tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/university-rankings-3619/articlesUniversity rankings – The Conversation2024-02-12T14:14:57Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2230332024-02-12T14:14:57Z2024-02-12T14:14:57ZUniversity rankings are unscientific and bad for education: experts point out the flaws<p>We rank almost everything. The top 10 restaurants in our vicinity, the best cities to visit, the best movies to watch. To understand whether the rankings were any good you’d want know who was doing the ranking. And what it was they were looking for. </p>
<p>These are exactly the same questions that are worth asking when looking at the international ranking of universities. </p>
<p>Ranking universities started <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.37941/PB/2023/1">a couple of decades ago</a>. Since then they have become omnipresent, <a href="http://www.researchcghe.org/perch/resources/publications/wp19.pdf">presuming importance and validity</a>. Institutions, especially those ranked highly, take them seriously. Some allocate staff time to collate the data that rankers ask for. University donors take them seriously, journalists popularise them and some parents use them to choose where their children should study. </p>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128186305080428?via%3Dihub">many university ranking systems</a> and many rankers. Some ranking systems are better known than others. Those that get the most coverage in the media and seem to be most influential are <a href="https://www.qs.com/">Quacquarelli Symonds (QS)</a>, <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/">Times Higher Education (THE)</a>, <a href="https://www.shanghairanking.com/">Shanghai Ranking Consultancy</a> and <a href="https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rankings">US News & World Report</a>. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:9299/Statement-on-Global-University-Rankings.pdf">group of experts</a> recently got together to look critically at ranking systems. (I was among them.) We were convened by the <a href="https://unu.edu/iigh">United Nations University International Institute for Global Health</a>, which <a href="https://unu.edu/press-release/rethinking-quality-unu-convened-experts-challenge-harmful-influence-global-university">issued a press release</a> on the report.</p>
<p>We concluded, firstly, that there is a conceptual problem with rankings. It’s not sensible to put all institutions in one basket and come up with something useful. </p>
<p>We also concluded that their methods are unclear and some seem to be invalid. We would not accept research with poor methods for publication yet somehow rankers can get away with sloppy methods. </p>
<p>The experts noted that rankings were massively overvalued, and reinforced global, regional and national inequalities. And, lastly, that too much attention to ranking inhibited thinking about education systems as a whole.</p>
<h2>Who does the ranking, and how</h2>
<p>Institutions doing the rankings are private for-profit companies. Ranking agencies <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.37941/PB/2023/1">make money</a> in various ways: by harvesting data from universities which they subsequently commodify; selling advertising space; selling consultancy services (to universities as well as governments); and running fee-paying conferences.</p>
<p>Each ranker and each ranking has a different approach. They all ultimately generate an index or score from the data they collect. But it is not clear how they come up with their scores. They are not completely transparent about what they measure and how much each component of the measure counts. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/">Times Higher Education</a> sends out a survey to academics who are invited to rate their own – or other – institutions. This measure will be influenced by how many people respond and who the people are and their ability to actually know anything about the institution they are ranking. </p>
<p>So it is easy to get a number out of such a survey, but is it valid? Does it reflect reality? Is it free of bias? If I work at a particular institution is it possible and perhaps even likely that I will rate it highly? Or, if I am unhappy at that institution, I may want to rate it poorly. Either way it is not a good measure of reality. </p>
<p>Ranking institutions use other measures that may be considered more objective. For example, they look at publications that universities produce. </p>
<p>Firstly, a lot of research has shown that what gets published and who gets published is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01457-4">itself biased</a>. In addition when you look at it closely the ranking institutions pay more attention to particular kinds of research – science, technology, engineering and maths. The don’t count everything, they don’t count it equally and they don’t tell people who get the rankings how they have weighted what they do count. </p>
<h2>Why should we care?</h2>
<p>Universities have many roles to play in society. In addition, a lot of public money goes into universities. We, the public, should care how that money is spent. </p>
<p>What if a university is graduating lots of students who are filling important roles in society, like staffing schools, hospitals and the civil service with staff who are good at their jobs? That is a good university; it is fulfilling an important social function. It seems to be a good place for tax money to go. </p>
<p>What if another university is doing research that results in good public policy that helps governments implement programmes that decrease unemployment among youth or decrease crime? That is a good university. </p>
<p>Both institutions may not have a high ranking. But it’s hard to say that they are not good universities. </p>
<p>Single ranking systems don’t serve society. Rankings, if they are taken too seriously, if they are allowed to influence the higher education system, can undermine what a higher education system should be doing, which is contributing to a better society. </p>
<p>Too much attention to these rankings inhibits thinking about education systems as a whole. There are so many important questions to be asking about a higher education system.</p>
<p>The questions that should be taking precedence are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Do we have the right mix of tertiary education institutions and do they fit together well? </p></li>
<li><p>Are our research institutions producing enough high quality research to help us develop as a nation or region?</p></li>
<li><p>Are they producing enough master’s or PhD graduates to staff other tertiary education institutions (as well as other sectors in society)? </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The rankings steer universities away from these key endeavours. An obsession with ranking creates perverse incentives to act to improve a rank rather than get on with the worthwhile work of universities.</p>
<h2>What to do?</h2>
<p>We all need to understand that ranking is not objective and true. Profit-driven companies will inevitably drive ranking systems towards making more profit rather than towards the public interest and social functions of universities. </p>
<p>We need ranking institutions to be completely transparent so we can see whether their information is useful and valid. Or in what way the rankings they produce can be used. And they need to acknowledge their inherent conflict.</p>
<p>Once we understand what the rankings are, and what they are not, we will not value their reports as much. This should prompt us to refuse to play the game on their terms.</p>
<p>We need to understand how the way they rank reinforces an (incorrect or incomplete) view of the world that things of high value are western and English speaking. Institutions that claim to be interested in the decolonisation project should be motivated to desist from being ranked. </p>
<p>It’s worth remembering that rankings didn’t always exist. And they don’t have to continue to exist. And should not, in the form they are in now.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223033/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sharon Fonn works at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg South Africa and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She is a founder of and the co-director of CARTA. CARTA is jointly led by the African Population and Health Research Center and the University of the Witwatersrand and funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York Grant No. G-19-57145, Sida Grant No:16604, Uppsala Monitoring Center, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation Norad, and by the Science for Africa Foundation to the Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science in Africa DELTAS Africa programme Del-22-006 with support from Wellcome Trust and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and is part of the EDCPT2 programme supported by the European Union. The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the author.</span></em></p>We all need to understand that ranking is not objective and true. University rankings are massively overvalued, and reinforce global, regional and national inequalities.Sharon Fonn, Professor, School of Public Health, University of Gothenburg Sweden, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2157152023-10-26T13:35:39Z2023-10-26T13:35:39ZGlobal university rankings now include social impact: African universities are off to a strong start<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554926/original/file-20231020-25-oic45g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Universities across Africa can drive prosperity through innovation.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Westend61</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>World university rankings are released towards the end of each year. Institutions globally scramble to see how they have fared. Have they risen or fallen? If so, by how much and in which rankings? Have they maintained their position in an <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20230629104003226">increasingly competitive</a> global higher education landscape? </p>
<p>There have been some improvements in African universities’ performances. But the continent’s institutions still don’t feature prominently towards the top of the rankings. In the Times Higher Education <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2024/world-ranking">(THE) World University Rankings 2024</a>, for instance, South Africa’s University of Cape Town is top for the continent, at 167th place. It is followed by three other South African institutions: Stellenbosch University and the University of the Witwatersrand, which sit between 301 and 350, and the University of Johannesburg between 401 and 500. </p>
<p>The first sub-Saharan non-South African institution, Ghana’s University of Cape Coast, is in the group 601-800. Uganda’s Makerere University, placed between 801 and 1,000, is the top in east Africa.</p>
<p>The value, methodologies and implications of world university rankings are much <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03312-2">debated</a>. Several institutions, such as the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, have even withdrawn their participation from some <a href="https://www.uu.nl/en/news/why-uu-is-missing-in-the-the-ranking">rankings</a>. They are critical of the focus on competition and scores rather than on partnerships and open science.</p>
