars Portal
1) Log into the QS Stars portal with the credentials received from the assigned QS
Stars analyst:
2) In the
“Forms”
section, you
will find the
QS Stars data
collection
forms:
3) Once you log in, you will be able to access the “Pre-Populated Data” form, where
we’ve filled in pre-populated data such as the number of academic and employer
survey nominations the university has received. Please be aware that the number
of papers, citations, collaborations, academic or employer survey nominations is
taken from the latest QS World University Rankings, and the latest figures will be
used for the final results; if these update during the course of the project, QS will
update the figures on the form.
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4) To start the data collection, click the “Start”

button on any form. The order is not
important; any form can be started at any
time, and all seven forms can be in progress
at once.
5) Throughout the form, each indicator requires some type of evidence – either by
filling it in directly in the form, or downloading and uploading the QS Stars
evidence template. There are also useful guidelines next to the indicators, in the
yellow information bullets. Where privacy laws don’t allow sharing confidential
information (such as name, email address etc), you may provide anonymized data
about staff and students.
6) The progress you have made can be

saved at any time.
7) Once all the indicators are finalized, you may submit the form. Once submitted, a
PDF summary report will be generated, and the form will be locked. However, if
you realize that you need to make any amendments after the form is submitted,
please contact the QS Stars analyst; they can un-submit the form if needed.
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8) When the summary of the final

data is available, an interim data
summary report will be generated
in the portal. You should navigate
through each category, check the
final data and let us know if you
have any concerns with the data.
Once the review has been done,
please submit the interim report.
II. Methodology and Data Collection Portal

The following sections include for your convenience guidelines from the online QS
Stars portal (https://qsstars.gomovein.com).
Throughout this section you will find details about every category and indicator, and
links to download evidence templates. There are also definitions and additional
useful information marked by this symbol:
QS Stars is a university rating system which has been used by hundreds of

institutions across more than 60 countries. Participants undergo an evaluation across
several areas of the university, resulting in a Stars rating in at least eight categories,
as well as an overall rating of between 0 and 5+ Stars.
This data collection portal will be used by institutions to submit all required evidence
to QS. A dedicated QS Stars analyst will be assigned to the project and will guide
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you through the process. You can follow communications between the institution
and QS by looking at the Conversations tab.
In the Forms tab you’ll find data forms for the Core Categories (Teaching,
Employability, Internationalization, and Research/Academic Development), Learning
Environment (Facilities/Online Learning), Specialist Criteria (Subject Ranking/Program
Strength), and Advanced Criteria (Arts & Culture, Innovation, Social Responsibility,
Inclusiveness). We have also pre-populated some data in the Prepopulated Data
form; select “View Submitted Application” to see the data already accepted by QS.
Please download the latest version of the QS Stars methodology (found below) to
help you understand each indicator and how to fill out each form. Where both data
and supporting evidence is required, please download and populate the
accompanying template. You can also refer to information text and documentation
throughout.
You should submit each form separately as it’s ready or all forms at once.
If you experience any problems, would like to submit additional evidence even after
submitting a form, or have any questions please contact the QS Stars analyst
assigned to the project, or email us at [email protected]. You can also download the
latest QS Stars methodology at https://bit.ly/3g5G6ic.
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Teaching 150 points

This category is mandatory for all institutions.
Turnover
Indicator: Turnover is not itself an indicator, and is not itself worth any points.
However, it is used in some parts of QS Stars, such as looking at the percentage of
turnover spent on scholarships.
Data required: University’s annual turnover in local currency
Evidence required: Financial statement or other proof of turnover
This data point looks at the institution’s turnover amount for the most recently
completed financial year. "Turnover" is the total annual financial income of the
university before incurring any costs, including tuition fees, grants, student
accommodation, etc
Turnover, along with all financials, should be submitted in the university’s local
currency. This will be converted to USD by the QS Stars team using the historical
exchange rate from the first day of the quarter in which the evidence was submitted
to QS.
Faculty-Student Ratio 50 points

Indicator: 10% faculty-student ratio (1 faculty member per 10 students) scaled down
to 2% (1 faculty member per 50 students)
Data required: Please populate the table provided with the number of academic
faculty staff, undergraduate students, and postgraduate students. You should
provide a breakdown by full-time and part-time faculty and students, as well as the
full-time equivalent (FTE) calculation.
Evidence required: Supporting evidence is not usually required, particularly if the

data has been submitted for any QS rankings within the past year. The analyst
assigned to your QS Stars assessment will request evidence when needed.
QS uses a standard formula to calculate FTE: FT + (PT/3) = FTE If your institution

calculates FTE in a different way you can submit this, but you should specify what
formula was used.
Please refer to the definitions below, which are identical to the definitions used
for QS rankings.
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*Academic faculty staff and students Definition file
Faculty Staff
Total number of academic faculty staff who are responsible for planning,
directing and undertaking academic teaching only, research only or both
academic teaching and research within Higher Education Institutions.
Please include: vice-chancellors, deputy vice-chancellors, principals and deputy

principals, professors, heads of school, associate professors, assistant
professors, principal lecturers, readers, tutors, researchers, research fellows or
postdoctoral researchers who contribute to teaching or research or both at your
university for a minimum period of at least three months.
Please exclude: research assistants¹, PhD students who contribute to teaching,

hospital residents who do not teach and/or undertake research in addition to
clinical duties, exchange scholars and visiting faculty staff who are members of
a university other than yours.
Off-shore academic faculty staff and staff that hold an academic post but are
not active due to retirement or honorary appointment should also be excluded.
(1) The important distinction for us is that staff counted as ‘research only’
should be academically involved in that research and should be likely to
publish research outputs. A research assistant, in our understanding, is
any individual who is not conducting their own research and is
therefore not likely to publish research outputs. Said individual is (only)
involved in research in terms of operational execution, such as a lab
technician or equipment operator.
Students – Overall
Total number of students. Where possible, please only include students

pursuing degree level programs or higher.
Exclude all students who are not currently active and distance learning
students.
Undergraduate Students
Total number of students pursuing a Bachelor’s level or equivalent degree.
This includes programmes designed to provide intermediate academic and/or

professional knowledge, skills and competencies leading to a first tertiary
degree or equivalent qualification. (UNESCO ISCED-2011 Level 6)
This excludes certificates/diplomas and associate’s degrees.

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Please also exclude off-shore and distance learning students from this count.
Graduate/Postgraduate Students
For clarity, ‘graduate’ and ‘postgraduate’ are synonyms to embrace all

students pursuing Masters, Doctoral or similar degrees such as ‘Specialist’,
mainly referring to Eastern European and Central Asian countries. The term
‘graduate’ is more broadly used in US institutions and ‘postgraduate’ in British
and European institutions.
Total number of students pursuing a higher-level degree (Master and

Doctorate), including both taught and research postgraduates. (e.g. PhD
students)
That refers to programmes designed to provide advanced academic and/or

professional knowledge, skills and competencies leading to a second tertiary
degree or equivalent qualification (UNESCO ISCED-2011 Level 7) and
programmes designed primarily to lead to an advanced research qualification,
usually concluding with the submission and defence of a substantive
dissertation of publishable quality based on original research. (UNESCO
ISCED-2011 Level 8)
Overall Student Satisfaction OR Completion 40 points

You may submit data for one or both indicators. QS will validate any data submitted
and will use the better-performing indicator for the final results.
Overall Student Satisfaction

Indicator: 75% student satisfaction scaled down to 50%. Results based on a minimum
20% response rate OR 1000 respondents using the QS Stars surveys, official national
survey, or equivalent.
Two basic types of surveys can be considered:
• QS Stars student satisfaction survey

• National student satisfaction survey or equivalent (including university-run
surveys)
If you've chosen to run the QS Stars student satisfaction survey, the analyst will
provide the results once the survey has been completed. If you have not used a QS
survey, please select “National Student Satisfaction Survey or equivalent” and provide
the following:
• Number of total respondents in survey

• Link to public survey results
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If the data is not publicly available online, please provide the questionnaire and
raw data as requested below:
• Copy of the Overall Student Satisfaction questionnaire

• Overall Student Satisfaction full raw data file*
• Percentage of Dissatisfied responses
• Percentage of Not very satisfied responses
• Percentage of Neutral responses
• Percentage of Slightly satisfied responses
• Percentage of Satisfied responses
The “raw data file” is a document with the answers to every question from each
individual respondent. In order to maintain consistency between audits we have
standard rules to calculate and normalize results of surveys, which may differ from
the way institutions themselves have calculated the survey results.
For Overall Student Satisfaction, please refer to the following definition document.
*Overall Student Satisfaction definition document
75% student satisfaction or higher with scaled scores down to 50% student
satisfaction. Results based on a minimum 20% response rate OR 1000
respondents using the National Student Satisfaction Survey or equivalent
Based on online either university/QS/national student survey distributed to all

students of the university for feedback on the overall quality and teaching
quality of their study programs or using a National Student Satisfaction Survey
equivalent.
If you have not used a QS survey, please provide a copy of the questionnaire
used, as well as the full raw data, i.e. a file with every answer from each
individual. Also, in order to be accepted, the survey should meet the following
requirements:
• The survey can be sent to all current students, as well as alumni that have
graduated within the past 3 years
• There should be a minimum of 1000 responses or 20% of the total
number of students, otherwise the score is scaled down
• It should feature questions about the overall student satisfaction and
the student’s satisfaction with teaching, and should use a 5 point scale
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or higher (if a higher rating scale is used, we will consider only top 40%
of the scale to calculate student satisfaction)
Completion
Indicator: 90% of students scaled down to 60% graduate within the expected time for
their course.
Data/evidence required: Download the Completion template: https://bit.ly/32ezESj
Completion is the alternate indicator to Overall Student Satisfaction. You may
find more details on Completion through the following definition document.
Completion definition document

