There are several university ranking agencies that are gaining popularity among students, parents, universities, private organizations, and even governments.
The criteria used by these agencies are so different that, being in a top 100 in one ranking might put you in the top 300 in the other. Should these rankings be taken seriously? Should they be used as a measure of the students' quality for postgraduate study, or job application?
University ranking systems are a valid a point sort of, maybe, in determining the quality of education. I was just looking at the rankings of the Times Higher Education World Universities, and their methodology is interesting when it comes to education. They illustrate an important general characteristic of university rankings.
First, the main focus of their rankings is on research, because they are ranking universities. In most cases, the main purpose of a university is research; teaching is secondary. And graduate instruction (doctoral level) is more important than undergraduate teaching.
No! Can we judge a book by its cover? The answer is NO!
Note: There are different factors these agencies look at before ranking any school. If I am an employer, I won't employ you because you finish from Havard, but I will consider you for an employment base on your skills, experience, etc.
Standard of university helps us to know the standing of university by knowing the ranking of student appreciating the contribution in the line with his study . Besides we are also aware that the standing of university depend also on the faculty members of the staff & that contribution in related education media .
This is my personal opinion
Honestly No!
The top 20 Universities in most of the rankings is coming from USA and United Kingdom. The ranking agencies are also coming from there.
What do you think?
Babagana Muktar
There are no doubt some very excellent universities both in UK and US as I have experienced first hand. The problem is that ranking agencies are making a business out of it and, in every business there is a tendency to maximize profit!
There are some very excellent universities that are not even listed but produce excellent graduates in various fields.
It depends on the standards applied and the credibility of the ranking agencies.
You are right Prof. Mahmoud Moghavvemi
There are indeed some excellent varsities there. Some of them are best at advertising and promoting their varsities and alumni in media, thereby making them stand out of the rest. It's not that they have unique qualities and pedagogical method, but rather the advertising agencies made them so. you have said it all when you said they are making a business out of it and in every business, there is tendency to maximize profit.
No and Yes because at the time of assessment universities could have the best at hand but with time some may gain whilst others lose out. But all in all this is an indicator of where we wish all our universities would be - a world class and offering the best to all learners where ever and what ever. The importance of rating is for the sake of improvement of learning at higher levels of education and not just prestige.
Norbert F Tchouaffe Tchiadje
Each one of these ranking agencies claim that their criteria is the best and more inclusive than the others!
I must agree with Messrs. Moghavvemi and Ajayi. Ranking systems vary and can include things of little relevance to the educational experience. Thus, faculty salary is often included, but that is more likely to reflect research prominence rather than teaching.
Many businesses, aware that graduates from reputable universities often lack skills, now provide their own examinations particularly in the areas of writing and reasoning.
Most rankings I know are based on research output (e.g., average H factor of the faculty), so by definition they have little to do with the "standard of education" (which is also a very vague term). It is often the case that top universities spend less resources (and put less focus) on teaching, since they mostly care about the research output and students are expected to be intelligent enough to "cope with it" without much support from lecturers, while in small colleges students tend to get much more support from faculty, administration and TAs during their studies - and of course we could argue about which system (DYI vs supportive environment) has a better "standard of education".
I would rather say that a position in a rank can guarantee a certain level of quality in general. But it doesn't mean that all services you get in a university are at the same (high) level all the time. Anyway you should decide whether those included factors are important or relevant from your point of you.
However not being (highly) ranked by an agency doesn't mean that a university can't meet with the standards or can't provide a high quality level.
Mahmoud Moghavvemi
Different ranking systems have different criteria. There are many universities which deserve a much better rank. If for a university, different ranking systems have approximately the same rank, that is fine. But sometimes ranks differ significantly. In that case, the best exercise is to contact alumni of those universities to get to know about specific things about a university you want to know. They can better guide you to provide standards of education than a ranking system.