<p>We are especially interested in a recent addition to the rankings landscape: scoring for sustainability and positive societal impact. The <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/impactrankings">THE Impact Rankings</a>, for example, assess universities’ performance against the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a>. The <a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/sustainability-rankings/2023">QS Sustainability ranking</a> includes environmental and social impact dimensions.</p>
<p>As academics working in the field of social innovation and sustainable development, we welcome this attention to impact and sustainability. Sustainable development is a critical concern for universities globally. It drives institutions’ research and innovation. It matters to students. It is central in teaching and learning. It also underpins universities’ wider role and activities in communities, societies and economies. </p>
<p>Responding to the challenge of sustainable development is an especially pressing concern for African universities. </p>
<h2>A mandate and a mission</h2>
<p>African universities work in conditions of significant need. Many African economies have grown rapidly in <a href="https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/africas-economic-growth-outpace-global-forecast-2023-2024-african-development-bank-biannual-report-58293">recent times</a>, but <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/africa-and-the-sustainable-development-goals-a-long-way-to-go/">sustainable development challenges</a> remain. These include poverty and inequalities in gender, health, education and opportunities. Conflict over resources and the effects of climate change are also major challenges. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/technology-and-sustainable-development-a-hamlet-in-rural-south-africa-shows-how-one-can-power-the-other-197355">Technology and sustainable development: a hamlet in rural South Africa shows how one can power the other</a>
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<p>Some African universities were established with the task of addressing these challenges, and to drive development and prosperity.</p>
<p>So it is very welcome that several African universities place well in some of these new impact rankings. Some are even world leaders in addressing various SDGs. </p>
<p>For example, South Africa’s University of Johannesburg ranks 46th in the THE Impact Rankings 2023. It is first globally for its <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20230619224828695">work to address SDG 1 (No Poverty)</a>. It has achieved this through initiatives like its <a href="https://www.uj.ac.za/support-services/give-to-uj/support-the-students-and-residences/missing-middle-fund/">Missing Middle Fund</a>, which benefits over 60% of the university’s students. It also invests heavily in research centres, institutes and chairs that focus on poverty issues. It supports them to do research that has a direct impact on local communities and policy development.</p>
<p>Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), meanwhile, scores top for its contribution to <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20230613111153424#:%7E:text=The%20Kwame%20Nkrumah%20University%20of,which%20focuses%20on%20quality%20education.">SDG 4 (Quality Education)</a>. The institution’s students benefit from excellent teaching, complemented by investments in up-to-date infrastructure, ICT and e-learning resources. It provides numerous scholarships and runs programmes like <a href="https://thebftonline.com/2023/05/24/stanbic-bank-fulfils-promise-to-knusts-sonsol-project/">Support One Needy Student with One Laptop</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sustainable-development-goals-are-in-reach-if-african-universities-work-together-47903">Sustainable development goals are in reach if African universities work together</a>
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<p>Another positive trend for African universities in impact rankings is that they are increasingly working together and with partners globally. For instance, Makerere University and the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation at the University of Cape Town are partners within the <a href="https://socialinnovationinhealth.org/">Social Innovation in Health Initiative</a>. This aims to advance social innovation in health (SDG3 - Good Health and Wellbeing) across the continent and other low- and middle-income countries. </p>
<p>These positive stories and growing examples of African leadership are worth celebrating. And even more may be possible.</p>
<h2>Filling the gaps</h2>
<p>Further research is needed to understand how African universities are working towards sustainable development and what more they can do. This might reveal ways to enhance existing work and share best practice. </p>
<p>Universities can make it possible to find solutions to sustainable development challenges. They generate knowledge and can influence policy making and practice. They can develop innovative solutions themselves. As major employers, procurers, and resource users they can have positive (and negative) effects through their operations.</p>
<p>Research on the roles of universities in their communities, including and beyond teaching and research, has focused on the global north. Universities in the global south (and particularly those in Africa) have often been overlooked. This relatively limited attention may reflect wider inequalities in global knowledge production, and negative perceptions of the work African universities do.</p>
<p>We want to address these gaps. So we’ve launched a new international, multi-institution and interdisciplinary research project. “<a href="https://wun.ac.uk/wun/research/view/african-universities-as-enablers-of-social-innovation-and-sustainable-development/">African universities as enablers of social innovation and sustainable development</a>” is funded by the <a href="https://wun.ac.uk/">Worldwide Universities Network</a>. It brings together academics from the universities of Cape Town, Sheffield, Ghana, Leeds, Pretoria and York, as well as Makerere University.</p>
<p>The project will run for the next 12 months. We will use a social innovation perspective to investigate how African universities are contributing to achieving the UN SDGs. We hope this project will build a community of scholars working on the topic in and outside Africa, and provide academic and practical insights.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215715/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The research will be pursued in collaboration with the WUN Global Higher Education and Research (GHEAR) network which also provided funding for the project and all authors.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nothing to disclose.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Littlewood receives funding from: Worldwide Universities Network.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nothing to disclose</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bob Doherty, Phyllis Awor, Ralph Hamann, and Teddy Ossei Kwakye do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Responding to societal challenges and promoting sustainable development is an especially pressing concern for African universities.Annika Surmeier, Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, University of Cape TownAlex Bignotti, Senior Lecturer in Social Entrepreneurship, University of PretoriaBob Doherty, Professor of Marketing and Chair of Agrifood, University of YorkDavid Littlewood, Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management, University of SheffieldDiane Holt, Chair in Entrepreneurship, Leeds University Business School, University of LeedsPhyllis Awor, Lecturer in Public Health, Makerere UniversityRalph Hamann, Professor, University of Cape TownTeddy Ossei Kwakye, Senior Lecturer in Accounting, University of GhanaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2145552023-09-28T06:11:59Z2023-09-28T06:11:59ZAustralian universities have dropped in the latest round of global rankings – should we be worried?<p>Every year, <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/about-us">Times Higher Education</a> – a global higher education publication – ranks universities around the world. This one of three prominent international ranking systems for universities. </p>
<p>Its 2024 <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2024/world-ranking">list has just been released</a> and includes 1,904 universities across 108 countries. </p>
<p>The top five universities are all in the United Kingdom and United States: Oxford University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and the University of Cambridge. </p>
<p>In Australia, headlines have talked about a “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/top-australian-universities-slide-down-world-rankings-20230926-p5e7po.html">slide</a>” down the world rankings for Australian universities, with our reputation also “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-28/where-australian-universities-sit-in-world-university-rankings/102911238">slipping</a>”. </p>
<p>Australia’s highest-ranking institution, The University of Melbourne, dropped from 34 to 37. Many other local universities also fell in the rankings. For example, The University of Sydney dropped six places to 60 and the Australian National University dropped five places to 67.</p>
<p>The Conversation spoke to <strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gwilym-croucher-12106">Associate Professor Gwilym Croucher</a></strong>, a higher education researcher at the University of Melbourne about what the latest rankings mean. </p>
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<img alt="The Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford, featuring stone emperors' heads." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550786/original/file-20230928-19-i32lbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550786/original/file-20230928-19-i32lbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550786/original/file-20230928-19-i32lbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550786/original/file-20230928-19-i32lbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550786/original/file-20230928-19-i32lbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550786/original/file-20230928-19-i32lbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550786/original/file-20230928-19-i32lbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The UK’s Oxford University was top in the Times Higher Education rankings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/LrTt009Yf-k">Ray Harrington/Unsplash</a></span>
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<h2>How are the rankings calculated?</h2>
<p>The Times Higher Education takes in a range of measures, from teaching to research productivity, research citations, industry connections and international students. </p>
<p>The way the rankings are calculated is complicated. And there has been a change in the way universities are scored this year, with additional measures such as a weighting given to the relationship between research and patents.</p>
<h2>Why have we seen Australia drop in the rankings?</h2>
