AppliedHE Ranking Methodology

Specialized evaluation frameworks tailored to the unique strengths, missions, and student-focused outcomes of private higher education institutions.

Ranking Type

PublicPrivate
private MethodologyASEAN 2027
Official Framework

ASEAN 2027 Private Methodology

01

Introduction

AppliedHE, a Singapore-based education technology company, has been compiling university rankings since 2021. AppliedHE compiles rankings with the aim of providing students, parents and other higher education stakeholders with an independent benchmark for comparing universities.

The development and compilation of all AppliedHE rankings is overseen by the independent AppliedHE Ranking Advisory Board (RAB).

For Universities

This document is intended for professional users working at universities. If you are a student, parent or other stakeholder, please visit AppliedHE.com for information about the rankings.

02

Ranking Scope

Institutions that meet the following criteria can be included in the AppliedHE ASEAN Rankings. Inclusion is based on the institution type and geographic location.

Public University

See Public University Methodology for criteria.

Private University

Institution of higher learning accredited as a private university under local laws, awarding its own Bachelor's and Master's degrees.

Excluded: Foreign branch campuses, Bachelor's only institutions, or specialized graduate schools (e.g. MBA only).

Geographical Scope (ASEAN)

Brunei Darussalam
Cambodia
Indonesia
Lao PDR
Malaysia
Myanmar
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Viet Nam
Classification Description
Reporting Submit data and participate in surveys. Receive accurate evaluations based on verified institutional data.
Non-Reporting Evaluated conservatively based on publicly available data or estimates.
03

Ranking Data

The rankings are compiled from institutional data, bibliometric data, statistical data, an online student survey, and a peer-nomination survey.

Bibliometric and statistical data are directly collected by AppliedHE. The online student survey and peer-nomination surveys are conducted in cooperation with reporting institutions. Institution-submitted data is subject to a randomized sample audit by AppliedHE.

Institutional Data

Institutions are evaluated based on the following data points. Submit the most recently available information (data up to 2-3 years old is acceptable if more recent data is unavailable).

Data Point Definition
Faculty Total staff who are responsible for academic teaching or both academic teaching and research.
Students Persons who are pursuing a degree at the university, either on a full-time or part-time basis and who have spent 3 months or more at the university.
International Faculty Ratio Total faculty with foreign nationality who spend 3 or more months at the university divided by the total number of faculty.
International Student Ratio Total students with foreign nationality who spend 3 or more months at the university divided by the total number of students.
Post-Graduate Employment Rate Number of graduates who, within 6 months of graduation, are employed, self-employed, or pursuing further study (including preparation for exams) divided by the total number of students who responded to the tracer study.
Post-Graduate Employment Tracer Response Rate Number of graduates who, within 6 months of graduation, are employed, self-employed, or pursuing further study (including preparation for exams) divided by the total number of graduates.

Employment Data

Institutions should provide an alumni tracer study as evidence. This can be the same documents submitted to the relevant accreditation body or government department. The tracer study should be uploaded in full, and can be in the English language or the official language of the accrediting body or government department.

Note: Institutions unable to provide a tracer study, providing a tracer study that AppliedHE deems to be inadequate, or having an extremely low score on their tracer study (e.g. due to low response rates), will be assigned a minimum employability score based on the youth unemployment rate of their country as reported by the ILO.

AppliedHE reserves the right to share institutional data with third-parties for the purpose of verification.

Statistical Data

When specific employability data for institutions is unavailable, AppliedHE uses the most recent available national youth unemployment data published by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on its website, ilostat.ilo.org.

Bibliometric Data

Bibliometric data for the ranking is gathered from three sources:

Google News (news.google.com)

The most recently completed 1-year period of news coverage is identified based on the name of the institution in one or more languages.

Google Scholar (scholar.google.com)

The most recently completed 5-year period of publications and citations of researchers with profiles affiliated with the respective institution are collected. Researcher affiliation is identified based on the Google Scholar institution profile, and in the second instance, the university's official e-mail address.

Scopus

Indexed publications and citations are used to measure research output and impact.

Student Survey

To gauge students' perspectives, reporting institutions can run the AppliedHE Student Survey. This is a multilingual online survey which institutions must distribute to their entire student body. The survey is a 'standard' student satisfaction survey that is benchmarked based on major international surveys such as the UK's National Student Survey (NSS).

Requirement Details
Minimum Response Rate 40% of the student body or 350 responses, whichever is lower.
Survey Sample Available at: AppliedHE Student Survey Demo
Validation AppliedHE uses a proprietary algorithm to validate survey responses to avoid survey manipulation. AppliedHE reserves the right to exclude institutions from the ranking if student survey responses appear to be unreliable.
Alternative Surveys Currently, AppliedHE does not allow the use of alternative student satisfaction surveys. However, AppliedHE will share anonymized survey responses with participating universities.