U-Multirank’s 2020 rankings features some 1,800 universities from 92 countries:
https://www.umultirank.org/
Good discussion Mahmoud Moghavvemi , just about rankings would be controversial. As they are agencies that fight for space, each one intends to sell the idea that its criteria are the best. I do not think that we should blindly follow such results, as several colleagues have said here, there are many institutions that are not in the rankings and that do a good job in training people, in research and serving communities. On the other hand, the rankings encourage universities to look to themselves in order to improve and improve their activities. In this sense, they could contribute to reflection and improvement through an evaluation process. Something similar with journals and international indexing bases, also carried out by different agencies and in this chaos see how it impacts and influences which journal researchers end up choosing to submit their articles. They also need to be looked at sparingly, they should not be followed blindly as if they were the only source for decision making.
Article THE VALUE OF EDUCATION IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Mahmoud:
I would say NO to the rankings being taken seriously. I am in an area where I am surrounded by renowned universities. What I have found is that some of the graduates lack common sense upon completion of degrees regardless of level! Critical thinking is part of the learning process, but for some reason, we are not teaching that as part of our educational systems.
For new generation universities, ranking may not reflect the quality of education; teaching, research and community service. Comparing Harvard or Oxford with a young State or Private university may not reflect the real potentials of the latter.
The university does not have to be highly influential, and has a high level of education.
Roni Hogri
to borrow the definition from the National Research Council
" Educational standards define the knowledge and skills students should possess at critical points in their educational career. Standards serve as a basis of educational reform as educators and policymakers respond to the call for a clear definition of desired outcomes of schooling and a way to measure student success in terms of these outcomes".
there are program standards, subject standards, teaching standards, and so on. so at least in theory, one expects that the students receive the knowledge from the professors and not the TA only.
I would say yes/no. University rankings use a variety of indicators of educational quality; many are proxies with doubtful validity.
Yes, if, it is actionable in guiding plans for universities improvement.
No, if, it gives a wrong direction toward just university rankings.
Customers feel satisfied if the university services are in accordance with customer requirements. The most well educated universities or universities that rank are of course they are in the customer's perception. World class universities always improve the qaulity of service so that people's perception do not move to other universities. Conclusion of universities that have a linier world ranking on the services provided
The educational standard should ensure that, in addition to educating the students in a particular subject area, they should also educate them in character in such a way that society benefits from the graduates as well. Graduates that are creative, inquisitive, organized, thoughtful, approachable, and cooperative will be more conscious of their responsibility to the environment and their fellow human being.
Rankings are subjective and often are overweighted with factors that may not be relevant to education or based on recall information such what alumni recall. Some high ranking institutions often fall critically low when it comes to teaching of undergraduates; the researchers, their research and the funds they obtain drown out the realities of many undergraduate courses. Athletics are often built in even informally and they have nothing to do with education as I see it. Facilities such as gyms, dorms, and class buildings often play an important role in some rankings. Kenneth Boulding, an economist at Michigan, stated something to the effect that economics could be taught in a barn while business need shiny glass buildings. I agree. The undergraduate classroom experience is the best measure based on continual evaluation and course end testing. That does not happen and probably never will. And at the end of it all it comes to individual experiences. Rankings are great for resumes but I am not certain much else besides prestige. Students and parents often are blinded by the "rank" and never ask questions.
ِDifferent Ranking systems are almost game. Even though they showed some progresses, they are playable. When I was Scientific Counselor of Iran in East Asia, I was told by high official from MoHE that "Tell your country! do not enter their game. If you decided to enter, use your own rules and play with them(the agencies). Otherwise you gonna lose".
This idea should not mislead someone that I'm against the internationalization of higher Education, No!. Internationalization of higher education is a MUST, but not in the way these agencies are saying. They limited the universities to the NUMBERS (Number of ISI, Number of Lecturers, Number of Grants, Number of Innovations etc). But the problems in the ground are different. Good to look at Malaysian shift toward 17 SDGs for the Universities evaluation recently.