<p>One thing is there has been a change in the methodology this year, which has likely had some downside for how Australian universities have fared. </p>
<p>A second factor is the international landscape is becoming more competitive – two Chinese universities and the National University of Singapore are in the top 20. There’s <a href="https://egc.yale.edu/research/zilibotti-et-al-2022">significant higher education investment</a> in some countries, such as China, especially for their elite research universities.</p>
<p>This means on some measures, Australian universities are facing more competition. </p>
<p>The third thing is, while it’s hard to pinpoint exactly how Australia’s response to the pandemic affected the rankings, without a doubt, border closures during COVID had some impact on our international reputation.</p>
<p>The Times rankings take into account teaching and research reputation, both of which may have been affected by the pandemic when we saw classes go online.</p>
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<h2>Is this a problem?</h2>
<p>While nobody likes to go down in the rankings, we have to be careful not to read too much into this news. </p>
<p>Rankings can be useful for indicating there are areas we need to address. For example, we know Australia’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/nobel-laureate-brian-schmidts-big-ideas-for-how-australia-funds-and-uses-research-204015">research funding lags behind</a> other similar countries. </p>
<p>But these rankings are also based on somewhat narrow measures, such as research citations and ratios of students vs staff and undergraduate vs postgraduate students. These don’t necessarily tell us everything we need to know about teaching and research quality. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/international-student-numbers-hit-record-highs-in-canada-uk-and-us-as-falls-continue-in-australia-and-nz-173493">International student numbers hit record highs in Canada, UK and US as falls continue in Australia and NZ</a>
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<h2>Besides media outlets, who will be looking at these rankings?</h2>
<p>Many international students do pay attention to these rankings, it’s one way they judge the overall quality of education.</p>
<p>So this is another indication that competition for international students is fierce. Given international student fees <a href="https://theconversation.com/nobel-laureate-brian-schmidts-big-ideas-for-how-australia-funds-and-uses-research-204015">have played a key role</a> in funding much research in Australian universities, this is important.</p>
<p>Any change in the rankings should give us pause to think about what we might change in Australia. But we are also in the middle of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-universities-accord-could-see-the-most-significant-changes-to-australian-unis-in-a-generation-194738">higher education reform process</a> in Australia with the Universities Accord. The final report is due in December. </p>
<p>This is looking at teaching quality, research quality, research funding and international students. So, we are having a national discussion about these issues right now. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1704748148516933883"}"></div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214555/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
The Conversation talks to University of Melbourne researcher Gwilym Croucher about what the Times Higher Education rankings mean.Judith Ireland, Education Editor, The Conversation, Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1703782021-11-10T02:12:54Z2021-11-10T02:12:54ZWhy Australian uni students have a right to know class sizes before they sign up<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430952/original/file-20211109-23-yssrle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=561%2C0%2C2561%2C1697&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Proliferating metrics and rankings in recent decades have, for better or worse, reshaped the priorities of universities around the world. Despite this “<a href="https://responsiblemetrics.org/the-metric-tide/">metric tide</a>”, Australian universities provide little reliable, publicly available data on their class sizes. To this day, there is no mechanism for reporting how many students are allocated to the various types of classes at universities in Australia.</p>
<p>The result is a clear lack of systematic evidence on how universities organise their teaching in terms of class sizes. We also don’t know for sure how this may have changed over the years. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-a-university-as-the-digital-competition-grows-162766">What to look for when choosing a university as the digital competition grows</a>
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<h2>3 reasons we need to know about class sizes</h2>
<p>From a policy perspective, having reliable, publicly available data on Australian universities’ class sizes matters for a number of reasons. </p>
<p>First, class size metrics would provide prospective students with more meaningful information about a key aspect of their future learning experience. </p>
<p>University rankings such as the <a href="https://www.shanghairanking.com/">Academic Ranking of World Universities</a> are mostly geared towards research performance. They provide little guidance on how universities value and approach their teaching.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/higher-education-statistics/resources/2019-staff-appendix-2-student-staff-ratios">Student-staff ratios</a> are part of <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/top-universities-best-student-staff-ratio-2021">some rankings at least</a>, but this information is similarly limited. These ratios do not provide accurate information on the actual sizes of the various classes students attend. They also generally <a href="https://www.gooduniversitiesguide.com.au/university-ratings-rankings/2022/undergraduate/student:teacher-ratio">do not distinguish between different fields of study</a>. </p>
<p>All this means student-staff ratios are a limited source of information. </p>
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<p>Second, class sizes could have impacts on students’ learning outcomes and levels of satisfaction. </p>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775707000271">studies</a> suggest student outcomes get worse as classes at universities get larger. Other <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0013189X20933836">studies paint a more complex picture</a>. These suggest the the effect of increasing class size on students’ achievement differs substantially between academic disciplines. It also depends on the student demographics. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/think-our-unis-are-all-much-the-same-look-more-closely-and-you-will-find-diversity-164319">Think our unis are all much the same? Look more closely and you will find diversity</a>
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<p>The picture of the relationship between class sizes and student satisfaction remains <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775711000641">similarly inconclusive</a>. </p>
<p>It is ultimately undeniable, however, that smaller classes provide students with better access to and more interaction with their lecturer or tutor. This is particularly important for tutorial classes, which are meant to <a href="https://www.student.unsw.edu.au/tutorials">enable high levels of interaction</a>. It is reasonable to assume smaller tutorial classes make it easier to provide students with more detailed and targeted feedback. </p>
<p>Third, publishing reliable information on class sizes would eventually lead to better understanding of trends and their potential impacts on students’ learning experiences. </p>
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<p>Ample anecdotal evidence suggests Australian universities’ class sizes have increased dramatically over recent decades. For example, tutorial class sizes of more than 35 students are not uncommon these days. Only a decade ago an upper limit of 20 students appears to have been the norm. </p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, these numbers are a long way from what tutorial classes looked like before mass higher education. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1475-5890.2017.12149">A 2017 study</a> has shown UK universities in the 1960s, for example, had tutorial classes of only about four students on average. The picture at Australian universities would probably not have been too different given the similarities of these two higher education systems. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-mass-university-is-good-for-equity-but-must-it-also-be-bad-for-learning-40168">The mass university is good for equity, but must it also be bad for learning?</a>
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<h2>How could class sizes be reported?</h2>
<p>To make university class-size data usable for prospective students and other stakeholders, consistent reporting standards would need to be agreed. Any published class-size metrics should clearly distinguish different modes of delivery, such as online or face-to-face, and different levels of education, such as undergraduate or postgraduate. </p>
<p>Metrics should also reflect the variety of sessions students typically attend. These include lectures, seminars, tutorials or lab classes. Information on class sizes is much more meaningful for group-based and highly interactive teaching activities such as tutorials than for less interactive activities such as lectures. </p>
<p>Logistically, collating class-size metrics should not be too onerous for universities. The information already exists in their learning management or business intelligence systems. The public reporting of data on class sizes could use existing mechanisms such as the annual Quality Indicators for Leaning and Teaching (<a href="https://www.qilt.edu.au/">QILT</a>).</p>
<p>Overall, from a higher education policy perspective, publishing relevant class-size metrics would greatly enhance the transparency of Australian universities’ teaching offerings. It would provide students with meaningful information about what to expect at the university of their choice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170378/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Woelert does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>You’d think class sizes would be an important consideration for students when choosing a university, but universities don’t make that information public. They should.Peter Woelert, Senior Lecturer, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1696912021-10-15T11:35:12Z2021-10-15T11:35:12ZScandal involving World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ index exposes problems in using sportslike rankings to guide development goals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426498/original/file-20211014-15-8gsd5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=89%2C52%2C4902%2C2702&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The World Bank's ease of doing business index incentives countries to do whatever they can to improve their ranking. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/winners-podium-royalty-free-image/1139509402">Jongho Shin/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The World Bank, a <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/unit">behemoth of an organization</a> that provides tens of billions of dollars in aid to mostly developing countries, is in the middle of one of its biggest scandals <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/history">since being founded in 1944</a>.</p>
