University Ranking Systems – From League Table to Homogeneous Groups of Universities

Authors: M. Jarocka

Abstract:

The paper contains a review of the literature in terms of the critical analysis of methodologies of university ranking systems. Furthermore, the initiatives supported by the European Commission (U-Map, U-Multirank) and CHE Ranking are described. Special attention is paid to the tendencies in the development of ranking systems. According to the author, the ranking organizations should abandon the classic form of ranking, namely a hierarchical ordering of universities from “the best" to “the worse". In the empirical part of this paper, using one of the method of cluster analysis called k-means clustering, the author presents university classifications of the top universities from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University-s (SJTU) Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).

Keywords: Classification, cluster analysis, ranking, university.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1070755

References:

[1] F. A. Van Vught, D. F. Westerheijden, "Multidimensional ranking: a new transparency tool for higher education and research","Higher Education Management and Policy, Vol. 22, No 3, 2010.
[2] J. Nazarko, K. A. Ku┼║micz, E. Szubzda-Prutis, J. Urban, "The General Concept of Benchmarking and its Application in Higher Education in Europe" Higher Education in Europe, Vol. 34, Nos. 3-4, October- December 2009, pp. 497-510.
[3] F. A. Van Vught, F. Ziegele (eds.), U-Multirank, Design and Testing the Feasibility of a Multidimensional Global University Ranking, Final Report, Consortium for Higher Education and Research Performance Assessment, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2011, from http://ec.europa.eu/education/higher-education/doc/multirank_en.pdf.
[4] Global universities rankings and their impact, EUA Report on Rankings, Brussels, 2011.
[5] A. Usher, J. Medow, A global survey of university rankings and league tables,
[in:] B. M. Kehm, B. Stensaker (eds.), University Rankings, Diversity, and the New Landscape of Higher Education, Global Perspectives on Higher Education, Vol. 18, Sense Publisher, 2009, p. 14.
[6] http://www.che-ranking.de
[7] M. Clarke, Quantifying Quality: What can the U.S. News and World Report rankings tell us about the quality of higher education? Education Policy Analysis Archives 10(16), 2002. Retrieved January 10, 2012, from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v10n16/.
[8] D. D. Dill, M. Soo, "Academic quality, league tables, and public policy: A cross-national analysis of university ranking systems", Higher Education, Vol. 49, 2005, pp. 495-533.
[9] N. Van Dyke, "Twenty Years OF University Report Cards: Where Are We Now?","Higher Education in Europe, Vol. 30(2), 2005, pp. 103- 124.
[10] A. F. J. Van Raan, "Fatal attraction: Conceptual and methodological problems in the ranking of universities by bibliometric methods", Scientometrics, Vol. 62, No 1, 2005, pp. 133-143.
[11] A. Usher, M. Savino, A world of difference: A global survey of university league tables, Educational Policy Institute, Toronto 2006. Retrieved September 2, 2011, from http://www.educationalpolicy.org/pdf/world-of-difference- 200602162.pdf.
[12] S. Marginson, "Global University Rankings: Implications in general and for Australia", Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, Vol. 29, No. 2, 2007, pp. 131-142.
[13] R. V. Florian, "Irreproducibility of the results of the Shanghai academic ranking of Word universities", Scientometrics, Vol. 72, No 1, 2007.
[14] S. Marginson, M. Van der Wende, "Europeanisation, International Rankings and Faculty Mobility: Three Cases in Higher Education Globalisation",
[in:] OECD Publishing; Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, Higher Education to 2030, Vol. 2, Globalisation, OECD, Paris, 2009.
[15] A. Rauhvargers, Global University Rankings and their Impact. Brussels: European University Association, 2011.
[16] E. Hazelkorn, Rankings and the Reshaping of Higher Education: The Battle for World-Class Excellence. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
[17] Centre for Higher Education Research and Information (CHERI), Open University, and Hobsons Research, Counting what is measured or measuring what counts? League tables and their impact on higher education institutions in England, Report to Higher Education Funding Council for England, 2008.
[18] M. Van der Wende, "Rankings and Classifications in Higher Education: A European Perspective", Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, Vol. 23, 2008, pp. 49-71.
[19] Ch. Tofallis, "A different approach to university rankings", Higher Education, Vol. 63, 2012, pp. 1-18.
[20] A. D. Gordon, Classification, Chapman & Hall/CRC, 1999.
[21] B. S. Everitt, S. Landau, M. Leese, Cluster Analysis, Oxford University Press Inc, New York 2001.