Peer-Nomination Survey

Every reporting institution will receive a unique link to the Peer-Nomination Survey which they can forward to knowledgeable individuals within their own organisation. These individuals should nominate up to 12 public universities and 12 private universities within their own region which they hold in high regard. The liaison of the institution will receive the survey link to participate in the Peer-Nomination Survey after the student surveys have been completed.

Important

Completing the survey with at least one response is mandatory for reporting universities. Responses submitted via the same link are averaged. Sharing an institution's link among more respondents does not increase the weightage attached to the Peer-Nominations submitted by the institution.

04

Ranking Calculation

This section outlines how the AppliedHE ASEAN rankings are calculated using the ranking data stated in the previous section.

Note on Log-Normalization

To ensure that extreme values of indicators do not have an outsized influence on the ranking results, a log-normalization is applied to the following indicators: Google Scholar citations per paper, citations per faculty, and institutional reputation.

Note: The ASEAN rankings do not include the Innovation criterion. This ranking focuses more on Teaching & Learning quality and Employability outcomes.

ASEAN Private Universities

40%
Teaching
20%
Employability
10%
Community
10%
Research
10%
Reputation
10%
International
Criteria Weight Reporting Institutions Non-Reporting Institutions
Teaching & Learning
 40%
└
AppliedHE Student Survey
20%

Student satisfaction based on AppliedHE survey

 Lowest student survey scores of reporting universities
└
Faculty to Student Ratio
20%

Based on institution-submitted data

 Based on publicly available data or estimates
Employability
 20% 6-months post-graduation (self) employment or further study based on institution-submitted report
(10% per total graduates and 10% per total survey respondents)
 Discounted national youth employment rate based on the youth unemployment rate; e.g., 1.5× 10% youth unemployment rate = 85% employability rate
Community Engagement
 10%
└
Google News Reports
5%

News coverage in the past year

 Same as Reporting
└
AppliedHE Student Survey
5%

Community engagement questions from survey

 Lowest student survey score of reporting universities
Research
 10%
└
SCImago Research Rank (normalized) OR Google Scholar Citations per Paper (5 years)
5%

SCImago OR Citations per paper from Google Scholar

 Same as Reporting
└
SCImago Societal Rank OR Scopus Citations per Faculty (5 years)
5%

SCImago OR Citations per faculty from Scopus

 Same as Reporting
Institutional Reputation
 10% AppliedHE Peer-Nomination Survey

10%

 Same as Reporting
Internationalization
 10%
└
International Student Ratio
5%

Based on institution-submitted data

 Based on publicly available data or estimates
└
International Faculty Ratio
5%

Based on institution-submitted data

 Based on publicly available data or estimates
Total 100%
05

Submitting Data

Institutions intending to submit data for the ASEAN rankings should follow the timeline below.

Timeline

Step 01

Registration & Data Submission

Register your liaison person and submit institutional data via vault.AppliedHE.com

Deadline: 10 February 2026

Step 02

Student Survey Distribution

Distribute the Student Survey to your entire student body (link sent via email after Step 1)

1 March 2026 - 15 July 2026

Step 03

Peer-Nomination Survey

Peer-Nomination Survey invitation sent to liaison person (after student surveys are completed)

1 August - 31 August 2026

Step 04

Results Announcement

Ranking results announcement

Pending

Data Submission Checklist

# Data Required
1
Institution Name

Name used by your institution for English-speaking international audiences
2
Location

Confirmation that your institution is located in one of the participating ASEAN countries
3
Institution Type

Confirmation that your institution qualifies as a "university" – provides Bachelor- and Master-level courses, awards its own Degrees and Diplomas, and is recognized by the government as a locally accredited public or private institution of higher learning
4
Contact Person

Official liaison with name, designation, email address, and telephone number
5
Institution Logo

PNG, GIF, JPG, or JPEG format (maximum size 5 MB) and link to official English-language website
6
Faculty & Students

Faculty, international faculty, students, and international student numbers based on ranking definitions
7
Graduate Outcomes

Employment and further studies after 6 months with evidence from an official graduate tracer study
8
Institution Name (Other Languages)

Name of institution in languages other than English for tracking online presence
9
Web Domain

Institution's official web domain (used for faculty email)
10
Google Scholar Profile

Link to the institution's official Google Scholar profile (if available)

Ready to participate?

Access AppliedHE Vault
06

Further Information

If you have questions about the ASEAN ranking process, please contact the AppliedHE Ranking Team:

Email

info@appliedhe.com

Website

appliedhe.com

Data Submission Portal

vault.appliedhe.com

AppliedHE ASEAN University Rankings

Providing independent benchmarks for comparing universities since 2021

© 2026 AppliedHE Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to the most commonly asked questions about the AppliedHE ASEAN Private University Rankings methodology, data submission, and evaluation process.