<p>The crux of the crisis relates to its <a href="https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/doingbusiness">Doing Business Index</a>, which ranks the ease of opening and operating companies in 190 countries. In September 2021, an <a href="https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/84a922cc9273b7b120d49ad3b9e9d3f9-0090012021/original/DB-Investigation-Findings-and-Report-to-the-Board-of-Executive-Directors-September-15-2021.pdf">investigation alleged</a> that senior leadership at the bank manipulated the index’s data in response to pressure from China and Saudi Arabia. </p>
<p>The scandal has already caused the bank to <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/statement/2021/09/16/world-bank-group-to-discontinue-doing-business-report">suspend publication of the index</a> and prompted calls for <a href="https://hill.house.gov/uploadedfiles/20210922treasuryltr.pdf">further investigations</a>. Some have also <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/09/25/why-the-head-of-the-imf-should-resign">demanded the resignations</a> of officials identified in the report, such as Kristalina Georgieva, who was formerly CEO at the World Bank and now heads the International Monetary Fund.</p>
<p>On Oct. 11, 2021, the IMF – which along with the World Bank is currently holding its annual meeting in Washington – <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/11/business/kristalina-georgieva-imf.html">said it would leave Georgieva in her job</a>. </p>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26425479?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">comparative legal scholar</a> who studies the <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=680281">rule of law</a> in multilateral institutions like the World Bank. As I show in my forthcoming book on the topic, I believe the real problem here is less about whether or not officials meddled, and more about the <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199658244.001.0001">problematic role the Doing Business Index and similar indicators</a> play in aid to developing countries. </p>
<h2>‘Everyone wants to win’</h2>
<p>The World Bank’s <a href="https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/about-us">Doing Business Index ranks</a> countries around the world across 11 different economic indicators, such as registering property and paying taxes, and <a href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=3219641">has become an authoritative source</a> for <a href="https://digitalcommons.bryant.edu/honors_finance/13/">international business and funding decisions</a> since its inception in 2002. It’s akin to <a href="https://www.usnews.com/rankings">U.S. News and World Report’s rankings</a> of colleges, countries and other categories.</p>
<p>A change in a country’s rankings can have a huge impact on how much money it receives from foreign investors. The World Bank has found that a 1 percentage point improvement in a country’s overall Doing Business score <a href="https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/reports/thematic-reports/does-doing-business-matter-for-foreign-direct-investment">correlates with US$250 million to $500 million</a> in additional foreign direct investment. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3318360">main idea behind the ranking system</a> was that it would be very simple for politicians, journalists and others to use, and therefore publicity surrounding it would prompt reforms. </p>
<p>“The main advantage of showing a single rank,” according to a 2005 World Bank staff report, is “as in sports, once you start keeping score everyone wants to win.” </p>
<p>And in effect, even though the World Bank technically has no mandate to guide countries’ regulatory regimes, in practice its index has had significant influence on how governments behave. For example, countries in <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/ruling-the-law/1A07B10358D8011B8338AB3DCDACA531">Latin America</a> and <a href="https://works.bepress.com/james_gathii1/67/">Africa</a> have restructured their entire corporate governance regimes to fit Doing Business’ <a href="https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2731&context=faculty_scholarship">one-size-fits-all reforms</a>. </p>
<p>But this wide influence has a negative side, as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/26/cost-doing-business-world-bank">it serves as an incentive</a> for governments to try to “game the system – or corrupt it,” as The Washington Post editorial board put it recently. </p>
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<img alt="Kristalina Georgieva sits at a table adorned with a floral bouquet during a speech" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426499/original/file-20211014-17-1s6g2l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426499/original/file-20211014-17-1s6g2l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426499/original/file-20211014-17-1s6g2l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426499/original/file-20211014-17-1s6g2l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426499/original/file-20211014-17-1s6g2l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426499/original/file-20211014-17-1s6g2l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426499/original/file-20211014-17-1s6g2l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva was CEO of the World Bank when Doing Business rankings were allegedly being manipulated.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/GlobalFinance/d0b8ce0b687b47deb9c0d304e32e6e97/photo?Query=Georgieva&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=290&currentItemNo=0">AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein</a></span>
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<h2>Problems with Doing Business</h2>
<p>The most recent Doing Business scandal began around June 2020, when <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/statement/2020/08/27/doing-business---data-irregularities-statement">employees began spotting data irregularities</a> in two recent reports. </p>
<p>In January 2021, the law firm WilmerHale was asked to investigate. On Sept. 15, <a href="https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/84a922cc9273b7b120d49ad3b9e9d3f9-0090012021/original/DB-Investigation-Findings-and-Report-to-the-Board-of-Executive-Directors-September-15-2021.pdf">Wilmerhale said it found that senior World Bank leadership</a> pressured employees to improve China’s Doing Business ranking in the 2018 report as it sought Beijing’s support for a major capital injection. The law firm also found problems with changes to rankings of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan in the 2020 report but didn’t blame senior leaders directly. </p>
<p>But a big part of the problem here is that the rankings incentivize this kind of behavior, often because not all countries can enact the market-friendly legal reforms required to rise up. </p>
<p>One way they can do this is by paying the World Bank fees for “reimbursable advisory services,” such as advice on how to better implement the kinds of reforms it favors. Of course, it is not hard to see the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/external-review-finds-deeper-rot-world-bank-doing-business-rankings-2021-09-20">potential for institutional conflict of interest and corruption</a> here. The report noted that both China and Saudi Arabia made extensive use of these contracts while pressuring bank officials to change their rankings.</p>
<p>The bigger concerns about the Doing Business Index is more fundamental. <a href="https://doi.org/10.5131/ajcl.2008.0025">Comparative</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.5131/ajcl.2008.0023">legal</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.5131/ajcl.2008.0024">scholars</a>, including me, have found that the legal reforms favored by the index always appear biased in favor of systems based on common law followed by countries such as the U.S. and U.K. </p>
<p>For instance, France, one of the world’s largest economies operating under a civil legal code, <a href="https://doi.org/10.5131/ajcl.2008.0024">has performed rather poorly</a> in the <a href="https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/rankings">initial rankings</a> because of low scores on the “registering property” and “getting credit” metrics. And, in turn, that <a href="https://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/demystifying-doing-business-in-francophone-africa/25407/">means countries such as Algeria</a>, <a href="https://www.doingbusiness.org/content/dam/doingBusiness/media/Fact-Sheets/DB19/FactSheet_DoingBusiness2019_MENA_Eng.pdf">Lebanon</a> and <a href="https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/acde/publications/publish/papers/wp2006/wp-econ-2006-12.pdf">Indonesia</a> that built legal systems based on <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/40753084.pdf">France</a> or other non-Anglo legal traditions <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40804-018-0116-4">are also unfairly hurt</a> by the rankings.</p>
<p>The rankings have been controversial since their very launch. Joseph Stiglitz, who was chief economist at the World Bank in the late 1990s, said in a recent op-ed that <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/coup-attempt-against-imf-managing-director-georgieva-by-joseph-e-stiglitz-2021-09">he thought it was a “terrible product” from the beginning</a>. </p>
<p>“Countries received good ratings for low corporate taxes and weak labor regulations,” he wrote. “The numbers were always squishy, with small changes in the data having potentially large effects on the rankings. Countries were inevitably upset when seemingly arbitrary decisions caused them to slide in the rankings.”</p>
<p>In other words, the Doing Business Index ends up pushing countries toward a shareholder-focused corporate and business model molded on U.S.-style capitalism. This is at odds with many other models, such as those in <a href="https://igitalcommons.law.yale.edu/%20social%20cgi/viewcontent.cgissocialsssarticle=7501&context=ylj">Japan and Germany</a>, that put more emphasis on workers and social goals like gender equality. <a href="https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788975339">Corporate governance scholars have found</a> these may be better models for some countries than U.S.-style capitalism.</p>
<h2>Does it ‘deserve to die’?</h2>
<p>The recent scandal underscores the degree to which the index doesn’t square with the bank’s wider purpose. </p>
<p>The World Bank’s <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are">stated mission</a> is to “end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity.” It was set up in the wake of the Second World War to achieve this mission through financing agreements with developing countries. </p>
<p>The Doing Business Index fails in this purpose because it compels governments to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1023263X9700400202">commit to “transplanted” legal reforms that may not be right</a> for those countries, and in fact may end up backfiring and delivering bad outcomes for residents. </p>
