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.

Gathering unique and thoughtful contributions from leading international scholars, this timely Research Handbook offers diverse perspectives on university rankings twenty years after the first global rankings emerged. It presents an in-depth analysis that reflects the current state of research on rankings, their influence and impact.

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.

This volume contains an Open Access Chapter. This volume explores the distinct allure of rankings in diverse empirical settings such as healthcare, the IT sector, the arts, professional sports, anti-slavery advocacy, the pharma industry, and educational governance.

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.

The pursuit to construct “world-class” universities is an ongoing global obsession across the world, which lays emphasis on the development of competitive higher education and research systems as core national economic approach. The portrayal “world-class” is more contextual rather than absolute, the expression “world-class university” has an irrefutable cachet. There is no solo, clear-cut definition of what organises a world-class university (WCU), but there are few common attributes that majority of the experts point towards. The three attributes stated by Philip Altbach and Jamil Salmi that focus on a high concentration of talent, abundant resources and favourable governance have been widely discussed in writings and practice. Both in developing and developed countries, policymakers and higher education leaders are attempting to identify and outline their desires and plans aimed at achieving global ranking for their university/universities. Despite condemnation of the methodology, the choice of indicators and weightings, and the reliability and quality of data used for comparing performance, the obsession for constructing world-class universities has increased over the period of time. But how much do we really discern or comprehend regarding the ranking systems? What do the rankings really measure? Do rankings measure the quality and help in attaining the broad assignment of higher education? Does the competition as outcome of ranking raise standards? Is the ranking system an apposite instrument to frame higher education policies? This edited volume tries to look at the concept of world-class universities in milieu of different countries of the world and explore their experiences either in existing WCUs or constructing WCU or attempting to create WCU. The country-based chapters show differentiated paths of achievements and their approach towards the concept of WCU.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of higher education in India and China and the complexity of issues involved. It focuses on gaining understanding of education systems, governance mechanisms, globalisation and emergence of the private sector, action policies of both the countries and their impact on education and society. Offering a comparative perspective, the book discusses why China is ahead of India in Higher Education when both share the similar challenges of burgeoning young population and scarcity of resources. It examines the success in providing equitable access to both country’s marginalised sections. It also discusses the directions of future growth through National Education Policy, 2020 and the 13th Five Year Plan of the Chinese State Council. Combining rich content and a broad scope, the book offers a valuable key to understanding Higher Education system of India and China. It is a useful read for students and researchers in social sciences, education area.