Insights from the vision-mission statements of Philippine and other ASEAN universities: a K-means clustering analysis

Abstract

This study analyzed the vision and mission statements (VMS) of 117 Philippine state universities and colleges (SUCs) and compared them with 330 other ASEAN universities to identify thematic trends and institutional priorities. Using web scraping and K-means clustering, the study identified thematic clusters in VMS. Thematic trends through word frequency and collocation analyses provided further insights and a comparative analysis examined differences between Philippine SUCs and other ASEAN universities. Philippine SUCs’ vision statements formed three clusters: global competitiveness, premier recognition, and regional leadership in science and technology. Mission statements clustered into: mandated functions, global innovation, and advancement in the sciences. Philippine SUCs emphasized institutional prestige, workforce development, and sustainability while other ASEAN universities focus more on knowledge creation, student empowerment, and internationalization. Philippine SUCs aligned their VMS with national development and global ranking metrics and prioritizes institutional recognition and economic contributions more than the other ASEAN universities. Future studies should expand to more private institutions and international comparisons to assess broader higher education trends.