<p>I’m not sure whether the index “<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-09-19/world-bank-s-ease-of-doing-business-list-deserved-to-die?sref=Hjm5biAW">deserves to die</a>” or should be reformed and shifted to another institution, such as a university, but I do believe its time at the World Bank is likely coming to an end.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169691/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>As Director of the Program on International Organizations, Law and Development, Fernanda Nicola organizes events at American University and the World Bank on law and development that are mostly geared towards students and alumni. She also facilitates student’s internships at the World Bank and other international organizations. </span></em></p>Allegations that World Bank officials manipulated country rankings in its much-used ease of doing business index highlight a deeper problem with these types of rankings.Fernanda G Nicola, Professor of Law, American UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1390222021-05-20T17:46:11Z2021-05-20T17:46:11ZWith campus co-operatives, universities could model new ways of living after COVID-19<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401742/original/file-20210519-17-cb94an.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C165%2C2048%2C1131&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Crises bring renewed interest in co-operatives. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(BlackDaffodil/Flickr)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Even before COVID-19, things weren’t going all that well on post-secondary campuses across Canada. Research before and during the pandemic has revealed that <a href="https://www.universityaffairs.ca/opinion/in-my-opinion/student-food-insecurity-a-problem-before-during-and-after-covid-19/">food</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/student-homelessness-university-of-new-brunswick-1.4911095">housing</a> insecurity are a major problem for many students and staff. </p>
<p>There has been an acceleration towards commercial and branded spaces on public university campuses, which has come at the detriment of the very population these institutions are intended to serve. Whether through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202120">corporatizing library</a>, <a href="https://financialpost.com/real-estate/huge-demand-for-student-housing-makes-it-a-lucrative-opportunity-for-investors">housing</a> or <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/03/31/movement-against-corporatized-campus-dining-services-renewed">food services</a>, the profits accrued by these large commercial interests have been extracted from increasingly <a href="https://cfs-fcee.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Factsheet-2015-05-Student-Debt-EN.pdf">indebted</a> and impoverished students.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/low-funding-for-universities-puts-students-at-risk-for-cycles-of-poverty-especially-in-the-wake-of-covid-19-131363">Low funding for universities puts students at risk for cycles of poverty, especially in the wake of COVID-19</a>
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<p>As we emerge from the pandemic, those institutions with substantive endowments and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48288733">high-paying international students</a> may yet be able to return to business as usual. But relying on international students for revenue is a dangerous strategy as many universities in <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200305085747259">Australia</a> have discovered. For many Canadian institutions, and students, post-pandemic business as usual may simply not be sustainable. </p>
<p>Instead of rushing back into a competitive global race to recruit students <a href="https://utorontopress.com/ca/global-university-rankings-and-the-politics-of-knowledge-4">and achieve high university rankings</a>, there is another way <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-021-09891-0">that could mean a more affordable education for students and that more money remains invested in the education system: co-operatives</a>.</p>
<h2>Democratic ways of living</h2>
<p>Co-operatives are businesses owned by the members. Principles of co-ops include reinvesting profits in the co-op, supporting other co-ops, education and training for members, equity and community. </p>
<p>Co-ops provide a place to learn about more democratic and equitable ways of living, working and learning together — and also offer ways to re-imagine alternative business models. My hope is that universities would offer support for students, staff and faculty to develop co-op housing, co-op grocery stores, cafes and more on campuses. </p>
<p>Back in 1936, during the Great Depression, students at the University of Toronto created a housing co-operative that still <a href="https://campus.coop/">exists today</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">University of Toronto campus co-op video.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Extensive research points to co-ops being better able to withstand economic downturns; they can be more efficient and sustainable than <a href="http://ftp.iza.org/pp68.pdf">other economic organization forms</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ica.coop/en/cooperatives/facts-and-figures">International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) reports</a> that 1.2 billion people on the planet are part of a co-operative, and 10 per cent of the world’s workforce are employed through co-operatives.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/documents/2014/coopsegm/grace.pdf">study commissioned by the United Nations</a> concluded that “combined the global co-operative economy is two times larger than France’s economy and places right behind Germany’s economy as the fifth largest economic unit if it were a united country.” Co-ops do fail, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-mec-debacle-is-a-predictable-and-avoidable-governance-failure-146513">as we saw with Mountain Equipment Coop</a>, but they do fare better <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php%20page=view&type=20000&nr=7123&menu=2993">economically and in creating equitable conditions than other forms of business</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Video on Mondragon co-operatives from Workplace Democracy.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Co-op university</h2>
<p>Mondragon University is a co-operative university in Spain that has 4,000 students. Within the university, each faculty “<a href="https://www.mondragon.edu/en/international-mobility/mondragon-university-cooperative-university">with a legal co-operative structure is built upon a shared project</a> with common co-operative principles such as … co-operation, democracy and solidarity.” The university is part of Mondragon Corporation which includes <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/29/business/cooperatives-basque-spain-economy.html">96 co-operative businesses</a> that employ over 70,000 people. </p>
<p>While other companies in Spain were laying off workers, the Mondragon co-ops managed to keep their workers on the payroll. </p>
<p>A principle of co-ops is to support other co-ops — a co-op among co-ops model applies so they can take advantage of large scale
purchasing, for example, but also govern themselves in ways that maintain autonomy. </p>
<p>Crises bring renewed interest in co-operatives. In the United Kingdom, higher education co-operatives and partners have made progress towards creating a <a href="https://www.co-op.ac.uk/co-operative-university">co-operative university</a>.</p>
<p>Co-operative <a href="https://www.cofed.coop/">food stores</a> and cafes save money through bulk buying while giving students more say in <a href="https://www.centraide-mtl.org/en/blog/food-co-ops-set-up-on-campus/">governance and access</a> to quality food. </p>
<p>Co-op <a href="https://bookstore.coop/">bookstores</a> aim to provide people with <a href="https://www.co-opbookstore.ca/">reasonable prices</a> and opportunities to be part of the governance of the co-op.</p>
<p>In Toronto, the Neill-Wycik Co-operative College opened for students in 1970 <a href="https://library.ryerson.ca/asc/2018/09/ryerson-7025-student-housing">three years after its 1967 incorporation</a>. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NeillWycik/about/">Today it offers affordable housing</a> to 750 post-secondary students from several institutions and <a href="https://www.neillwycikhotel.com/about-us/">has operated as a hotel in summers</a>. The co-op also provides educational opportunities for participating in democratic governance.</p>
<p>For post-secondary institutions emerging from the isolation of the pandemic with the knowledge that “business as usual” isn’t going to happen, promoting and encouraging co-operative ventures is one way to contribute to a more resilient society in the face of multiple global crises. </p>
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<img alt="'Mutual St.' streetsign against a tall apartment" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400868/original/file-20210516-19-uus8dm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C40%2C826%2C394&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400868/original/file-20210516-19-uus8dm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400868/original/file-20210516-19-uus8dm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400868/original/file-20210516-19-uus8dm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400868/original/file-20210516-19-uus8dm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400868/original/file-20210516-19-uus8dm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400868/original/file-20210516-19-uus8dm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Neill Wycik Co-operative College offers affordable housing to post-secondary students in Toronto. Here, the tower on Gerrard St. at Mutual St.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Hobvias Sudoneighm/Flickr)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<h2>Not a lost utopia</h2>
<p>But thinking co-operatively requires looking at ourselves as interdependent, both individually and institutionally.</p>
<p>Post-secondary institutions have a responsibility to be at the forefront of trying out new ways of living, working and being together that does not privilege profit over education, equity and sustainability. There is renewed interest. A group I belong to has <a href="https://covidresilience.pwias.ubc.ca/">brought together academics, students and co-operators from different sectors to work towards more equitable campuses</a>.</p>
<p>Co-operatives aren’t a lost utopia, but they do provide a model for moving towards <a href="https://www.academicbooks.dk/en/content/reclaiming-university-public-good">a more inclusive post-secondary sector</a>, which research demonstrates is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-021-09891-0">key to strong educational, health and civic engagement and innovation outcomes</a>.</p>