Percentage of Undergraduate students from the initial enrolment cohort that
completed the degree course through to graduation.
The completion rate is based on a graduating cohort from the most recent year
for which you have data available. By a “graduating cohort” we mean the group
of people who will graduate in the same year. For example, in the US most
degrees are done in four years, therefore the graduating cohort in 2015 would
be people who began their programmes in 2011. In this case, we would need
the number of students who began in 2011 (say, 10,000) and the number of
students from that group who graduated in 2015 (say, 9,000, or 90%).
If the university doesn’t have a typical length of time for programmes, or these
vary between programmes, we would be looking for the number of people who
graduated on time. For example, the 2016 cohort can be defined as: 1) students
doing a 3 year degree who began studying in 2013, as well as 2) students doing
a 4 year degree who began studying in 2012, as well as 3) students doing a 6
year degree who began studying in 2010.
If most of the university’s degree programmes are the same length, please
provide us the number of students which begun studying and graduated on
time. If the programme length is variable, please submit data as per the example
above in the evidence sheet tables.
Satisfaction with Teaching OR Faculty with PhD 40 points

Indicator: 75% student satisfaction with teaching, scaled down to 50% OR 80% scaled
down to 60% of faculty with PhD or equivalent terminal degree.
Satisfaction with Teaching

Indicator: 75% student satisfaction with teaching, scaled down to 50%. Results based
on a minimum 20% response rate OR 1000 respondents using the QS Stars surveys,
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official national survey, or equivalent.


surveys)
the following:

• Copy of the Student Satisfaction with Teaching questionnaire

• Student Satisfaction with Teaching full raw data file*
*The “raw data file” is a document with the answers to every question from each
standard rules to calculate and normalize results of surveys, which may differ
from the way institutions themselves have calculated the survey results.
For Student Satisfaction with Teaching, please refer to the “Overall Student
Satisfaction” definition document found earlier in this section.
Faculty with PhD

Indicator: 80% scaled down to 60% of faculty with PhD or equivalent terminal degree.
Data/evidence required: Download the Faculty with PhD template:

https://bit.ly/3kWLZlj
Faculty with PhD is the alternate indicator to Student Satisfaction with Teaching.
You may find more details on Faculty with PhD through the following definition
document.
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*Faculty with PhD definition document

Number of academic faculty staff working at your institution during the last annual
reporting period that have been awarded a PhD or equivalent terminal degree. FTE
will be considered.
• The annual reporting period is the last complete academic, financial or

calendar year. Please supply whichever is easier to collect.
• A terminal degree is the highest academic qualification in a given field.
Further Study 20 points

Indicator: 30% scaled down to 10% of undergraduate students pursuing further study
within 12 months of graduation. Results based on a minimum 20% response rate OR
1000 respondents, with points being scaled down for lower response rates.
• QS Stars alumni survey

• National graduate employment survey or equivalent (including university-run
surveys)
In case you've chosen to run the QS Alumni survey, the analyst will provide the
results once the survey has been completed. If you have not used a QS survey, please
select “National survey or equivalent” and provide the following:

Data required: Download the Further Study template: https://bit.ly/3f6pyaX

Evidence required: Please also provide an official report, link or a database snapshot
with number of graduates in further study.
Additional data required: Number of undergraduates in the last 5 years; the 20%
response rate is based on this number
If there are other situations (for example, the survey covers a different time
period), please submit the number of total graduates from that respective period
For more information about this indicator see the definition document below.
*Further Study definition document

If the institution has over 70% postgraduate students, then you can provide
data for postgraduate students.
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Based on online either university/QS/national alumni survey distributed to all

undergraduate alumni the university for feedback on their further study status
or using a National Alumni Survey equivalent. If you have not used a QS
Alumni survey, please provide a copy of the questionnaire used, as well as the
full raw data, i.e. a file with every answer from each individual. Also, in order to
be accepted, the survey should meet the following requirements:
• The survey can be sent to all undergraduate alumni from the last 5
years
• It should feature questions about the further study status within 12
months of graduation
If there are other situations, where the data is from a different time period
(e.g. cohort from the last 3 years), please let us know and provide the number
of undergraduate students from the specific time period (e.g. 2016-2017,
2017-2018 and 2018-2019) in order to compute the response rate.
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Employability 150 points

This category is mandatory for all institutions.
Employer Reputation (50 points) OR Campus Employer

Presence (maximum 30 points)
Employer Reputation
Indicator: 50 employer nominations received from the latest QS Global Employer

Reputation analysis
If your institution has 30 or more employer nominations, you should not submit
evidence for Campus Employer Presence because you will receive more points in
Employer Reputation. You may find the data used in the most recent QS World
University Rankings in the Prepopulated Data PDF file in your application. Please
note that the number of nominations may update according to the most recent QS
World University Rankings. You can find more information about the QS Employer
Survey at the following link: http://www.iu.qs.com/university-rankings/indicator-
employer/
Campus Employer Presence

Indicator: 200 distinct companies OR a number equivalent to 1% of the FTE student
body present at events on campus in a recent 12-month period (for example, an
institution with 10,000 students will require the presence of 100 to score 30 points)
Evidence required: Download the Campus Employer Presence evidence template:

https://bit.ly/3hiK73a
Campus Employer Presence is the alternate indicator to Employer Reputation.

You may find more details on Campus Employer Presence through the following
definition document.
*Campus Employer Presence definition document
Number of distinct companies present at events on campus in a recent 12-

month period such as recruitment fairs or for a talk about their company
specifically. Please specify name of the talk or recruitment fair.
Please note a recruiter delivering a talk about marketing or any other general
subject will not be accepted, as this needs to be about the company itself.
External recruitment fairs will not be counted as they are not on campus.
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Graduate Employment Rate 50 points

Indicator: 90% scaled down to 50% of graduates employed or started a business within
24 months of graduation (excluding those not actively seeking work e.g. pursuing further
study) as evidenced by public graduate employment outcomes or by an alumni survey.
Results based on a minimum 20% response rate OR 1000 respondents, with points being
scaled down for lower response rates.
If submitting a survey as evidence, two basic types can be considered:
• QS Stars alumni survey

• National graduate employment survey or equivalent (including university-run
surveys)
If you've chosen to run the QS alumni survey, the analyst will provide the results once
the survey has been completed. If you have not used a QS survey, please select
“National survey or equivalent” and provide the following:
Data required: Download the Graduate Employment Rate evidence template:

https://bit.ly/2Rh1qXO
Additional data required: Number of undergraduates in the last 5 years; the 20%
response rate is based on this number.
If there are other situations (the survey is covered by different years), please
submit the number of total graduates from that respective period. Also refer to the
definition document below.
* Graduate Employment Rate definition document

graduates of the university for feedback on their employment status or using a
National Alumni Survey equivalent. If you have not used a QS Alumni survey,
please provide a copy of the questionnaire used, as well as the full raw data, i.e. a
file with every answer from each individual. Also, in order to be accepted, the
survey should meet the following requirements:
• The survey can be sent to all alumni from the last 5 years
• There should be a minimum of 1000 responses or 20% of graduates from
the last 5 years, otherwise the score is scaled down
• It should feature questions about the employment status within 24 months
of graduation
If there are other situations, where the data is from a different time period (e.g.
cohort from the last 3 years), please let us know and provide the number of
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graduates from the specific time period (e.g. 2016-2017, 2017-2018 and 2018-
2019) in order to compute the response rate.
Career Service Support 50 points

Indicator: 10 points for each of the following with 2 bonus points for 3 or more
(maximum 50 points):
1. 10 career advisors scaled down to 2 OR 1 career advisor per 1000 students

2. Career interview trainings or CV/resume and/or cover letter writing
3. At least one on-campus career fair in the last academic year organized by the
academic institution
4. Career advising sessions available for students
5. Online career portal with access to job vacancies and/or career advisor
appointment system
Data/evidence required: Download the Career Service Support evidence template:

https://bit.ly/2Q4wZni
Please refer to the definition document below for more information on each sub-
indicator.
*Career Service Support Definition document
1. 10 career advisors scaled down to 2 OR 1 career advisor per 1000 student

– number of career counsellors or advisors that are fully dedicated to helping
students seek professional experience. Only dedicated careers advisors for the
whole university and specific departments can be counted here. The FTE will
be calculated. If academics are part of the careers service, then we can count
them by calculating the FTE.
• Please include in the “Description of employability activities” column a
comprehensive description of the employability activities each staff
member conducts, please explain what type of employability activities fall
under “administration”.
• The ”Total number of working hours per week” column should include the
total number of hours the staff member works in a week. For example, a
full-time employee usually works around 40 hours per week.
• The “Number of hours of employability activities per week” column should
include for how many hours out of the total working hours does the staff
member conduct employability activities. For full-time employees in the
career service department, this usually means 40 hours out of 40 hours and
that person will be counted as one. For a part-time employee, this could
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mean for example 20 hours employability activities out of 40 hours and will
be counted as 0.5.
2. Career Interview trainings or CV/Resume and/or cover letter writing –

enhancing students’ soft skills such as interviewing, resume and cover letter -
in order to increase their opportunities in the market.
3. At least one on-campus career fair in the last academic year organized by
academic institution – On campus career fairs that are designed to provide
students with a range of employers offering job opportunities such as:
internships, graduate work schemes, part time work.
4. Career advising sessions available for students – career advisors holding

one-on-one sessions with students to provide tailored professional advice.
5. Online career portal with access to job vacancies and/or career advisor
appointment system – a dedicated online platform hosted by the academic
institution that brings a wide range of career related information for students
seeking a career, career professional guidance and more.
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Internationalization 150 points

This category is required for all institutions.
International Faculty 20 points

Indicator: 25% international faculty members
More information about this indicator appears below.
International Students 20 points

Indicator: 25% international students
More information about this indicator appears below.
International Faculty and Students – Further Information

Data required: Please populate the table provided with the number of international
academic faculty staff, international undergraduate students, and international
postgraduate students. You should provide a breakdown by full-time and part-time
faculty and students, as well as the full-time equivalent (FTE) calculation.
QS uses a standard formula to calculate FTE: FT + (PT/3) = FTE
If your institution calculates FTE in a different way you can submit this, but you
should specify what formula was used
Please refer to the definition document below for more information on

international students and faculty.
*International Academic Faculty Staff and International Students definition

document
International faculty
• Number of academic faculty staff who contributes to academic teaching or

research or both at your university for a minimum period of at least three
months and who are of foreign nationality.
• The term ‘international’ is hereby determined by citizenship.
• For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even if from another EU
state. In Hong Kong, this includes professors from Mainland China.
• Inclusion and exclusion mirrors those for academic faculty staff.
• It is important to note that visiting international faculty staff who are of foreign
origin but members of a university other than yours should NOT be counted
under this category.
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• In case of dual citizenship, the ‘deciding’ criteria should be ‘citizenship obtained

through birth’, basically first passport obtained.
International students - Overall
• Number of students who are foreign nationals.

