On June 7, 2024, the World University Rankings for Innovation 2024 (WURI) unveiled its list of the top 100 in thirteen specialized categories, along with the top 300 most innovative universities globally. Pines City Colleges (PCC), dedicated to delivering exceptional education in allied health fields, achieved significant recognition in the WURI 2024 rankings for student support and engagement. Securing the 48th spot out of 100 schools, PCC was honored for its Eugenio S. Baltao Scholarship Grant (ESBSG), highlighting its commitment to fostering academic excellence and student welfare. This recognition underscores PCC’s ongoing efforts to enhance educational opportunities and support systems for its student community.
As part of its quality assurance program, PCC joined the WURI to assess the different programs, policies, and practices of the institution. Ms. Pearl Vicente, PCC’s Quality Assurance Officer, says this helps identify areas for improvement and works towards continuous improvement in the institution. PCC started joining international ranking systems to increase its impact on society, leading to positive social, economic, and cultural outcomes for the institution and the community it serves, improving the student experience, and increasing brand recognition, she adds.
ESBSG: A Ladder to Success
ESBSG is a scholarship grant established to provide learning opportunities for outstanding students in pursuing higher education, particularly in the medical and allied healthcare programs. The ESBSG was founded in 2009 to advance the institution’s medical and allied health programs and to raise the number of aspiring allied health professionals to help address the need for health workers in communities across the country and the world. This learning opportunity is offered to incoming freshmen and senior high school students enrolling at PCC.
Unlike other scholarships, ESBSG covers full tuition, miscellaneous expenses, and laboratory fees for the whole duration of the course, including the grantee’s internship fee. The academic performance of the grantees is monitored to identify their needs, help design strategies, and determine approaches such as activities, forums, and group discussions for the grantees to meet retention requirements.
In its wider scope, ESBSG serves as a response to the advocacy of the national government for free higher education, especially in medical courses.
The WURI Rankings 2024
The WURI is a ranking system assessing HEI’s contributions to industry and society, highlighting innovative education, research, and engagement with society. The ranking aims to spotlight HEIs that excel in these innovative approaches, thereby inspiring advancements across the academic and societal landscape (wuri.world).
Ms. Vicente shared that PCC’s enlistment in the top 100 ignited inspiration for the institution to improve and offer more programs that will support student engagement. As part of its commitment to the community, PCC will continue offering the ESBSG program and revisit its policies and programs to consider the possibilities of joining other WURI categories and other HEI’s ranking systems and platforms.
Congratulations PCC! # Adela Wayas and Collin Jaye Laguinday