<p>The challenge is to connect this research to how governments and university leaders translate their commitment to an equitable education system into how they allocate limited resources now and into the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139022/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Stack receives funding from the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, UBC</span></em></p>The ‘we’re No. 1’ mentality at universities has shaped how everything from campus food, bookstores and research are run, and these models can change.Michelle Stack, Associate Professor, Department of Educational Studies, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1562822021-03-17T18:58:22Z2021-03-17T18:58:22ZAustralian universities may be at a turning point in the rankings chase. So what next?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389756/original/file-20210316-13-uwv2pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=311%2C0%2C2697%2C1800&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/EduMelb/status/1371320434524753920/photo/1">University of Melbourne/Twitter</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australian universities, for better or worse, have embraced international rankings, especially those published each year such as the <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/">Times Higher Education World University Rankings</a>, <a href="http://www.shanghairanking.com/">Academic Ranking of World Universities 2020</a> (the Shanghai Ranking) and the <a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2021">QS World University Rankings</a> released this month. But there are now signs the influence of rankings on Australian higher education is on the wane.</p>
<p>Critics have argued rankings have been a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03312-2">distraction</a> for universities and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/global-rankings-are-distorting-universities-decisions-says-anu-chief-20201111-p56do9.html">distort the decisions they make</a>. It is not hard to understand where this comes from. There is certainly evidence that Australian universities have invested and changed what they do in response to rankings. Getting a better rank has been reflected in some universities’ <a href="https://twitter.com/DrPeterBentley/status/1215207479732129795">strategic plans</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-global-ranking-system-shows-australian-universities-are-ahead-of-the-pack-152313">New global ranking system shows Australian universities are ahead of the pack</a>
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<p>Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge recently <a href="https://www.alantudge.com.au/latest-news/lifting-the-impact-of-universities-to-strengthen-australias-future/">indicated</a> he believes universities should shift their focus from chasing rankings. That’s a change from only a few years ago when the then federal treasurer, Joe Hockey, <a href="https://archive.budget.gov.au/2014-15/speech/Budget_speech.pdf">favoured this as a goal</a> while delivering the budget.</p>
<p>Recently retired ACU vice-chancellor Greg Craven also <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/saturdayextra/greg-craven-and-australian-universities/13144948">suggested</a> last month universities should stop pursuing ranking positions.</p>
<h2>What drove the pursuit of rankings?</h2>
<p>At times the pursuit of rankings success is portrayed as vanity — everybody wants to be recognised as achieving — but this is a superficial explanation. Rather, the enthusiastic rankings chase comes about because a high position in the league tables is seen to attract international students.</p>
<p>Australia has been an attractive destination for a significant proportion of all students who leave their home countries each year to study higher education overseas.</p>
<p>At the recent peak — probably somewhere between 2015 and 2019 — Australia had nearly <a href="http://uis.unesco.org/en/uis-student-flow">7% of the world’s overseas students</a>. By some <a href="https://www.researchcghe.org/publications/research-findings/the-uk-in-the-global-student-market-second-place-for-how-much-longer/">estimates</a> Australia was in line to be second after the US. Not bad for a nation of 25 million people. </p>
<p>Success in the international market created a “virtuous circle”. High rankings brought in students, who were willing to pay fees, which in turn funded university operations and <a href="https://theconversation.com/7-6-billion-and-11-of-researchers-our-estimate-of-how-much-australian-university-research-stands-to-lose-by-2024-146672">especially research</a>, which brought higher rankings. So the cycle went.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/7-6-billion-and-11-of-researchers-our-estimate-of-how-much-australian-university-research-stands-to-lose-by-2024-146672">$7.6 billion and 11% of researchers: our estimate of how much Australian university research stands to lose by 2024</a>
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<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1325946552817385472"}"></div></p>
<h2>When the circle is broken</h2>
<p>This cycle has fallen victim to the global pandemic. Closed borders mean international students have little prospect in the near future of setting foot in Australia. They have been <a href="https://campusmorningmail.com.au/news/dirk-mulder-on-pandemic-pricing-for-off-shore-enrolments/">asked to accept online courses</a> as a temporary substitute, but it is unclear if demand can remain strong with borders shut.</p>
<p>If international students go elsewhere, the attractiveness of pursuing a high ranking diminishes.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/2021-is-the-year-australias-international-student-crisis-really-bites-153180">2021 is the year Australia's international student crisis really bites</a>
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<p>Tudge has a point when he <a href="https://www.alantudge.com.au/latest-news/lifting-the-impact-of-universities-to-strengthen-australias-future/">says</a>:</p>
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<p><em>“[T]he focus on international rankings has led to a relentless drive for international students to fund the larger research volumes that are required to drive up the rankings.”</em></p>
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<p>But this is only part of the story. Even if universities dismiss rankings, it will not change the fact that the “virtuous circle” has changed how Australia funds its university system.</p>
<p>Rankings have been a means not an end. They helped attract international students whose fees <a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2020/05/21/how-reliant-is-australian-university-research-on-international-student-profits/">cross-subsidised</a> research but also all the other activities, including — yes — some of the full cost of educating domestic students. Australian universities have a structural funding problem.</p>
<p>Which is perhaps one reason why Tudge <a href="https://www.alantudge.com.au/latest-news/lifting-the-impact-of-universities-to-strengthen-australias-future/">argues</a>:</p>
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<p><em>“COVID presents us with an opportunity to reassess the impact our universities can have, and to refocus on the main purpose of public universities: to educate Australians and produce knowledge that contributes to our country and humanity.”</em></p>
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<p>Identifying the problem is one thing, finding workable solutions is another. It is a worthy aspiration that the minister wants “academics to become entrepreneurs, taking their ideas from the lab to the market”, especially when they are “properly rewarded for their breakthroughs and their engagement with business”.</p>
<p>What is not clear is if this can be more than an aspiration and if it can help address the structural change in the revenue base for Australia’s universities; one that has allowed them to do a lot of things, including supporting academics to be entrepreneurs.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-universities-face-losing-1-in-10-staff-covid-driven-cuts-create-4-key-risks-147007">As universities face losing 1 in 10 staff, COVID-driven cuts create 4 key risks</a>
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<h2>An ‘unranked’ future</h2>
<p>The question now is what is Australia to do next if the virtuous circle is not remade?</p>
<p>Australia needs to be careful in its answer to this challenge. Universities will probably need to be more modest affairs. </p>
<p>We need a public conversation about how they downsize. Universities have become too reliant on casual labour, which now accounts for about a <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-hit-casual-academics-hard-here-are-5-ways-to-produce-a-better-deal-for-unis-and-staff-155357">quarter of the academic workforce</a> (in full-time equivalent terms). This imbalance is having real consequences for the future academic workforce with implications for the quality of education.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-hit-casual-academics-hard-here-are-5-ways-to-produce-a-better-deal-for-unis-and-staff-155357">COVID hit casual academics hard. Here are 5 ways to produce a better deal for unis and staff</a>
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<p>Universities are going to be more reliant on public funds than in recent decades. This means greater public trust in universities needs to be built quickly. </p>
<p>If universities continue to be a low priority for the public at the ballot box, they might be further victim of political expediency. Governments might be tempted to focus on other pressing issues and hope the international students return and the issue resolves itself.</p>
<p>Australian universities may have now passed “peak ranking”. That forces us to contend with the reason rankings were so popular in the first place.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156282/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gwilym Croucher does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The focus on rankings has been more a symptom than a cause of the challenge Australian universities face, namely a structural change in their revenue base.Gwilym Croucher, Senior Lecturer, Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1523132021-01-06T19:00:20Z2021-01-06T19:00:20ZNew global ranking system shows Australian universities are ahead of the pack<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377124/original/file-20210105-13-jkr9tv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C107%2C5982%2C3880&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/melbourne-australia-17-jul-2019-view-1589836228">EQRoy/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Whether it’s <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/basics/ppp.htm">purchasing power parity</a> or the <a href="https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1131&context=jsc">Happiness Index</a>, global comparisons require benchmarking. Sport does this well with World Cups and the Olympics, or better still the single ranking familiar to tennis and golf aficionados. </p>
<p>The problem with universities is there are around a dozen rankings. Each is a variable mix of research, reputation and teaching metrics, leading to quite different and confusing results.</p>