• EU countries: include all foreign nationals, even nationals of other EU states.
• Hong Kong: include students from Mainland China.
• Include: permanent residents
• The ‘deciding’ criteria for ‘dual citizenship’ should be ‘citizenship obtained
Undergraduate International Students
• Number of undergraduate students who are foreign nationals and who spend
at least three months at your university. (This figure is a proportion of the ‘total
number of undergraduate students’.)
• For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even nationals of other EU
states. In Hong Kong, this includes students from Mainland China.
• Please exclude all exchange off-shore, and distance learning students.
• As for summer school and/or language students, they can be included under
‘international undergraduate students’ only if they take up a particular
(language) course that is outlined as ‘undergraduate degree program’ and the
student can earn credits towards their final degree.
• Foreign dual degree students can be included under ‘international
undergraduate students’ if they fulfil above criteria, spend at least three months
at your university, earn credits towards their final degree and have your
university’s name written on their diploma.
Graduate/Postgraduate International Students
• Number of graduate / postgraduate students who are foreign nationals and

who spend at least three months at your university. (This figure is a proportion
of the ‘total number of graduate/postgraduate students’.)
• For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even nationals of other EU
states. In Hong Kong, this includes students from Mainland China.
27

• Please exclude all exchange, off-shore and distance learning students.
• As for summer school and/or language students, they can be included under
‘international postgraduate students’ only if they take up a particular (language)
course that is outlined as ‘postgraduate degree program’ and the student can
earn credits towards their final degree.
• Foreign dual degree students can be included under ‘international
graduate/postgraduate students’ if they fulfil above criteria, spend at least three
months at your university, earn credits towards their final degree and have your
university’s name written on their diploma.
International Collaborations 50 points

Indicator: 50 joint-degree programs AND/OR university research collaborations
yielding publications in Scopus™ in a recent 5-year period as per the latest QS World
University Rankings analysis.
If your institution has 50 or more international research collaborations you should

not submit evidence for Joint-degree programs, as the institution has already
achieved full points in the indicator. You may find the data used in the most recent
QS World University Rankings in the Prepopulated Data PDF file in your application.
“Joint-degree programs” are defined as dual, combined, conjoined, or simultaneous

degree programs involving a student studying at two different universities in parallel,
completing the degrees in less time than it would take to earn them separately. This
may result in either a degree from each institution or a combined degree issued by
the two institutions together. Exchange programs and blended learning programs
are not accepted, and a partner institution will only be counted once, even if it has
several joint-degree programs.
Data/evidence required: Download the Joint-Degree Programs template:

https://bit.ly/326wVsH
International Exchange Programs 40 points

Institutions will be assessed in one of the alternate indicators below. If your
institution has both long-term and short-term exchange programs, you should
submit data for each indicator and we will count the one which brings more points.
Please note that the short-term exchange programs only count outbound (not
inbound) exchanges, and that indicator is worth a maximum 10 points.
28
Long-term Exchange Programs 20 points each

Indicator: 2% inbound and 2% outbound students against total number of students on
an international exchange program lasting 3 months or longer (20 points each,
maximum 40 points in total)
Data/evidence required: Download the Inbound and Outbound Exchange

Students evidence template: https://bit.ly/2Fr9hPT
Inbound exchange students: Number of undergraduate and postgraduate

students attending your university on international exchange programmes for at least
one semester during the annual reporting period. Please refer to the definition
document.
Long-term Inbound Exchange Students definition file
• Number of undergraduate and postgraduate students attending your university

on international exchange programmes for at least one semester during the
annual reporting period. Exchange programmes that give out credit points but
are less than one semester in duration are to be excluded. The student exchange
must be academic in nature and acknowledged by a formal agreement between
the two Higher Education Providers.
• The international exchange programme must be between universities, NOT
between a university and a company OR corporation OR a university with its
international/offshore campuses.
Long-term Outbound Exchange Students definition file
• Number of undergraduate and postgraduate students registered at your

university who have attended another university abroad on international
exchange programmes for at least one semester during the annual reporting
period. Exchange programmes that give out credit points but are less than one
semester in duration are to be excluded.
• The student exchange must be academic in nature and acknowledged by a
formal agreement between the two Higher Education Providers. The
international exchange program must be between universities, not between a
university and a company nor corporation or a university with its
Outbound Short-term Exchange Programs 10 points

Indicator: 2% outbound students against total number of students on an organized
international trip lasting at least 2 weeks and less than 3 months (maximum 10
points). Short-term inbound exchange students are not considered for this indicator.
29
Data/evidence required: Download the Inbound and Outbound Exchange

Students evidence template: https://bit.ly/2Fr9hPT
Short-term outbound exchange students definition file

• Short-term outbound exchange programs: number of students on an organized
international trip or exchange program lasting between 2 to less than 12 weeks.
• The student exchange must be academic in nature and acknowledged by a
formal agreement between the two Higher Education Providers. The
international exchange program must be between universities, not between a
university and a company nor corporation or a university with its
International Support Center 10 points

Indicator: 1 support center dedicated to international students with at least 1 FTE staff
member.
Evidence required: Download the International Support Center template:
https://bit.ly/3241MGo
The international support center provides advice and support to international
students and inbound exchange students during their time at an academic
institution. The international support center should ideally run programs and
activities to ensure international students are integrated and have a successful
learning experience.
International Diversity 10 points

Indicator: 50 nationalities scaled down to 5 represented in student body
Evidence required: Download the International Diversity template:

https://bit.ly/3hfnBIv
This indicator considers the number of different nationalities represented in the
student body in the past academic year, including those from international students
and inbound exchange students.
30
Research OR Academic Development 150

points
This section is mandatory for all institutions; please choose between Research and
Academic Development, or you may submit data for both categories.
QS has created guidelines to help classify institutions as “teaching-intensive” or

“research-intensive” institutions. If you would like advice on how to classify your
institution, please refer to the section “QS Teaching- and Research-Intensive
Classifications” towards the end of this document.
Research
The QS Stars team will pre-populate data for Papers, Citations, and Academic Reputation
as used in the most recent QS World University Rankings. Please see the “Prepopulated
Data” form for details.
Research funds 40 points

Indicator: 30% scaled down to 10% of total income for total expenditure for past
fiscal year – including all public and/or private funds
Evidence required: Download the Research Funds template: https://bit.ly/35nv4mB

This indicator considers the total research funds, as a percentage of turnover, in
the last completed fiscal year. All public and private research funds from any source
should be submitted.
Papers per faculty 40 points

Indicator: 7 papers per faculty member indexed on Scopus™ in a recent five-year
period as per the latest QS World University Rankings analysis
Time period considered: 2014-2018 (updates in June 2021)
Data/evidence required: none
Citations per Paper 40 points

Indicator: 8 citations per paper indexed on Scopus™ in a recent six-year period as per
the latest QS World University Rankings analysis
Time period considered: 2014-2019 (updates in June 2021)
31
Academic Reputation 30 points

Indicator: 200 nominations received in the latest QS Global Academic Survey analysis
32
Academic Development
Teaching and Research Assistantships 35 points
Indicator: 30% scaled down to 10% of total student body participating in teaching or
research assistantships in
Evidence required: Download the Teaching and Research Assistantships

template: https://bit.ly/34dxmnV
Please refer to the definition document below for additional details.
*Teaching and Research Assistantships definition document
An assistantship is a form of funding in which a student works as an

"assistant" in exchange for partial or full tuition and/or a small living expense
stipend in the most recently available academic year (12 month period).
Students who are awarded research assistantships become research assistants

and are assigned to work in a faculty member's lab. Duties of research
assistants vary by discipline and lab but include all tasks needed to pursue
research in a given area.
Students who are awarded teaching assistantships become a teacher’s

assistant and may be assigned to teach a class (often introductory
undergraduate classes), hold office hours, run tutorial sessions, lead discussion
groups, grade student assignments and exams, supervise lab sections and
answer student emails.
Teaching and research assistantships may be offered by the student’s faculty

advisor or through the student’s graduate academic department. Research
assistantships may be tied to the student’s academic advisor’s research
contracts.
Learning Development Center 35 points