General

What is the AppliedHE University Ranking?
The AppliedHE University Ranking is an independent benchmark for comparing universities, compiled by AppliedHE, a Singapore-based education technology company. The rankings have been published since 2021 and are designed to provide students, parents, and other higher education stakeholders with transparent, data-driven evaluations of institutional excellence, employability, and real-world impact.
Who oversees the development of the rankings?
The development and compilation of all AppliedHE rankings is overseen by the independent AppliedHE Ranking Advisory Board (RAB). This ensures that the methodology and processes are objective, transparent, and aligned with international best practices in university ranking.
Which countries are included in the ASEAN rankings?
The ASEAN rankings cover institutions with their main campus in one of the ten ASEAN member states: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
Is there a fee to participate in the ranking?
The methodology document does not mention any fees for participation. Institutions can submit data and participate in the surveys through the AppliedHE Vault portal at vault.appliedhe.com. For specific enquiries about participation costs, please contact info@appliedhe.com.

Eligibility & Scope

What types of institutions are eligible for the private ranking?
Eligible institutions must be accredited as a private university under the laws of their country, and must award their own Bachelor's and Master's degrees (or Master's degrees if students can start after high school). The institution must have its main campus in one of the ASEAN member states.
Are foreign branch campuses eligible?
No. Foreign branch campuses are explicitly excluded from the rankings. Only institutions that award their own degrees under local accreditation are eligible.
Can institutions that only offer Bachelor's degrees be ranked?
No. Institutions must offer both Bachelor's and Master's degree programs to be included. Institutions that only offer Bachelor's degrees, as well as specialized graduate schools (e.g., MBA-only business schools), are excluded.
Are public and private universities ranked together?
No. Public and private universities are ranked separately. Each has its own methodology with slightly different criteria weights. For example, private universities have a 20% weight on Employability and 10% on Research, while public universities have 15% on Employability and 15% on Research.

Reporting & Non-Reporting

What is the difference between a "reporting" and "non-reporting" institution?
Reporting institutions actively submit data and participate in surveys (student survey and peer-nomination survey). They receive more accurate evaluations based on verified institutional data.

Non-reporting institutions are included based on publicly available data or estimations. Due to the lower reliability of this data, non-reporting universities are evaluated more conservatively and may be ranked slightly lower.
What happens if we only submit partial data?
Institutions that submit partial data are classified as "non-reporting." To be considered a reporting institution and receive the most accurate evaluation, you must submit a complete data set and participate in the required surveys.
How are non-reporting institutions scored on the student survey?
Non-reporting institutions that do not participate in the AppliedHE Student Survey are assigned the lowest student survey scores among all reporting universities. This applies to both the Teaching & Learning component (20%) and the Community Engagement survey component (5%).
How is employability scored for non-reporting institutions?
Non-reporting institutions are assigned a discounted national youth employment rate based on the country's youth unemployment rate as reported by the ILO. For example, if a country has a 10% youth unemployment rate, the non-reporting institution would receive an employability score of approximately 85% (calculated as 1.5× the unemployment rate deducted from 100%).

Data & Methodology

What ranking criteria are used and what are their weights?
For ASEAN private universities, the six criteria and their weights are:
  • Teaching & Learning: 40% (Student Survey 20% + Faculty-to-Student Ratio 20%)
  • Employability: 20% (10% per total graduates + 10% per total survey respondents)
  • Community Engagement: 10% (Google News 5% + Student Survey 5%)
  • Research: 10% (SCImago/Google Scholar Citations per Paper 5% + SCImago/Scopus Citations per Faculty 5%)
  • Institutional Reputation: 10% (Peer-Nomination Survey)
  • Internationalization: 10% (International Students 5% + International Faculty 5%)
How do the private university weights differ from public?
The key difference is that private universities have a higher Employability weight (20% vs 15%) and a lower Research weight (10% vs 15%) compared to public universities. This reflects the stronger focus on graduate employment outcomes at private institutions. All other criteria: Teaching & Learning (40%), Community Engagement (10%), Institutional Reputation (10%), and Internationalization (10%), carry the same weights.
Why don't the ASEAN rankings include an Innovation criterion?
The ASEAN rankings are specifically designed to focus more on Teaching & Learning quality and Employability outcomes, which is why the Innovation criterion is not included. These priorities reflect the educational landscape and stakeholder needs in the ASEAN region.
How old can the submitted data be?
Institutions should submit the most recently available information. Data that is up to 2–3 years old is acceptable if more recent data is unavailable.
How is "faculty" defined for the ranking?
Faculty refers to total staff who are responsible for academic teaching, or both academic teaching and research. This does not include purely administrative or support staff.
How are international students and faculty defined?
International students are those with foreign nationality who spend 3 or more months at the university. The International Student Ratio is calculated by dividing international students by the total number of students. The same 3-month minimum applies to international faculty, with the ratio calculated similarly against total faculty numbers.
What is log-normalization and why is it used?
Log-normalization is a mathematical technique applied to certain indicators, specifically Google Scholar citations per paper, citations per faculty, and institutional reputation, to ensure that extreme or outlier values do not have an outsized influence on the ranking results. This creates a fairer comparison across institutions of varying sizes and profiles.
What bibliometric data sources does AppliedHE use?
AppliedHE uses three bibliometric data sources:
  • Google News: 1-year period of news coverage for the Community Engagement criterion
  • Google Scholar: 5-year period of publications and citations of researchers affiliated with the institution
  • Scopus: Indexed publications and citations to measure research output and impact
Does AppliedHE audit submitted data?
Yes. Institution-submitted data is subject to a randomized sample audit by AppliedHE. Additionally, AppliedHE reserves the right to share institutional data with third parties for the purpose of verification.