<p>University rankings certainly have their critics, who point to the potential to <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/global-rankings-are-distorting-universities-decisions-says-anu-chief-20201111-p56do9.html">mislead students and distort research priorities</a>. Our newly developed Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities (<a href="https://research.unsw.edu.au/artu">ARTU</a>) overcomes the flaws of singling out performance in any one ranking. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/beyond-the-black-hole-of-global-university-rankings-rediscovering-the-true-value-of-knowledge-and-ideas-140236">Beyond the black hole of global university rankings: rediscovering the true value of knowledge and ideas</a>
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<p>This aggregated ranking helps to broaden the range of assessment — from research citations (frequency referred to in the academic literature) and impact, through to reputation, and qualitative as well as quantitative measures. It also helps address the inherent imperfections of any one of the individual ranking systems, when seen on their own.</p>
<p>The ARTU orders universities by cumulative performance over the mainstream scoring systems. Condensing the three most influential — the Quacquarelli Symonds (<a href="https://www.qs.com/rankings/">QS</a>), Times Higher Education (<a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2020/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats">THE</a>) and Academic Ranking of World Universities (<a href="http://www.shanghairanking.com/">ARWU</a>) — gives a single broad overview of a university’s position.</p>
<h2>How does Australia fare?</h2>
<p>Australia now has 13 universities in the global top 200. That’s an increase from just eight two years ago. </p>
<p>Australia ranks fourth in the world in 2020, after the US, UK and Germany. Indeed per head of population, Australia is well ahead of these nations, and second behind the Netherlands for nations of more than 10 million.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377115/original/file-20210105-17-aell35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Bar chart showing Australian universities in the top 200 ARTU rankings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377115/original/file-20210105-17-aell35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377115/original/file-20210105-17-aell35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=697&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377115/original/file-20210105-17-aell35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=697&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377115/original/file-20210105-17-aell35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=697&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377115/original/file-20210105-17-aell35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=876&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377115/original/file-20210105-17-aell35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=876&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377115/original/file-20210105-17-aell35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=876&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://research.unsw.edu.au/artu/artu-results">The Conversation/ARTU/UNSW</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>This is no new entrant fluke, as Australia has seven universities in the top 100. That’s 7% of the best universities for <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/australia-population/">0.3% of the world’s population</a> (or <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2020/October/weo-report?c=512,914,612,614,311,213,911,314,193,122,912,313,419,513,316,913,124,339,638,514,218,963,616,223,516,918,748,618,624,522,622,156,626,628,228,924,233,632,636,634,238,662,960,423,935,128,611,321,243,248,469,253,642,643,939,734,644,819,172,132,646,648,915,134,652,174,328,258,656,654,336,263,268,532,944,176,534,536,429,433,178,436,136,343,158,439,916,664,826,542,967,443,917,544,941,446,666,668,672,946,137,546,674,676,548,556,678,181,867,682,684,273,868,921,948,943,686,688,518,728,836,558,138,196,278,692,694,962,142,449,564,565,283,853,288,293,566,964,182,359,453,968,922,714,862,135,716,456,722,942,718,724,576,936,961,813,726,199,733,184,524,361,362,364,732,366,144,146,463,528,923,738,578,537,742,866,369,744,186,925,869,746,926,466,112,111,298,927,846,299,582,487,474,754,698,&s=NGDPD,&sy=2018&ey=2025&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1">1.6% of global GDP</a>). Two Australian institutions, Monash and UNSW, are among the five that jumped more than 20 places within the top 100 between 2012 and 2020.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/university-rankings-how-do-they-compare-and-what-do-they-mean-for-students-104011">University rankings: how do they compare and what do they mean for students?</a>
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<h2>Asia on the rise</h2>
<p>Although rankings are compiled annually, performance is a lagging indicator <a href="https://recognition.webofscience.com/awards/highly-cited/2020/methodology/">assessed</a> over <a href="https://www.elsevier.com/research-intelligence/resource-library/scopus-scival-university-rankings-ebook">several</a> <a href="http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU-Methodology-2020.html">years</a>. For instance, research citations can be judged between five to 11 years later. </p>
<p>On the one hand, this should help cushion our pandemic-affected universities from precipitous falls over the next few years. On the other, it conspires against rapid rises up the global ladder. </p>
<p>This makes the ascendancy of East Asian universities, and in particular those from China, all the more remarkable. The top two Chinese universities now come in at 18th and 27th internationally, ahead of Australia’s lead, the University of Melbourne at 29th. The next four Chinese universities have risen more than 100 spots since 2012 to crack the top 75. This is especially impressive given that research is largely judged on English-language outputs.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377299/original/file-20210106-23-1b8rycd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Bar chart showing number of top 200 universities per million population by country" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377299/original/file-20210106-23-1b8rycd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377299/original/file-20210106-23-1b8rycd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=727&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377299/original/file-20210106-23-1b8rycd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=727&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377299/original/file-20210106-23-1b8rycd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=727&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377299/original/file-20210106-23-1b8rycd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=914&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377299/original/file-20210106-23-1b8rycd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=914&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377299/original/file-20210106-23-1b8rycd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=914&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://research.unsw.edu.au/artu/capita">Chart: The Conversation. Data: ARTU/UNSW</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Australia has fared well in this battle of the old versus new order. Long-established universities benefit from major endowments, philanthropy and long-run reputation. Australia’s universities in the top 200 have an average age of 78, compared to over two centuries for overseas unis in top 200. </p>
<p>China has this disadvantage too. But China does have the benefit of a booming economy, which drives top-down investment in cutting-edge technologies and academic excellence through STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) research at scale.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-china-a-threat-or-opportunity-for-australian-universities-49145">The rise of China: a threat or opportunity for Australian universities?</a>
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<h2>A measure of the value of international students</h2>
<p>It can be argued that Australian universities thrived on the back of 28 years of growth, a desirable location, political stability and relatively open borders to knowledge-based entrants. But the standout contribution has been from international students. In absolute terms universities in Australia have the <a href="https://monitor.icef.com/2019/11/australian-international-student-enrolments-up-11-through-september-2019/">second-highest number</a> after the US.</p>
<p>Simply put, the margin between international and domestic student income covers the indirect costs of strategic investment in research, teaching and other areas. Australian universities need to <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportrep/024212/toc_pdf/AustralianGovernmentFundingArrangementsfornon-NHMRCResearch.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">raise around an additional dollar</a> in support and infrastructure spending for every dollar won in grant income. And all this while fulfilling the core mission of educating local students, with <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/education/qualifications-and-work/latest-release">43% of 25-to-34-year-olds now having a bachelor degree</a>, up from 34% in 2010. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/7-6-billion-and-11-of-researchers-our-estimate-of-how-much-australian-university-research-stands-to-lose-by-2024-146672">$7.6 billion and 11% of researchers: our estimate of how much Australian university research stands to lose by 2024</a>
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<p>But coronavirus has laid bare the Achilles heel in this business model. Closed borders and geopolitical shifts have delivered a major blow to cross-subsidisation, as well as to the international collaboration so crucial for team-based research addressing the world’s grand challenges.</p>
<p>Vaccines now offer some light at the end of the tunnel, but it will be many years before the world resembles its former self, if ever. Trust in science and an R&D-led economy argue for a major role for universities in the recovery from COVID-19. But the only certainty is uncertainty.</p>
<p>So expect considerable volatility in higher education. How well our universities stack up will depend in part on how international competitors fare, and in particular their relative economies and resourcefulness. Australia looks well positioned here, but will need to weather the threats posed by contraction, domestic constraints and a challenging business model.</p>
<p>Rankings are not perfect. They do not assess all aspects of the mission of Australian universities and are rightly subject to criticism, often from institutions not doing so well. But rankings are the best surrogate measure of global standing that we have and they are here to stay, whether we like them or loathe them. </p>
<p>As the aggregate scoreboard for top universities around the globe, ARTU is well placed to track the shake-up from COVID-19 as it plays out in our universities over the next five to ten years.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152313/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Fisk is a Board member of Research Australia.