Indicator: Learning development center staffed with 3 scaled down to 1 full time staff
Evidence required: Download the Learning Development Center template:

https://bit.ly/3gejvA1
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*Learning Development Center definition document
A “learning development center” is defined as professional environment that

provides academic assistance for all students in developing the knowledge
base, skills, and strategies that will help them to become confident,
independent, and active learners.
The center should provide a range of individual consultations, workshops, and

programs to help students identify and develop the academic skills they need
for success in their studies. Centers devoted to a sub-group of the study body
will not be accepted.
(Therefore a minority support center would not be accepted here, even if it

offered learning development services.)
Faculty Office Hours 30 points

Indicator: 3:3 faculty office hours to classroom teaching hours per week scaled down
to a ratio of 1:3
This is the number of hours per week that academic faculty dedicate to being available
to meet with students on an individual basis, through scheduled meetings or by
dropping in. This does not include labs, tutorials, or other meeting which are part of
a course. If an institution has an official policy regarding office hours, such as requiring
academic faculty to spend at least 10 hours available to students, that policy can be
submitted as evidence.
Evidence required: Download the Faculty Office Hours

template: https://bit.ly/2Q3G3ca
*Faculty Office Hours definition document
The indicator measures how much time a teacher spends available to their
students versus the hours spent teaching in the classroom.
“Office hours” refers to the number of hours devoted by the academic faculty
to being available to students in order to discuss individual questions or
concerns. This may be calculated by taking a tally of the time that individual
faculty members spent holding office hours, or by submitting details regarding
the institution’s office hours policy.
34
Faculty Development Programs 25 points

Indicator: 70% scaled down to 30% of total faculty members participating in faculty
development programs
Evidence required: Download the Faculty Development Programs template:
https://bit.ly/3iQgLdG
* Faculty Development Programs definition document
This indicator measures the number of faculty members who have attended at
least one faculty development program in the most recently available
academic year (12-month period). The programs should help enrich the
teaching and professional development of faculty members.
These might include programs related to the faculty’s area of expertise (such
as ongoing practical training for a professor of medicine), development
concerning lecturing or working with students, or programs to learn new
university systems and technologies. The university should be involved in
driving participation in these programs. Typically we will not accept programs
if the faculty member is participating in and funding a course on their own.
Member of University Networks 25 points

Indicator: 25 points available through a combination of different types of networks:
1) 2 international university networks for full points
2) 4 regional university networks for full points
3) 6 national university networks for full points
Evidence required: Download the Member of University Networks

template: https://bit.ly/3mbbgJ6
*Member of University Networks definition document
By “university network” we refer to a coalition of universities with the intent of

sharing resources, improving finances, and educating students.
A “national” network is defined as a consortium where all institutions are in

the same country or in two very closely related countries (such as the United
35
Kingdom and Ireland); a “regional” network has university members from

different countries within the same global region; and “international” includes
members from institutions across at least two regions.
We may accept networks which allow to non-higher education providers (e.g.

business companies, research institutes) to be members of the consortium,
alongside universities, if part of their stated mission is improving teaching and
education quality. For an example of this kind please see AACSB.
36
Learning Environment 100 points

The Learning Environment categories look at the student’s experience within their
environment, whether that’s a physical campus or an online learning environment.
This section is mandatory for all institutions. Institutions will be assessed in either
Facilities or Online Learning, but can submit data for both.
Facilities
Sports Facilities (main campus only) 20 points

Indicator: 4 points for each of the following on-campus facilities (or access to local
facilities with an official agreement), with 2 bonus points for 3 or more (maximum 20
points):
1) Swimming pool
2) Indoor or outdoor fitness gym
3) Indoor sports court
4) Outdoor sports court
5) Outdoor sports field
Evidence required: Download the Sports Facilities template: https://bit.ly/3k61V3q
These facilities should be available on the main campus only, or should be facilities
which students and faculty have access to within one hour of public transportation. If
the facility is not on campus, please provide a copy of the agreement in the
additional evidence section.
Campus Facilities (main campus only) 20 points

Indicator: 4 points for each of the following on-campus facilities, with 3 bonus points
for 3 or more (maximum 20 points):
1) Cafeteria
2) Bookstore
3) Social room
4) Support center for minority groups*
5) Religious Facilities
Evidence required: Download the Campus Facilities template:

https://bit.ly/3m9kpC5
37
These facilities should be available on the main campus only.
With the support center for minority groups we are looking at the support
institutions offer specifically for one or more minority groups, such as LGBTQ+
students or those from an ethnic or religious minority (as defined in the institution’s
country). To be accepted the institution should provide services, not simply a space
that students may use.
Student Accommodation 20 points

Indicator: Maximum points for the same number of rooms available in student
residences as first-year students
Evidence required: Download the Student Accommodation template:

https://bit.ly/3k33P4X
Data required: number of first year undergraduate students (FTE)
Number of rooms in university-owned or university-run student residences, or

rooms made available to students through an official agreement with a local housing
authority. We only consider the number of rooms, not beds or students.
Library Expenditure 20 points

Indicator: $250 USD scaled down to $10 invested per student towards total library
operating expenditure in a 12-month period
Data required: Library expenditure (in local currency, as evidenced in financial report
or similar)
Evidence required: annual financial report or other supporting evidence
Library expenditure refers to the cost of ALL library expenditure including

materials in physical form (books, DVDS, etc.) and e-learning material (databases,
online journals, purchased online training courses, etc.) in the past fiscal year. Please
exclude staff costs.
Health Support Services (main campus only) 10 points

This indicator looks at the availability of an on-campus or off-campus medical
center providing medical assistance to students. At minimum the center should
include basic medical equipment and at least one doctor or one nurse providing
medical assistance from a medically-equipped space.
38
Health Support Services on campus 10 points

Indicator: 1 on-campus student medical center as demonstrated on a university
website
Evidence required: Download the Health Support Services template:

https://bit.ly/32ifw1v
Health Support Services 5 points

Indicator: 1 local medical center within 1 km of campus at which students may
register, as demonstrated on a university’s website or by an official agreement
Evidence required: Download the Health Support Services template:

https://bit.ly/32ifw1v
Student Clubs and Societies 10 points

Indicator: 50 scaled down to 10 student clubs and societies, including hobby clubs,
educational and religious societies, and sports teams as demonstrated on a university
website
Evidence required: Link to university’s website listing clubs and societies for students
39
Online Learning
This category looks at an institution’s ability to offer classes online through remote
teaching. It assesses an institution’s offering at the time of review; in cases where
100% of classes have been moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic these will
be considered fully online, although this may not be the case in the future. MOOCs
should not be included unless they can be taken for credit towards a degree.
Download the methodology and FAQs for this category: https://bit.ly/2FtiLtY
Student-Faculty Engagement 30 points

Indicator: 6 points for each of the following with 3 bonus points for 3 or more
(maximum 30 points):
1) Scheduled one-to-one conversations OR face to face component such as an

opportunity to meet faculty in person, including at regional centers
2) Live tutoring
3) Live streaming course video
4) Pre-recorded course video
5) Faculty assessment
Evidence required: Download the Student-Faculty Engagement template:

https://bit.ly/3hjnSdI
Definitions for each sub-indicator can be found below.
Scheduled one-to-one conversations OR face to face component such as an

opportunity to meet faculty in person, including at regional centers
The purpose of this indicator is to ensure students have the chance to ask questions
or get feedback in a one-to-one setting with their teachers. Students should have the
option of requesting conversations through an audio or video chat (in addition to
instant messaging services such as WhatsApp).
Scheduled one-to-one conversations: Students should have the opportunity

to schedule one-to-one appointments with faculty members. We can accept
hours set aside for students to meet or make appointments with professors
(i.e. office hours). While email, WhatsApp, or other instance messaging
services may be used to schedule meetings, they do not take the place of
them.
Face-to-face component: This applies only to fully distance learning courses.

Classes which were originally held in person and moved online due to the
COVID-19 outbreak cannot count the original in-person classes here.
40
Live tutoring
“Tutoring” usually consists of small groups meeting to discuss material from lectures
and readings which can be discussed in detail. These may be led a faculty member,
teaching assistant, or other academic leader and should be scheduled as part of the
syllabus.
Live streaming course video

Faculty holds pre-scheduled, live-stream lectures which students attend in real time
Pre-recorded course video

Faculty makes available pre-recorded videos which students may watch in their own
time; videos can be a fundamental part of teaching (i.e. lectures) or supplemental
materials
Faculty assessment
Students are given the opportunity to complete online assessments about the
teachers of their online courses. Institutions should collect feedback for all classes.
Evidence may include completed online surveys from the past two years, or an online
survey which will be sent for the most recently completed classes.
Student Interaction 20 points

Indicator: 10 points for each of the following types of student interaction:
1) Online forum / discussion board

2) Alumni Network
Evidence required: Download the Student Interaction template:

https://bit.ly/3lptvKK
Online forum/discussion board

The institution should provide a dedicated area online where students may discuss
class work, readings, upcoming exams, etc. Chat function in live video programs such
as Zoom are not accepted.
Alumni network
• Should have online access (an alumni center on campus wouldn’t be
accepted)
• Should be a live, active site to which alumni through online or distance
learning are included
• Ideally this would be a built-for-purpose online community rather than
simply the existence of a Facebook page or similar; an active Facebook
group on its own may not be accepted
41
Student Services and Technology 15 points

Indicator: 5 points for each of the following:
Student services and technology

1) Access to online library databases
2) Customized access for users with special needs
3) Online access to career center / dedicated online career advisor
Evidence required: Download the Student Services and Technology template:

https://bit.ly/2Rewacc
Access to online library databases

• Students should have access to online materials including e-books and
databases
• Can be accepted even if students do not have access to physical books
held in the campus library
• Not accepted if students only have access to the catalogue of physical
books
Customized access for users with special needs