Agnaldo Arroio
Appreciate your comments.
Good article " THE VALUE OF EDUCATION IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC "
Doris Yates
first-hand observation!
this is precisely the point why we need to have a "standard" for our education. A minimum level that every graduate must possess.
أ. م. د. محمد جواد كاظم السلامي
I agree. Universities don't have to be ranked very high to produce good graduates.
In fact, there are universities that are not doing well in the rankings (ranked 500-800 in different ranking charts). However, their graduates are sought after by top-ranked universities each year and offered scholarships.
Bukola Dairo
Not to worry Bukola, these ranking agencies are good at what they do, expert in packaging their products!. now there is a section comparing old universities and one comparing universities that are less than 50 years old. very soon they will cover less than 30 years also
Nader Ale Ebrahim
Dear Dr Nader
Appreciate your comments.
YES to any action that leads to improvement in the quality of education.
I saw a US uni 2020 ranking around 60 in Times Higher education ranking but I could not find it in QS top hundred ranking. UM is highly ranked in QS but not in Times. Many people go by a university's reputation rather than ranking.
Sunarto Sunarto
It is true that universities need customer satisfaction like any other "business". However, this customer satisfaction in education differ from other "business".
Every university must follow "The educational standard " as a guide to quality education. some customers may not be happy but, quality can not be sacrificed in order to please the customers.
University ranking systems are a valid a point … sort of, maybe, in determining the quality of education. I was just looking at the rankings of the Times Higher Education World Universities, and their methodology is interesting when it comes to education. They illustrate an important general characteristic of university rankings.
First, the main focus of their rankings is on research, because they are ranking universities. In most cases, the main purpose of a university is research; teaching is secondary. And graduate instruction (doctoral level) is more important than undergraduate teaching.
Ronald Savitt
Thank you for your comments.
" Rankings are great for resumes but I am not certain much else besides prestige" Ronald Savitt .
Most of the rankings look at test scores, GPAs, and other characteristics of students who are entering the university. They look at how many students are denied admission and how many of those who are admitted show up.
Abbas Ghanbari Baghestan
Thank you for sharing your first hand experience in this subject. Appreciate it.
Rankings often use peer reviews. Colleges are asked to rank other colleges, so it is a popularity contest.
Many rankings are based off of the university’s education. So, yes, a university ranking can be a valid point of determining the quality of education. But don’t get too caught in the numbers though. Make sure to pull in the other factors like how you’d feel once you’re on campus, the opportunities you’ll have when you’re there, the social life on campus, etc.
Manas KUMAR Haldar
Different rankings return different results. As you mentioned, you might be in the top 100 in one and in the top 300 in the other. they measure different criteria some of which are not relevant at all.
University and college rankings are based upon a number of factors ranging from how selective they are in admissions to faculty publications, grants and contracts, international awards, professional standing, test score, even endowments. If you think these criteria are important in your educational experience, then rankings should be taken seriously. Bear in mind general statistics need to be disaggregated to be useful to you. It’s not the overall rank that matters but the rank of the department you wish to enter.
Ranking can give a university a broad idea about where do they stand compared to others, what are the areas of strength and areas of weakness they have. Some ranking system are not real reflective of the reality, and have criteria created on political basis, because they do not get anywhere in QS criteria
https://www.topuniversities.com/qs-world-university-rankings
Rankings tell just a little, nothing more. Here are some reasons:
Rankings have a place if used in the right way. After all, everyone has a personal university ranking. A ranking informed by their own experience and research, the opinions of their parents and friends, and their personal requirements at a given moment in time.
The ranking of your university is more important than the rest of your CV at the time you graduate, and it remains damn important so long as you’re in a job.
If you care about your career forget what university you liked, where you felt comfortable, where you’d fit in best. Just go for the most highly ranked university.
