This book, written by three generations of rankings academics with considerable experience from three very different regions of the globe, lifts the lid on the real impact of higher education ranking systems (HERS) on universities and their stakeholders. It critically analyses the criteria that make up the ‘Big Three’ global ranking systems and, using interviews with senior administrators, academics and managers, discusses their impact on universities from four very different continents. Higher education continues to be dominated by a reputational hierarchy of institutions that sustains and is reinforced by HERS. Despite all the opinions and arguments about the legitimacy of the rankings as a construct, it seems experts agree that they are here to stay. The question, therefore, seems to be less about whether or not universities should be compared and ranked, but the manner in which this is undertaken. Delivering a fresh perspective on global rankings, this book summarizes the development of HERS and provides a critical evaluation of the effects of HERS on four different major regions – South Africa, the Arab region, South East Asia, and Australia. It will appeal to any academic, student, university administrator or governing body interested in or affected by global higher education ranking systems.

When U.S. News & World Report began its ranking of American colleges in 1983, publishers in other countries quickly followed with their own hierarchical measures, providing consumer information (and opportunities for institutional marketing) while attempting to impact the quality of higher education. In the course of the last two decades, higher education ranking systems and "league tables" (as they are referred to in the United Kingdom and elsewhere) have emerged in dozens of countries. These rankings are conducted not only by media in the private sector, but also by professional associations and governments. Over the decades since higher education rankings first appeared, numerous debates have surfaced about their methodologies, objectivity, impact on colleges and universities, and role in the structure of accountability within nations that use them. Although there has been significant research, especially in the United States, about the ways in which rankings might be improved, there has been less research on what other countries have been doing and how their ranking systems differ from U.S. rankings. In addition, there has been very little research on how rankings may impact students' access to postsecondary education, their selection of particular colleges, and their paths to graduate from school and/or find employment. The goal for this monograph is to better understand the ways in which ranking systems function and how lessons learned from other countries that use higher education ranking systems might influence similar practices in the United States. Toward this end, this monograph chronicles recent efforts that have brought together rankers and researchers from around the world to study higher education rankings. The monograph includes three papers that were commissioned to examine various perspectives on rankings around the world and lessons they might provide for rankings in the United States: (1) The "U.S. News" College Rankings: A View from the Inside (Alvin P. Sanoff); (2) A Global Survey of Rankings and League Tables (Alex Usher and Massimo Savino); and (3) The Impact of Higher Education Rankings on Student Access, Choice, and Opportunity (Marguerite Clarke). Includes appendix: The Berlin Principles on Ranking of Higher Education Institutions. (Contains 16 notes and 2 tables. Individual papers contain references.) [Jamie P. Merisotis, Alisa F. Cunningham, Arnold M. Kee, Tia T. Gordon, and Lacey H. Leegwater contributed to the introduction and "Next Steps."].

World university ranking started one and a half decades ago for the purpose of understanding what makes an excellent institution of higher education. Subsequent to the appearance of the Academic Ranking of World Universities at the Shanghai Jiaotong University, there soon emerged the QS World University Rankings and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. These three ranking systems are considered the classics as they are the fore-runners, although no less than ten new systems have come to the arena.The various ranking systems adopt a common approach of weight-and-sum to process the indicator data. Each system, somewhat arbitrarily, decides on a set of indicators and assigns different weights to these, presumably reflecting their relative importance. This simple (and simplistic) approach meets well common sense. And, in fact, much of the discussion on world university rankings is conducted at the commonsensical level.However, analyses conducted in the recent years uncovered several problems of the prevalent approach: spurious precision, mutual compensation, weight discrepancy, indicator redundancy, etc., which render the overall scores and ranking suspect in terms of validity. These are due to systems ignoring the fact that world university rankings are a form of social measurement and therefore need be seen from this perspective.Moreover, rankings encourage competition and, in the highly competitive world of today, it is natural that institutional attention is focused on the ranking results. By now, the original purpose of world university ranking seems to have been overshadowed, and world university rankings look more like international academic contests, as though they are annual sports meets.This monograph collects together many articles pertaining to the identified measurement and statistical issues of world university rankings and suggests remedies to make ranking results more trustworthy.

The growing impact of university rankings on public policy and on students choices has stirred controversy worldwide. This unique volume brings together the architects of university rankings and their critics to debate the uses and misuses of existing rankings. With voices from five continents, it provides a comprehensive overview of current thinking on the subject and sets out alternative approaches and complementary tools for a new era of transparent and informed use of higher education ranking tables.

University rankings have gained popularity around the world and are now a significant factor shaping reputation. This second edition updates Ellen Hazelkorn's first comprehensive study of rankings from a global perspective, drawing in new original research and extensive analysis. It is essential reading for policymakers, managers and scholars.

Delivering quality education to students while remaining competitive at an international level is only one of the many challenges universities face today. To attain their goals, universities must adopt new strategies to achieve academic excellence. World University Rankings and the Future of Higher Education is a pivotal reference source for the latest scholarly research on the implementation of a ranking system for higher education institutions, providing a thorough overview of the impacts of these rankings on educational quality. Exploring the benefits and challenges of this system in a global context, this book is ideally designed for academicians, researchers, students, administrators, and policy makers interested in the effects of university rankings in the education sector and beyond.