• Special needs students include those who are physically or mentally
disabled or those with learning disabilities
• Examples of customized access which can be accepted: reading software to
assist blind students; software or service to assist deaf or hard of hearing
students; opportunity for dyslexic students to work directly with someone
to help them with reading or writing
• Physical accommodations, such as adapted hardware, can be accepted
only if they are available to online/distance learning students; these cannot
be limited only to students on campus
• Counselling for mental health issues are not accepted here
Online access to career center OR dedicated online career advisor

Online access to career center: Students should have access to an online career
center with services such as job listings, tips on writing a CV or cover letter, and
advice on looking for a job
Dedicated online career advisor: Students should be able to make appointments
with an advisor
42
Online Outsourcing 10 points

Indicator: 5 organizations relying on programs and technologies created by the
academic institution, scaled down to 2
Evidence required: Download the Online Outsourcing template:

https://bit.ly/3bNbtxe
Online outsourcing refers to an organization/company as a whole that fully

utilizes online learning programs provided by the academic institution audited to
train staff. Please note that online outsourcing does not include a single employee
within a company using an institution's online learning program. We require a list of
companies with as many details about the outsourced programs as possible.
This indicator looks at a university’s partnerships with external companies,

organizations (including educational organizations) or government agencies. These
external organizations use the university’s online learning programs to train their
staff, OR educators licence the university’s online learning platform or other software
for educational purposes.
• Institutions must have an agreement with companies to offer training;
individuals taking courses without an official agreement between the
university and their employer will not be considered
• Licencing of software like an online learning platform developed by the
institution can be accepted • In the case of COVID-19, partnerships with
external organizations can be accepted if carried out online
• Institution must present evidence of licencing or partnership, such as an
official agreement
Accepted examples (if taking place at least partially online):

• Custom executive education programs, such as those offered by
Cambridge’s Judge Business School (https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/executive-
education/custom-programmes/)
• Massey University offering postgraduate diplomas to Royal Brunei Armed
Forces (https://bit. ly/2Z8ex35)
• Massey University offering custom MBA for Qater Airways
(https://bit.ly/2y0z3Yc)
• Virtual learning environment, CRM, or online learning platforms developed
by institution and used by external organizations Not accepted:
organizations using university premises or equipment
43
Applications per Enrolment OR Faculty-Student Ratio 10

points
Indicator: 5 completed applications per enrolment scaled proportion of the points
down to a ratio of 2:1 OR 10% faculty-student ratio (1 faculty member per 10 students)
scaled down to 1% (1 faculty per 100 students)
Applications per Enrolment

Indicator: 5 completed applications per enrolment scaled proportion of the points
down to a ratio of 2:1
Required data:
• Number of completed applications in the previous academic year
• Number of enrollments in the previous academic year
Where all classes have moved online due to COVID-19, all applications and
enrolments across the university can be considered.
Faculty-Student Ratio
Indicator: 10% faculty-student ratio (1 faculty member per 10 students) scaled down
to 1% (1 faculty per 100 students)
This figure should include all students and faculty members who are currently
participating in distance learning – even if they began the year with traditional
teaching.
Commitment to Online 10 points

Indicator: 50% scaled down to 15% of degrees available at the university that can be
taken entirely through online learning
Required data:
• Total number of degree programs available at institution
• Total number of degree programs available through online learning
COVID consideration: We consider courses as they are run at the time of audit; if all
in-person courses have been temporarily moved online, 100% of degrees can be
considered available as online courses
44
Track Record 5 points

Indicator: 10 years of operating successful online programs since the first graduating
class
Required data: Year the institution had its first graduation for online learning
students
COVID consideration: Institutions which are carrying out temporary distance
learning due to COVID-19 but have previously not run any graduations should report
“none”
45
Specialist Criteria 200 points

This section is mandatory for all institutions.
The Subject Ranking category looks at the highest-ranking area, either at a subject or
faculty level, as well as at the number of national and international accreditations in
that particular subject or subject area. For example, a university ranking in top 50 in
Social Sciences && Management would receive maximum points for this broad
subject area and would need to have accreditations in subjects pertaining to this
broad subject area (e.g. Accounting && Finance, Communication && Media Studies,
etc.). A university ranking in top 20 for a specific subject (e.g. Linguistics) would
receive maximum points for this subject and would need to have accredited
programs in Linguistics.
The second category, Program Strength, looks at the competitiveness and strength
of a certain program of your choice from the degree programs offered by the
institution. Therefore, you need to choose which program you would like to be
assessed in. The university may select one specific degree program, either at
undergraduate or postgraduate level, (e.g. Bachelor in Computer Science or Masters
in Economics and Management etc.) and will then need to submit the corresponding
information for each indicator for this program only. Please keep in mind that there
should be a minimum of 100 FTE students in the program or 20% FTE students in the
faculty.
Subject Ranking
Subject Ranking OR Broad Subject Area Ranking 50
points
Indicator: Points awarded on a sliding scale for being in the top 200 of any subject or
top 300 of any broad subject area.
The score in this category looks at the highest ranked subjects and broad subject
areas in the most recent QS World University Rankings by Subject, as well as at the
number of national and international accreditations in that particular subject or
subject area. If an institution ranks highly enough to score points in multiple subjects,
it can choose which subject or faculty area to be assessed in.
Please refer to the website which lists the latest QS World University Rankings by
Subject: https://www.topuniversities.com/subject-rankings
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Points awarded for being in the top 200 subjects or top 300 faculties. Please
refer to the subject ranking definition document below.
Evidence required if ranked in QS World University Rankings by Subject: none

Evidence required if ranked in alternate global subject ranking: Name of global
subject ranking, and link to subject ranking online showing institution’s rank.
*Subject ranking definition file
The rankings are taken from the QS World University Rankings: By Subject Area
or from the QS World University Rankings: By Subject. It is worth noting that a
university who does not appear in the QS World University Rankings may
appear in these specialist rankings.
If the institution features in the Top 300 of the following five Broad Subject
areas; Arts & Humanities, Engineering & Technology, Life Sciences & Medicine,
Natural Sciences, Social Sciences & Management they will be awarded points
depending on the position of the institution.
If an institution appears in the top 200 of the 48 subject areas featured by QS

(found at www.topuniversities.com/subject-rankings/2020), they will be
awarded points depending on the position, should the institution score similar
points in more than one area, they will be able to make a choice which subject
they wish to be rated in.
Broad subject area ranking
Indicator: Highly ranked in any of one of 5 broad specialist areas based on the
QS World University Rankings by Subject. Maximum points for ranked position 1-
50, scaled down to 10 points at position 300.
i) Engineering & Technology

ii) Natural Sciences
iii) Life Sciences & Medicine
iv) Arts & Humanities
v) Social Sciences & Management
Subject ranking
Highest scoring discipline based on one of the QS World University Rankings

by Subject or respected alternate global subject rankings. Maximum points for
ranked position 1-20, scaled down to 10 points at position 200.
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For a full list of subjects please visit https://www.topuniversities.com/subject-

rankings
Please find more details about the QS World University Rankings by Subject
through the following link: http://www.iu.qs.com/university-rankings/subject-
tables/
Accreditations for Specialist Subject 50 points

Indicator: 25 points for an international or 10 points for a national accreditation
relative to a specific, named degree program (maximum 50 points).
Evidence required: Download the Accreditations template: https://bit.ly/3ilEaE7
If institution chooses Subject Ranking: Please note that the accreditations are
complementary to the ranking and must be linked to a subject within the subject
area that has been ranked.
If institution chooses Program Strength: Accreditations must be specifically for the

chosen specialist program. Each accrediting body is only counted once, even if they
have granted accreditations for multiple programs.
This indicator considers the number of internationally or nationally recognized

accreditations received for a specific, named degree program. Please refer to the
*Accreditations definition document
This area looks at either 2 international accreditations or 5 national

accreditations; it can be a combination of the two, with a cap of 50 points. If a
university does not score any points in the Rankings section, then they can still
be awarded some points in the Subject Ranking area with the accreditations.
The goal of accreditation is to ensure that education provided by institutions

of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality. There is a premium on
both quantity (increased access) and quality (relevance and excellence of
academic programs offered) of higher education.
There are two basic types of educational accreditation, one identified as

‘institutional’ and one referred to as ‘specialized’ or ‘programmatic.’
Institutional accreditation (not counted in QS Stars) normally applies to an
entire institution, indicating that each of an institution’s parts is contributing
48
to the achievement of the institution’s objectives, although not necessarily all

at the same level of quality.
Specialized accreditation which is what is considered in the QS Stars audit, it

normally applies to the evaluation of programs, departments, or college which
usually are parts of a total collegiate or other post-secondary institution. The
unit accredited may be as large as a college within a university or as small as a
curriculum within a discipline. Most of the specialized accrediting agencies
review units within a post-secondary institution which is accredited by one of
the regional accrediting commissions.
Accrediting agencies are organizations (or bodies) that establish operating

standards for educational or professional institutions and programs,
determine the extent to which the standards are met, and publicly announce
their findings.
To be accepted, an accreditation should be internationally (25 points for each)

or nationally (see hereunder) recognised and follow the following rules:
• An accrediting body can only be counted once even though it has

accredited different programmes.
• The accreditation body should have given accreditation to institutions
from at least three countries to be counted as international
• Evidence of the accreditation should be found online (website of the
accreditation body, letter, etc)
• We do not accept accreditations which have been purchased
• ISO 9001:2008 cannot be accepted as an accreditation
49
Program Strength
All indicators in this category relate specifically to the chosen specialist program, NOT
to the institution as a whole
Requirements for choosing a specialist program

