Dear colleagues,
I found that the results of the ranking of the Times Higher Education and QS University Ranking are different. For example, according to the ranking of the QS University Ranking, Vietnam National University- Ho Chi Minh City ranked 142 in Asia in 2018. However, there is no representative of Vietnam in the Times Higher Education. So, we should trust in which rankings in these two rankings?
Thank you and hoping for your insightful response.
After the ranking of the universities, the ranking of the ranking. In the iterative process, what is lost is that ranking had a specific purpose at the beginning. Only this purpose has any sort of importance, and even survives without any ranking.
It is hard to give a definite answer (it depends inter alia on the purpose you want to use the ranking for) but this discussion could help
https://www.topuniversities.com/forum/general-discussion/why-are-qs-times-higher-education-ranking-results-so-different
See also
https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings-articles/world-university-rankings/qs-vs-times-higher-education-rankings-regional-trends
The Quacquarelli Symonds World University rankings were run in partnership with the Times Higher Education from 2004 to 2010, so they shared similar methods. The split shows disagreement about method. You cannot combine two ranking lists into one.
As I see it, Q.S. and T.H.E. are measuring different things, using different methods. Universities love it, because then the universities can report the better of the two figures in their advertising!
In my estimation, T.H.E. has been running longer than Q.S. on its own. So I trust its figures more. If it does not cover a country, then you have to rely on other sources, such as Q.S. T.H.E. excludes universities if they do not teach undergraduates or if their research output amounted to fewer than 1,000 articles over 5 years (and a minimum of 150 a year).
Q.S. uses six indicators to build their university’s score: academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per faculty, faculty-to-student ratio, international staff ratio and international student ratio.
I would like to see number of labs and amount of industrial and commercial support as being important, and also see the number of E-learning courses offered being included. The T.H.E. indicators already include industry income:
The indicators that T.H.E. use are
Teaching (the learning environment)
Research (volume, income and reputation)
Citations (research influence);
International outlook (staff, students and research)
Industry income (knowledge transfer)
The difference arises due to the methodology adopted for rankings. Both the rankings are comprehensive though relative weight for various parameters differs. Trusting one ranking over the other depends on the what is the ranking used for and who uses it. Personally, I would marginally prefer the ranking by THE considering the parameters and weights assigned.
They all have their strengths and areas they are interested in for their assessments.
Thank you very much for your answers, Prof.Ian Kennedy, Prof.Artur Sergyeyev, Prof.Satyanarayana Rentala, Prof. Dickson Adom.Through the answer of Prof.Ian Kennedy, I understand that in order to be ranked in THE, Vietnamese universities must publish an average of 200 articles per year and maintain this publication speed for 5 years. Currently, major Vietnamese universities publish an average of only 160 articles per year.
@ Nguyễn Thanks for confirming my suspicion about Vietnamese research output being the cause of the deliberate omission from T.H.E. Since research output is so central to the well-being of a university, I am happy that it be used as a major indicator of university quality.
After the ranking of the universities, the ranking of the ranking. In the iterative process, what is lost is that ranking had a specific purpose at the beginning. Only this purpose has any sort of importance, and even survives without any ranking.
hmmm, depends what you are looking for I think
You may be interested in this interesting article:
https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2016/9/206263-academic-rankings-considered-harmful/fulltext#.V74vsOQ7HxM.twitter
Also, there are many measurement indices - even a new one "Educating for the Future Index' http://educatingforthefuture.economist.com/
The universities ranking depends on many factors the difference between rankings in weight according to their assumptions. Anyway QS is commercial. They’ve a consultation service. Therefore I have doubts about their integrity.
The most credible academic ranking is Times H.E., Scimago provides a good quality research ranknig.
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