In Context of University Ranking Systems
Since the first appearance of global university ranking systems around two decades
ago,rankings have come to dominate the attention in higher education ecosystems around
the world. Many countries including China,Japan and Russia have committed substantial
resources to elevate the statuses of their universities to “world class”.
Some universities worldwide have pulled out of being ranked,over concerns about the
incentives the system set up and their compatibility with the universities own aspirations.
What do ranking systems do?
At present, the Times Higher Education (THE), the Quacquarelli symonds(QS), the
Academic Ranking of World Universities (also known as the ‘Shanghai Ranking’), and the
U.S. News & World Report are the most popular rankings schemes worldwide. They hold
significant weight and influence in shaping educational policies and priorities in the higher
education sector in many countries.
A ranking system orders the higher education institutes in a place (country, region, etc) by
their accomplishments on various fronts including teaching, research, reputation, industry
focused research, and collaborative efforts.
Issues Regarding Ranking Systems
There are many aspects by which we can measure, to which extent ranking systems are
perfect. Some of them are:-
1. Unidimensional– Universities’ quest for higher ranking mirrors the flawed pursuit of
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the sole measure of a country’s prosperity.
2. Over-represented– Highest ranked universities in various ranking systems are old,
large, wealthy, research intensive, science focused, English speaking, and in the
Global north.
3. Arbitrary measure– Higher scores in research excellence in rankings are influenced
by 2 major factors: citation and reputation.
4. Manipulation– Citations can dramatically alter an entire university’s performance in
the rankings.
5. Conflict of interest– Most entities that compile and publish rankings are private
enterprises, and there have been instances of these entities consulting with
universities to help the latter to achieve better ranks.
6. Data security– Universities and Institutes provide ranking agencies free reign over
their data, compromising their data security.
7. Favouritism–The regional rankings appeared to favour universities that hosted an
important The Summit.
Conclusion
As the UN University’s statement on the ‘Global University Rankings’ reads: “While rankings
may have incentivised some improvement in the quality of some universities, there is
growing recognition that they also incentivise a number of perverse and harmful behaviours
and produce systemic long term negative effects.”