1. Must be a specific, named program (i.e. BA Psychiatric Nursing)
2. Minimum 100 FTE students on program or 20% FTE students in the faculty; if
you wish to select a program with fewer students please speak with QS about
alternatives
3. Program may be UG or PG
If you would like to submit a specialist program which does not meet one or more of
these requirements, please speak with your QS Stars analyst.
Download the Program Strength Category FAQs (contents pasted below):

https://bit.ly/2RcF89J
Frequently Asked Questions for QS Stars Program Strength category
Q. Many of the indicators in the Program Strength category are

duplicated elsewhere. For example, Graduate Employment Rate is also
featured in the Employability category. Why have the same indicators
been used?
A. This category was based on a similar category in the methodology for QS
Stars for Business Schools. Although many of the indicators are used elsewhere,
they are not identical.
First, these indicators refer specifically to the chosen specialist program. The
graduate employment rate in the Employability category refers to the
employment rate of graduates across all programs. But in the Program Strength
category, we only consider the employment rate of graduates in the specialist
program only.
Second, the thresholds may be higher for the specialist program. In the
Employability category, points are awarded for an institution having between
50% and 90% graduate employment. However, within the specialist program
the thresholds are higher, at 70% to 95%.
Q. Does “Student Satisfaction” look at overall satisfaction with the

program, satisfaction with teaching on the program, or both?
A. We are looking for the student’s satisfaction with the specialist program, but
this could be assessed in different ways. You may choose to distribute a QS
student satisfaction survey, or your institution’s own survey can be used if it
meets certain criteria. (Please note that you may be required to submit a copy
50
of the survey itself, as well as the full survey responses.) If you would like to use
your institution’s own survey please contact the QS Stars team for more details.
Q. What is “Applications per Place”? How is it calculated?

A. This is the number of applications made to the specialist program in the last
academic year versus the total number of places in the first year of the program.
If the program has 100 places and the university receive 500 applications, that’s
five applications per place.
If the specialist program doesn’t have a set number of available places, this can
be calculated as applications per enrolment.
Q. When calculating Applications per Place, what is “total places on

program”? Does this refer to the total number of places, or the number of
places available for first year students?
A. This refers to the number of places available for first year students.
Graduate Employment Rate (Program Strength) 30

points
Indicator: 95% scaled down to 70% of graduates employed or started a business
within 24 months of graduation (excluding those not actively seeking work e.g.
pursuing further study). Results based on a minimum 20% response rate, with points
being scaled down for lower response rates
Percentage of graduated students from specialist program in employment

within 24 months of graduation seeking full-time employment, excluding further
study students. For more details, please refer to the definition file.
If submitting a survey as evidence, two basic types of surveys can be considered:

• QS Stars Alumni Survey
• National (public) survey or equivalent
Data required if information was collected via a survey: Download the Graduate
Employment Rate template: https://bit.ly/32gmcNA
Additional data required: Please also provide an official report, link or a database
snapshot with number of graduates employed.
Additional data required: Number of graduates from the specialist program in the
last 5 years.
If there are other situations (the survey is covered by different years),
please submit the number of total graduates from that respective period.
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*Graduate employment rate (Program Strength) Definition file

graduates of the university for feedback on their employment status or using a
National Alumni Survey equivalent. If you have not used a QS Alumni survey,
please provide a copy of the questionnaire used, as well as the full raw data, i.e. a
file with every answer from each individual. Also, in order to be accepted, the
survey should meet the following requirements:
• The survey can be sent to all alumni from the last 5 years
• There should be a minimum of 1000 responses or 20% of graduates from
the last 5 years, otherwise the score is scaled down
• It should feature questions about the employment status within 24 months
of graduation
If there are other situations, where the data is from a different time period (e.g.
cohort from the last 3 years), please let us know and provide the number of
graduates from the specific time period (e.g. 2016-2017, 2017-2018 and 2018-
2019) in order to compute the response rate.
Completion 20 points
Indicator: 95% of students scheduled to graduate, succeed in doing so on time, scaled
down to 65%
Required evidence: Download the Completion template: https://bit.ly/2F9yUW1
The completion rate is the percentage of students from the initial enrolment cohort
of the specialist program that completed the degree course through to graduation
within the expected time.
Student Satisfaction (Program Strength) 40 points

Indicator: Maximum points for 90% student satisfaction scaled down to 65%. Results
based on a minimum 20% response rate using the QS Stars surveys, official national
survey, or equivalent.

surveys)
the following:
52

Survey must have a minimum response rate of 20% of students on specialist

program. Publicly available national surveys may be accepted if responses are
narrowed down to the specialist program. Otherwise a copy of the questionnaire and
the survey raw data must be provided as evidence. Survey must be on at least a 5
point scale and should measure student satisfaction with the specialist program.
• Copy of the Overall Student Satisfaction questionnaire

• Overall Student Satisfaction full raw data file*
*The “raw data file” is a document with the answers to every question from each
standard rules to calculate and normalize results of surveys, which may differ
from the way institutions themselves have calculated the survey results.
For Overall Student Satisfaction, please refer to the following definition document.
*Overall Student Satisfaction definition document
75% student satisfaction or higher with scaled scores down to 50% student
satisfaction. Results based on a minimum 20% response rate OR 1000
respondents using the National Student Satisfaction Survey or equivalent
Based on online either university/QS/national student survey distributed to all

students of the university for feedback on the overall quality and teaching
quality of their study programs or using a National Student Satisfaction Survey
equivalent.
If you have not used a QS survey, please provide a copy of the questionnaire
used, as well as the full raw data, i.e. a file with every answer from each
53
individual. Also, in order to be accepted, the survey should meet the following
requirements:
• The survey can be sent to all current students, as well as alumni that have
graduated within the past 3 years
• It should feature questions about the overall student satisfaction and
the student’s satisfaction with teaching, and should use a 5 point scale
or higher (if a higher rating scale is used, we will consider only top 40%
of the scale to calculate student satisfaction)
Faculty-Student Ratio 20 points

Indicator: 20% faculty-student ratio (1 faculty member per 5 students) scaled down to
5% (1 faculty member per 20 students)
Data required: Please populate the table labelled “Academic faculty staff and
students on program” with the number of academic faculty staff, total students, and
international students. You should provide a breakdown by full-time and part-time
faculty and students, as well as the full-time equivalent (FTE) calculation.


formula was used.
Please refer to the faculty and student definition file, found in the Teaching
category section.
54
International Students 20 points

Indicator: 30% scaled down to 10% international students
Data required: Please populate the table provided with the number of academic
faculty staff, total students, and international students. You should provide a
breakdown by full-time and part-time faculty and students, as well as the full-time
equivalent (FTE) calculation.


formula was used.
Please refer to the faculty and student definition file, found in the Teaching
category section.
Applications per Place 20 points

Indicator: 10:1 ratio scaled down to 2:1 of number of completed applications against
spaces available
Data required:
• Number of total applications for specialist program
Total applications for specialist program in previous academic year. For
more details on this indicator, please refer to the Program Strength FAQ
document.
• Number of total places in the first year of the specialist program.

Number of first year students in the specialist program in the previous
academic year.
Accreditations for Specialist Subject 50 points

Indicator: 25 points for international or 10 points for national, non-governmental
accreditations for a specific, named degree program (maximum 50 points).
Evidence required: Download the Accreditations template: https://bit.ly/2GFVshc
55
Accreditations must be specifically for the chosen specialist program. Each

accrediting body may only be counted once.
Number of internationally/nationally recognized accreditations received for a

specific, named degree program in the specialist program area. Please refer to the
*Accreditations definition file (same as in Subject Ranking)

This area looks at either 2 international accreditations or 5 national
accreditations; it can be a combination of the two, with a cap of 50 points. If a
university does not score any points in the Rankings section, then they can still
be awarded some points in the Subject Ranking area with the accreditations.
The goal of accreditation is to ensure that education provided by institutions of

higher education meets acceptable levels of quality. There is a premium on both
quantity (increased access) and quality (relevance and excellence of academic
programs offered) of higher education.
There are two basic types of educational accreditation, one identified as

‘institutional’ and one referred to as ‘specialized’ or ‘programmatic.’ Institutional
accreditation (not counted in QS Stars) normally applies to an entire institution,
indicating that each of an institution’s parts is contributing to the achievement
of the institution’s objectives, although not necessarily all at the same level of
quality.
Specialized accreditation which is what is considered in the QS Stars audit, it

normally applies to the evaluation of programs, departments, or college which
usually are parts of a total collegiate or other post-secondary institution. The
unit accredited may be as large as a college within a university or as small as a
curriculum within a discipline. Most of the specialized accrediting agencies
review units within a post-secondary institution which is accredited by one of
the regional accrediting commissions.
Accrediting agencies are organizations (or bodies) that establish operating

standards for educational or professional institutions and programs, determine
the extent to which the standards are met, and publicly announce their findings.
To be accepted, an accreditation should be internationally (25 points for each)

or nationally (see hereunder) recognised and follow the following rules:
• An accrediting body can only be counted once even though it has accredited
different programmes.
56
• The accreditation body should have given accreditation to institutions from

at least three countries to be counted as international
• Evidence of the accreditation should be found online (website of the
accreditation body, letter, etc)
• We do not accept accreditations which have been purchased
• ISO 9001:2008 cannot be accepted as an accreditation
57
Advanced Criteria 50 points each

This section is mandatory for all institutions, which will be assessed in TWO of the
FOUR categories.
Arts and Culture

General information: Evidence must be presented for each indicator, ideally in the
form of a URL. Where a website is not available photos or other documents can usually
be accepted. The time period considered should be the most recently completed
academic year (a period of 12 months).
Arts and Culture Facilities 15 points