If your goal is to get into no particular graduate college, law college or medical college, then college ranking is not that important. If your goal is to get into the best of the graduate and professional college then ranking is more important.
There are a couple of things universities can and will do, depending on the type of ranking sought.
Samy Azer
" Some ranking system is not really reflective of the reality"
I like to say most are not giving a true picture. For self-improvement, it is ok. Using it as a competition tool not wise!
student at the top 50 Samy Azer ranked based on data that its integrity is not in question. Not sure if the same can be said about the data provided by each institution for ranking.
Sikander Hans
When ranking is taken as the only measure of quality education, many games can be played by aspiring universities!
The same reason that automobiles are ranked .
So Yes a higher rated school has proven that they are working hard to provide a quality education and that is what you can see from the community .
Yes, University ranking is an important parameter for student's decision making for their future study but we can not rationalize that top-rated/not rated university and quality of students, and employability of them.
University ranking systems are a valid a point sort of, maybe, in determining the quality of education. I was just looking at the rankings of the Times Higher Education World Universities, and their methodology is interesting when it comes to education. They illustrate an important general characteristic of university rankings.
First, the main focus of their rankings is on research, because they are ranking universities. In most cases, the main purpose of a university is research; teaching is secondary. And graduate instruction (doctoral level) is more important than undergraduate teaching.
To say or no directly is complex, it depends upon the mode at which students/employers weigh it. Ranking is a benchmark at which some aspects are taken into account. These involves the students performance, teaching and learning amongst others.
No. There are lots of factors that determine how good a university is - does it have good laboratories? Does it have small class sizes? Does it have faculty who lead the way in research? Does it have faculty who are good at teaching? A university is made up of departments, and within the same university, some departments may be good, and some may be bad.
Not really. University ranking should not only consider the the standard of the education and researches provided but also the infrastructure and facilities provided to enhance education outcome.
Ahmed Abunowara
Infrastructures and facilities are part of the same package should a proper standard be defined for ranking. A standard that is more realistic and less business-oriented.
Yes ranking is necessary. Accreditation is the first step by an accrediting body to improve the image of the university like physical plant,curriculum,community outreach program and of course board examination results for those programs with board examinations. But remember universities has its own field of expertise like excellent in medicine,engineering,chemistry etc.There are universities with Center of Excellence certification in a certain program or Center of Development maybe.But you know different countries has its own standards and complying the standards of International ranking makes a difference.
Marcos Ochoa
Large % of the data for ranking is provided by the universities themselves. If there is a competition as the ranking agencies are making it, how reliable are these data?
very reliable because the accrediting bodies will check all the records as evidence in their application for ranking.
Many universities are of high quality in their undergraduate and graduate programs and also in the number of publications, but it seems that the latter weighs heavily in establishing the ranking of universities. In my opinion, the ranking is relative in terms of the quality of the education provided in the universities and many other parameters should be included to establish such a ranking.
Nope. human resources and infrastructure facilities are basically involving the ranking. Not the quality of education provided.
Not really, but clearly an institution in the first quartile (lowest 25%) has to reflect upon its student offer/provision.
I have been in education for fifty years and have considerable disdain for rating systems. Over the years I have watched universities and colleges improve the educational experiences of their students by building climbing walls, dorms comprised of single rooms with attached baths, and similar improvements. Nonetheless, doing so often advances their ratings.
بالفعل، انني اوفق الرأي في هذه الأمر وبالأخص هناك أمور يجب أن تتخذ في الاعتبار في وضع مناقشة لمعايير المطابقة في حال أن هناك جامعات تفتقر إلى البنية التحتية والمنصات التفاعلية التي توفر بسوء دافعة للمنافسة ومواكبة المستحدثة وتطبيقه بشكل اتم واشمل، حيث،ان التعليم يجب أن يجمع ما بين الأسس التعليمالثابتة مقرونا بالمهارات التي لتجهزه بيئية سوق العمل او لمتابعة التطور العلمي
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