Employability

How is employability measured?
Employability is measured using two metrics, each weighted at 10% (totalling 20% for private universities):
  • Post-Graduate Employment Rate: Graduates who are employed, self-employed, or pursuing further study within 6 months of graduation, divided by the total number of tracer study respondents.
  • Post-Graduate Employment Tracer Response Rate: The same numerator divided by the total number of graduates.
What if our institution doesn't have a graduate tracer study?
Institutions unable to provide a tracer study, providing one deemed inadequate by AppliedHE, or having extremely low scores (e.g., due to low response rates), will be assigned a minimum employability score based on the youth unemployment rate of their country as reported by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
What format should the tracer study be in?
The tracer study should be uploaded in full. It can be the same document submitted to the relevant accreditation body or government department, and can be in English or the official language of the accrediting body or government department.

Student Survey

What is the minimum response rate for the student survey?
The minimum response rate is 40% of the student body or 350 responses, whichever is lower. Institutions must distribute the survey to their entire student body.
Can we use our own student satisfaction survey instead?
No. Currently, AppliedHE does not allow the use of alternative student satisfaction surveys. Only the official AppliedHE Student Survey can be used. However, AppliedHE will share anonymized survey responses with participating universities so they can benefit from the data.
How does AppliedHE prevent survey manipulation?
AppliedHE uses a proprietary algorithm to validate survey responses and detect potential manipulation. If student survey responses appear to be unreliable, AppliedHE reserves the right to exclude the institution from the ranking entirely.
Is the student survey available in multiple languages?
Yes. The AppliedHE Student Survey is a multilingual online survey, making it accessible to students regardless of their primary language.

Peer-Nomination Survey

How does the Peer-Nomination Survey work?
Each reporting institution receives a unique survey link which they forward to knowledgeable individuals within their organization. These individuals nominate up to 12 public universities and 12 private universities within their region that they hold in high regard. The survey link is sent to the institution's liaison after the student surveys have been completed.
Is the Peer-Nomination Survey mandatory?
Yes. Completing the Peer-Nomination Survey with at least one response is mandatory for all reporting universities.
Does sharing the peer survey with more people increase our reputation score?
No. Responses submitted via the same institutional link are averaged. Sharing the link with more respondents does not increase the weightage attached to the nominations submitted by that institution.

Data Submission & Timeline

Where do we submit data?
All data is submitted through the AppliedHE Vault portal at vault.appliedhe.com. You will first need to register a liaison person for your institution.
What are the key deadlines for ASEAN 2027?
  • Step 1: Registration & Data Submission - Deadline: 10 February 2026
  • Step 2: Student Survey Distribution - 1 March 2026 – 15 July 2026
  • Step 3: Peer-Nomination Survey - 1 August – 31 August 2026
  • Step 4: Results Announcement - Pending
What documents and information do we need to prepare?
You will need to prepare the following 10 items:
  1. Institution name (English)
  2. Location confirmation (ASEAN country)
  3. Institution type confirmation (university status)
  4. Contact person (liaison details)
  5. Institution logo (max 5 MB) and official website link
  6. Faculty & student numbers (including international ratios)
  7. Graduate outcomes with tracer study evidence
  8. Institution name in other languages
  9. Official web domain
  10. Google Scholar profile link (if available)
Who should be the liaison person for our institution?
The liaison person should be an official representative of the institution who can provide their name, designation, email address, and telephone number. This person will serve as the main point of contact between the institution and AppliedHE, and will receive the student survey link and peer-nomination survey invitation.
Can we still be ranked if we don't submit data?
Yes, eligible institutions can be included as "non-reporting" universities based on publicly available data and estimates. However, non-reporting institutions are evaluated more conservatively and may be ranked lower than reporting institutions due to the lower reliability of unverified data. Submitting data is strongly recommended for the most accurate evaluation.