Indicator: 2 points each with 3 additional points for 6 or more from the list below; all
facilities must be open to students and faculty but do not have to be open to the public.
1. Purpose-built museum
2. Purpose-built theatre*
3. Concert hall*
4. Dedicated art studio
5. Campus art exhibition program
6. Recording studio OR music practice rooms
7. Campus radio station OR TV channel
8. Dedicated cinema*
9. Outdoor art space (e.g. sculpture garden)
Facilities marked with an asterisk (*) must feature at least 10 performances per
year to be considered.
Evidence required: Download the Arts and Culture Facilities template:

https://bit.ly/3m9cLrn
Concerts, Events, and Exhibitions 15 points

Indicator: 150 scaled down to 50 (OR events numbering 1% to 5% of the student
population, i.e. for 600 students, thresholds are 6 to 30 events) on or off campus
concerts, events, or exhibitions in the last academic year organized by the academic
institution (12-month period)
Evidence required: Download the Number of Concerts, Events, and Exhibitions

template: https://bit.ly/32h2v8v
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This indicator considers the number of on or off campus concerts, events, or

exhibitions in the most recently available academic year (over a 12-month period).
Please refer to the definition document below.
*Concerts, events, and exhibitions definition document
• Events must be from artistic fields such as music, dancing, theatre,

literature, painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, film, etc, or related to
local/ national culture
• Events from fields unrelated to art such as medicine, agriculture, sports,
engineering, law, business etc. are not considered in this category.
• Includes concerts and plays performed by students and faculty, but also
events featuring non-university participants (e.g. a concert by a visiting
professional violinist).
• Can include lecture series, with each lecture counted as one event, as long
as the lecture is related to the arts or culture and attendees do not receive
course credit.
• Does not need to be open to the outside community, but it should at least
be open to students and faculty.
Artistic and Cultural Accolades 10 points

Indicator: 25 scaled down to 5 awards or accolades given in the last academic year
(12-month period) to students, staff, departments, or the institution as a whole for
publicly accessible works relating to the arts or local/national culture.
Evidence required: Download the Artistic and Cultural Accolades template:

https://bit.ly/3bJdbQm
This indicator considers the number of credits or cultural awards given to

students and faculty in publicly accessible works. Please refer to the definition
document below.
*Artistic and cultural accolades definition document
Areas of award include but are not limited to performing and visual arts such as
music, dancing, theatre, literature, painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and
film.
Awards from fields unrelated to art such as medicine, agriculture, sports,

engineering, law, business etc. are not considered in this category.
59
• These are awards, not individuals, so one person receiving multiple awards can
be counted for each award. If multiple individuals win an award as a group, it
is only counted once.
• Scholarships awarded for artistic or cultural purposes can be accepted, but the
scholarship should normally be for attending an external program rather than
a scholarship to cover regular university fees. (Example: Linley Wilson
scholarship)
• Grants are not generally accepted, but will be considered if awarded for artistic
or cultural purposes.
• Should be awarded in recognition of a completed work or performance, not
simply a training opportunity.
• Must be an external accolade; cannot be awarded by the university.
• Awards should not be at the university level; they should be at a regional, state,
national, or international level.
• Residencies/internships should last for a minimum of six weeks (although
shorter time periods can be considered for exceptional programs).
• For contest winners, only first place is normally accepted.
• Where two awards are tied together (i.e. winning one automatically means
you win the other), only one award is counted. (Example: Leverhulme Royal
Northern College of Music Award and Phoebe Patrick Award are always
awarded together)
• Participation in a workshop/forum is not usually counted but may be accepted
if the application process is rigorous enough to be considered its own
accolade.
Community Art and Cultural Investment 10 points

Indicator: Contributing 0.5% of turnover OR $1 million USD to public art projects and
to cultural preservation, on or off campus (but within the university’s own country) for
a 12-month period.
Evidence required: Download the Community Art and Cultural Investment

template: https://bit.ly/2RcLztp
This indicator considers the amount spent on art projects or cultural preservation,
either on or off campus but within the university's own country. Please refer to the
*Community art and cultural investment definition document
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Contributing 0.5% of turnover or $1 million USD to public art projects outside the
university and cultural preservation on or off campus (but within the university’s
own country).
• Funds are counted but time volunteered is not.

• Donations in kind can be accepted at half their value. For example, if a
university donated the use of its auditorium for a conference, and that rental
would normally go for $10,000, we can count that as a $5,000 contribution.
• Community art projects should be external, not created or run by the
university, although university students may take part.
• We can count the total cost of both community art and cultural investment;
this is not an alternate indicator.
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Innovation
Patents 20 points
Indicator: 50 scaled down to 0 unique, active patents registered with national or
international patent offices with no limitation of time
Evidence required: Download the Patents template: https://bit.ly/2Rfh464
This indicator considers the number of granted patents registered with national
or international patent offices. There is no limitation on how long ago the patent
was granted. Please refer to the definition document below.
*Patents definition document
Number of granted invention patents registered with national or international

patent offices; no limitation of date. The same invention patented in multiple
countries will be counted only once.
To be accepted, the institution should also provide a link to the website where
patents can be found as we need to verify from an external source.
Other types of intellectual property registrations (such as utility models,

industrial design, copyright etc.) are not considered for this indicator.
Spin-off Companies 10 points

Indicator: 5 spin-off companies established in the last 5 years, still operating and less
than 50% owned by the academic institution.
Evidence required: Download the Spin-Off Companies

template: https://bit.ly/32dZ1Ui
This indicator considers the number of spin-off companies established in the last
5 years still operating and requiring less than 50% financial support from the
university. Please refer to the definition document below.
*Spin-off companies definition document
The Spin-off Companies indicator looks at companies founded based on the

findings or research of an individual or research group within the university.
This means that the companies need to actually be created based on that
62
research or patent, rather than acquiring the patent at a later stage. Spin-off
companies are thus newly founded businesses which stem from the
university`s research findings and which have gradually become independent
from the university. Please note that in order to be considered, a spin-off
company needs to be established in the last five years and the university must
have less than 50% ownership.
Industrial Research 10 points

Indicator: 10 distinct corporations (non-university) yielding publications in Scopus™ in
a recent five-year period as per the latest QS World University Rankings analysis.
QS extracts this data directly from Scopus. Please refer to the Pre-populated Form
for the number of industrial research collaborations that will be used for the
assessment.
Incubator 10 points
Indicator: Existence of a university-run incubator as evidenced by the incubator’s
website
Evidence required: Page on the university’s website, or incubator’s own website
If no link is available you can download the Incubator template:
https://bit.ly/3hjFLsT
An “incubator” is defined as an organization designed to accelerate the growth

and success of entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support
resources and services that could include physical space, capital, coaching, common
services, and networking connections.
63
Social Responsibility
Funds for Community and Charity Work 15 points
Indicator: 1% of turnover OR $2 million USD contribution to community projects or
charities; this includes funds donated by the institution, as well as money donated and
raised by students and faculty.
Here we are looking at projects where the university is actively contributing to the
wider community, not only to the education of its own students. Community and
charity projects can vary, so we have put together a list of the types of projects that
may be considered:
• Improving the local area through maintenance such as cleaning streets,

creating communal gardens, or building a local playground
• Promoting and supporting education
• Sharing resources and facilities
• Acts of goodwill
• Disaster relief
The above are only examples, each project is assessed individually to see whether the
task and mission encompasses the essence of helping and improving the community
(nationally or internationally).
Evidence required: Download the Funds for Community Investment and Charity
Work template: https://bit.ly/2ZpMkE4
This indicator considers the amount of funds spent on or raised by contribution

to community projects and charity work.
Volunteer Hours for Community and Charity Work 15

points
Indicator: 130 scaled down to 78 volunteer hours (i.e. 2.5 scaled down to 1.5 hours per
week over 12 months) for each faculty member and student (total FTE)
In many cases universities use resources such as volunteering students and staff
rather than a set revenue; we also count these efforts.
Evidence required: Download the Volunteer Hours for Community Investment

and Charity Work template: https://bit.ly/3mc0rGE
Amount of volunteer hours spent on community projects and charity work

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Regional Human Capital Development 10 points

Indicator: 50% scaled down to 30% of graduates employed in the region OR 50% to
30% of students hailing from the region
Region: Your institution’s region appears in the “pre-populated” form. “Region”

refers to governmental administrative divisions or traditional regions within each
country.
Two options:
• Students hailing from the university’s region
• Graduates employed in the university’s region
Required evidence: Download the Graduates Employed in the Region template:

https://bit.ly/3ij7vyX
Proportion of graduates employed in the region in the last five years; the region
is considered as a specific region of the country.
Download the Students Hailing from the Region template: https://bit.ly/2FpzgXY
Proportion of students from the region in the last five years; the region is
considered as a specific region of the country.
Environmental Impact 10 points

Indicator: 2 points for each of the following programs or websites:
1. Sustainability website
2. Energy conservation program link
3. Water conservation program link
4. Recycling program link
5. Transportation policy link
To be accepted, these will need to be available on the university website and be

specific policies with a description of what is being done. For example, for
transportation, a description of carpooling organised within the institution or buses
available for students is required. News stories are not generally accepted.
Definitions
1. Sustainability website: A page on the university’s website describing the
institution’s commitment to sustainability. This page may include information
about the other areas mentioned (energy and water conservation, and
recycling and transportation policies).
65
2. Energy conservation program link: A page on the university’s website

describing a program designed to conserve energy on campus.
3. Water conservation program link: A page on the university’s website
describing a program designed to conserve or recycle water on campus.
4. Recycling program link: A page on the university’s website outlining a
recycling program or policy in place for university waste.
5. Transportation policy link: A transportation policy designed to limit the
number of motor vehicles used on campus.
Evidence required: ideally a web link to the university’s own website will be
provided for each area. If such a website is not available, please submit other
evidence such as an official policy.
66
Inclusiveness
Scholarships and Bursaries 15 points
Indicator: 2% of turnover spent on funds for scholarships, grants, and bursaries OR 1%
of students on scholarships covering at least 50% of fees
Evidence required: Download the Scholarships and Bursaries template:
https://bit.ly/3bInzbd
Amount of funds spent on scholarships/bursaries by the university itself in the past

1 financial year in local currency (covers all funds awarded to students, both for tuition
and living costs) OR Number of 50% minimum tuition fees scholarships and bursaries
awarded to students by the university itself and government, companies, and
associations in the past 1 financial year. Please refer to the definition document below.
*Scholarships and bursaries definition document
Scholarship funds - Amount of funds spent on scholarships, grants, and

bursaries by the university in the past 1 financial year in local currency. Covers
all funds awarded to students, both for tuition and living costs.
Students on 50% scholarship – These scholarships can come from any source
but must cover at least 50% of tuition fees. Scholarships received from the
government, companies, and associations in the past financial year can be
counted here as we are looking at the number of students who can have
access to a scholarship; it does not matter where the money comes from. In
countries where there are no fees for some students, such as Scotland, we can
count funds which go towards living costs.
Disabled Access 15 points

Indicator: 3 points for each of the following services or documentation:
1. Support services for mental health conditions
2. Built-in accessibility computer systems for visually impaired
3. Sign language interpreter or note-takers for hearing impaired
4. Map identifying wheelchair ramps, disabled toilets and parking access
5. Dedicated academic support for students with learning disabilities
Evidence required: Download the Disabled Access template: https://bit.ly/3m6xtrL
67
Student Cohort Diversity 10 points

Indicator: 50:50 ratio scaled down to 60:40 for either gender, OR 40% scaled down to
10% of study body made up of ethnic minority groups
Gender Balance
Indicator: 50:50 ratio scaled down to 60:40 for either gender
Data required: Breakdown of the total student body by male and female
Ethnic Diversity
Indicator: 40% scaled down to 10% of study body made up of ethnic minority groups
Evidence required: Download the Ethnic Diversity template: https://bit.ly/3bKP6sl
Low-income Outreach 10 points

Indicator: 15% scaled down to 5% of students identified as low-income OR 1% of
turnover investment or $2 million USD investment to recruit or support low-income
students
Low-income Outreach
Indicator: 15% scaled down to 5% of students identified as low-income
Data required: Please provide the definition that your institution uses to classify
students as “low-income”. This is usually based on an official governmental
definition.
Percentage of students identified as low income. The definition of “low-income” is

required. Please see below some examples of definitions used in different countries:
• Students that come from a home with incomes below the minimum wage
• Students supported by government or total household income below the
average country salary
• Proportion of students whose last secondary school was rated decile 1-3
Low-income Outreach Funds

Indicator: 1% of turnover investment or $2 million USD investment to recruit or
support low-income students
Evidence required: Download the Low-income Outreach Funds template:
https://bit.ly/3ikRB7f
* Low-income outreach funds definition document
68
Please include all funds spent by the institution on recruiting low-

income applicants, targeting applicants from low-income areas (e.g. university
fair in high schools known to have a high proportion of students from low
backgrounds, education engagement activities within low-decile schools
such as overview of the university’s programs, campus tours, scholarship
information presentations), or for supporting current low-income students
(e.g. hardship scholarships) .
69
QS Teaching- and Research-Intensive

Classifications
QS categorizes Higher Education Institutions (HEI) as either research-intensive OR
teaching-intensive based on the QS Classifications that were inspired by the Carnegie
Classification of Institutions of Higher Education in the US. Please use the guidelines
below to help decide whether to submit evidence for Research or Academic
Development. QS uses the following classifications strictly as guidelines and not
restrictive measures to classify institutions.
QS Research Intensive Classifications

• Large class size ratio of approximately 1 to 50 FTE faculty to FTE student
body or higher
• High ratio of post-graduate and professional courses to undergraduate
courses
• High financial support for faculty research
• Faculty spend most their hours per week on research rather than teaching
• Faculty spend less time in preparation for teaching, formal classroom
• Research and publication productivity are weighed heavily for tenure
decisions. Teaching functions are not ignored but they receive
considerably less weight in tenure decisions
• The career success of the institution is heavily based on faculty research
outputs.
QS Teaching Intensive Classifications

• Small class size ratio of approximately 1 to 8 FTE faculty to FTE student
body
• High ratio of undergraduate courses to post-graduate and professional
courses
• Low financial support for faculty research
• Faculty spend most of their hours per week in formal classroom
instructions for undergraduate courses
• Faculty spend less of their hours per week on research rather than teaching
• Faculty assessed on the student interaction within the classroom and
during faculty office hours more than research outputs
• The career success of the institution is heavily-based on scholarly creativity
in the classroom
*Using the classifications above, institutions should select the most appropriate
category
70
Interim Data Summary Report

In the Interim Data Summary you will find a report for each assessed category with a
summary of the accepted data for each indicator, as well as a few explanations
regarding the reasons why some values are different from the ones you provided.
The report will be shared with the institution after the second-stage validation is
complete.
Please review this data and let us know if you agree or if you would like to submit
further evidence by selecting “Yes” or “No” at the end of each category. The
categories may be reviewed one by one, and the progress can be saved on each one.
The left-hand side of the screen offers an overview of the categories, and these can
be reviewed in any preferred order.
Some indicators have two options, which we refer to as “alternate indicators”. Where
data has been submitted for both options, we use the indicator which scored the
higher number of points. For example, “Overall student satisfaction OR Completion”
and “Satisfaction with teaching OR Faculty with PhD” are indicators that are
composed of two separate options. Out of the two options, the alternate indicator
that scores the most points will be counted towards the overall score in the category.
For example, if your institution scored maximum points (40) in “Satisfaction with
teaching”, it is not necessary to evaluate the other option, “Faculty with PhD”,
because the maximum score has already been achieved in that indicator.
You may also find comments such as these in the “notes” section:
• Full points/maximum points: The institution achieved the maximum points

available in the indicator
• Full points/maximum points achieved in the alternate indicator: The
institution achieved the maximum points available in one of the two alternate
indicators, thus the alternate is not considered towards to final number of
points
• No points/minimum threshold not reached: The institution has not reached
the minimum threshold and has therefore received no points in the indicator
(e.g. for Overall Student Satisfaction, “75% student satisfaction scaled down to
50%”, if the institution’s data shows satisfaction below the minimum 50%
threshold, no points are achieved)
• At least …: relates to the threshold achieved for the maximum number of
points (e.g. “at least 25 artistic and cultural accolades” means that the
institution qualifies for full points in the indicator by accepting 25 accolades
from the list provided)
N/A, No data submitted or Category not considered: The institution didn’t

submit any data or the indicator/category was not used in calculating the final
71
result. Once everything is checked, please go to the last category and click
“Submit”.
72

QS Stars Client Guide v.5.1 (16 Nov 20)

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Title

I. Introduction and Overview

At the beginning of the project a dedicated QS Stars analyst is assigned to the

About This Document

• Core Criteria: Teaching, Employability, Internationalization, Research, and

Overall Thresholds and Pre-requisites

Time Period Considered

Online Learning and the Effects of COVID-19

The other significant change is the introduction of an alternative indicator to

Formula for Calculating Scores

(Data – Minimum)/(Maximum – Minimum) * total points available = SCORE

• Maximum threshold: 90%

(78 – 60)/(90 – 60) = (18)/(30) = 0.6 * 40 available points = 24 points

The QS Stars results can also be published on the university’s Topuniversities.com

INSTRUCTIONS DATA COLLECTION VALIDATION:

Analyst reviews evidence,

FINAL RESULTS INTERIM DATA VALIDATION:

Analyst compiles summary A second analyst

How to use the QS Stars Portal

4) To start the data collection, click the “Start”

6) The progress you have made can be

8) When the summary of the final

II. Methodology and Data Collection Portal

QS Stars is a university rating system which has been used by hundreds of

Teaching 150 points

Data required: University’s annual turnover in local currency

Evidence required: Financial statement or other proof of turnover

Faculty-Student Ratio 50 points

Evidence required: Supporting evidence is not usually required, particularly if the

QS uses a standard formula to calculate FTE: FT + (PT/3) = FTE If your institution

*Academic faculty staff and students Definition file

Please include: vice-chancellors, deputy vice-chancellors, principals and deputy

Please exclude: research assistants¹, PhD students who contribute to teaching,

Total number of students. Where possible, please only include students

Total number of students pursuing a Bachelor’s level or equivalent degree.

This includes programmes designed to provide intermediate academic and/or

This excludes certificates/diplomas and associate’s degrees.

For clarity, ‘graduate’ and ‘postgraduate’ are synonyms to embrace all

Total number of students pursuing a higher-level degree (Master and

That refers to programmes designed to provide advanced academic and/or

Overall Student Satisfaction OR Completion 40 points

Overall Student Satisfaction

• QS Stars student satisfaction survey

• Number of total respondents in survey

• Copy of the Overall Student Satisfaction questionnaire

*Overall Student Satisfaction definition document

Overall Student Satisfaction

Based on online either university/QS/national student survey distributed to all

Completion definition document

Satisfaction with Teaching OR Faculty with PhD 40 points

Satisfaction with Teaching

official national survey, or equivalent.

• QS Stars student satisfaction survey

• Number of total respondents in survey

• Copy of the Student Satisfaction with Teaching questionnaire

Faculty with PhD

Data/evidence required: Download the Faculty with PhD template:

*Faculty with PhD definition document

• The annual reporting period is the last complete academic, financial or

Further Study 20 points