Ian Jacobs is a Board member of the Group of 8 universities and Universities Australia</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Jacobs is a Board member of the Group of Eight (Go8) and Universities Australia.</span></em></p>With 13 universities in the top 200 in the new aggregated ranking system known as ARTU, Australia ranks fourth in the world and is part of a rising new order in the global higher education sector.Nicholas M Fisk, Professor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise), UNSW SydneyIan Jacobs, Vice Chancellor, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1402362020-06-18T03:58:45Z2020-06-18T03:58:45ZBeyond the black hole of global university rankings: rediscovering the true value of knowledge and ideas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342364/original/file-20200617-94044-lgpumc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C3789%2C2590&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recent release of global university <a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/">rankings</a> and the way these are <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/121785845/the-university-of-waikato-falls-significantly-in-university-global-rankings">reported</a> raises important questions about the role and reputation of our tertiary institutions.</p>
<p>Are universities measured and ranked according to what we really value? Or are they ranked and valued only by what is measured? And are those measures authentic and trusted indicators of quality? </p>
<p>There was a time when no one feared that a university might slip a quality ranking or two in the eyes of the world, the taxpayer, benefactors or students considering domestic or international study. Nowadays, however, universities see no limit to the black hole of global rankings. Its gravitational pull consumes their attention. </p>
<p>While a modern phenomenon, rankings have historical origins. The birth of the modern research-intensive university <a href="https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=sIKVElf-txYC&dq=Academic+Charisma+and+the+Origins+of+the+Research+University+william+clark&source=gbs_navlinks_s">can be traced</a> to Western Europe in 1665 when the first academic journals appeared. In Germany, more than 3,000 journals were published between 1665 and 1790, marking an institutional move from the teaching university to the research university. </p>
<p>Academics were able to share and legitimise their research by publishing in these journals. Students who were called on to write and defend their essays orally could draw on the journals to support their learning.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/university-students-arent-cogs-in-a-market-they-need-more-than-a-narrow-focus-on-skills-140058">University students aren't cogs in a market. They need more than a narrow focus on 'skills'</a>
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<h2>There is no one ranking standard</h2>
<p>Today’s journals and the number of citations academics can claim in them are key indicators of a university’s rank and quality. However, when a university has to research and teach in a language other than English, the effect on its ranking can be drastic. </p>
<p>Databases used by the larger university ranking systems, such as Scopus and CSI/SSCI, don’t automatically pick up non-English journals. Opportunities for researchers to gain “ranking points” through peer citations are therefore reduced. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342362/original/file-20200617-94094-14seo37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342362/original/file-20200617-94094-14seo37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342362/original/file-20200617-94094-14seo37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342362/original/file-20200617-94094-14seo37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342362/original/file-20200617-94094-14seo37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342362/original/file-20200617-94094-14seo37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342362/original/file-20200617-94094-14seo37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The University of al-Qarawiyyin in Morocco, the oldest operating institution in the world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>In the global rankings of university quality, various factors are weighted slightly differently. The <a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/qs-world-university-rankings">QS World University Rankings</a> pay particular attention to reputation among colleagues in the discipline. The <a href="http://www.shanghairanking.com/">Academic Ranking of World Universities</a> (ARWU) considers citations in journals as a proxy for research quality. And the <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings">Times Higher Education World University Rankings</a> (THE) allocate equally across peer reputation, citation and institutional self-report surveys. </p>
<p>The systems are far from simple and universities increasingly invest in experts to advise on how to improve and maintain ranking scores, especially as more universities crowd the global ranking field.</p>
<p>If we are to accept this imperative to measure and rank universities by academic reputation, publishing record, teaching and research intensity, then we need to ask another question: what other indicators of quality and value might be included? </p>
<p>While online programs have often been considered inferior to “live” learning, for instance, the impact of COVID-19 has forced us to reconsider. There is now broader awareness of the opportunities online teaching opens up – including its positive impact on universities’ carbon footprints.</p>
<p>In fact, the THE rankings tracked progress towards the UN’s <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300">Sustainable Development Goals</a> for the first time in 2019. One example of such sustainable activity is Goldsmiths College at the University of London, which <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/12/goldsmiths-bans-beef-from-university-cafes-to-tackle-climate-crisis">banned</a> the sale of beef on campus. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342363/original/file-20200617-94101-1gcsl6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342363/original/file-20200617-94101-1gcsl6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342363/original/file-20200617-94101-1gcsl6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342363/original/file-20200617-94101-1gcsl6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342363/original/file-20200617-94101-1gcsl6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342363/original/file-20200617-94101-1gcsl6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342363/original/file-20200617-94101-1gcsl6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Oxford University: ‘The Lord is my light’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>How do you measure intangible value?</h2>
<p>Taking an even broader view, might we consider the spiritual dimension of higher education? The university has long been valued for its divine contribution: Oxford University’s motto has been “<em>Dominus illuminatio mea</em>” (the Lord is my light) for at least 200 years. “O my Lord. Advance me in Knowledge” is the motto of the University of Karachi. </p>
<p>This marriage of the sacred and the scientific has been a theme since the founding of the University of al-Qarawiyyin in 859 AD in Morocco. It’s said to be the oldest continually operating higher educational institution in the world. </p>
<p>In the rush to measure quantifiable indicators of output have we obscured these less tangible forms of value? </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-what-australian-universities-can-do-to-recover-from-the-loss-of-international-student-fees-139759">COVID-19: what Australian universities can do to recover from the loss of international student fees</a>
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<p>If COVID-19 taught us anything, it was the value of communication and connection (sometimes called <a href="https://www.learning-theories.com/connectivism-siemens-downes.html">connectivism</a>). In fact, experts from universities came to the fore as rarely before. Rather than handing more influence to PR and social media experts, might this be an opportunity to re-create the university as the place for exchanging ideas, teaching and research?</p>
<p>Maybe we should look back to the House of Wisdom (بيت الحكمة), founded in Baghdad in 786 CE, where scholars met daily to translate, discuss and write in many languages: Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, Greek and Latin. Aristotle’s work was famously translated from Greek. So too the work of the physician Hippocrates. </p>
<p>What hadn’t been accessible was made accessible and shared. The “West” benefited from this knowledge from the East, laying the foundations for the Renaissance.</p>
<p>This was a true academy of the arts and sciences, valued not for its citations, number of Nobel Prize winners or the ratio of doctorates to bachelor degrees, but for the exchange of knowledge and ideas. One wonders how this global multilingual forerunner of a quality modern university might fare under our ranking regime.</p>
<p>By reaching back in history we might recover those other measures of quality and value that formed the foundations upon which modern universities are built. The adage that “if everything is to be as before, then all must change” rings true. How we value and rank the exchange of knowledge and ideas will once again become something worth striving for.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140236/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The gravitational pull of global rankings consumes university energy and attention. But there had to be a better way to measure their value.Stephen Dobson, Professor and Dean of Education, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonEdward Schofield, Reviews Advisor, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1225552019-09-02T12:07:36Z2019-09-02T12:07:36ZScholarly success of African universities: common contributing factors<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290071/original/file-20190829-106494-1s0jusm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It’s not all doom and gloom for African universities – some are getting it right.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the start of the northern hemisphere academic year <a href="https://monitor.icef.com/2016/12/new-study-highlights-shifting-patterns-african-student-mobility/">hundreds of thousands</a> of students across Africa head to the airport. The reason for this “student exodus” is that those who can afford it head abroad for their tertiary education. </p>
<p>Why do they go? A survey done last year <a href="https://monitor.icef.com/2018/09/african-student-perspectives-study-abroad/">found</a> that 71% of African students studying outside Africa thought a degree earned abroad represented a higher-level qualification than a degree at home. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.wittenborg.eu/where-does-modern-african-student-go-when-he-or-she-chooses-study-abroad.htm">exodus</a> can be attributed to numerous reasons. These include inadequate funding of tertiary education resulting in dilapidated campuses and obsolete study programmes that are not adapted to developments in science and technology. Other factors include an absence of research policy and insufficient resources. All these result in a perception of low quality African universities.</p>
<p>That more than 70% of the students interviewed had a jaundiced view of an African degree seems a bit unjust. Nevertheless, the truth is that <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/africa-population/">17%</a> of the world’s population lives on the African continent. Yet Africa has <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-universities-africa">less than 1%</a> of the world’s top 250 universities. </p>
<p>But it’s not all doom and gloom. There are African universities, despite the financial constraints, that are getting it right.</p>
<p>I did an analysis of universities on the continent to establish which were strongest in terms of research output. I used published research to identify the strongest and sourced scholarly outputs statistics from the academic database <a href="https://www.scival.com/">SciVal</a>. </p>
<p>I used a number of measures for the analysis. These included the number of scholarly outputs (academic publications), the growth of authors contributing to these outputs, the number of international co-authors and the proportion of scholarly outputs in the top 10% of academic journals. I looked at the period between 2014 to 2019.</p>
<p>The number of outputs represents the research productivity of academics within an institution. For their part, articles published in the top 10% of academic journals serve to quantify the quality and impact of the scholarly outputs. The level of international co-authors indicates the level of international research collaboration and global prestige of each institution.</p>
<p>What emerged from the analysis is the similarity in the strategic approaches the best and aspiring African universities employ to achieve an increase in both scholarly output and quality. All universities covered in the article deemed international partnerships as essential to research productivity.</p>
<h2>The best performers</h2>
<p>Two of the top universities in Africa for published research – also known as scholarly output – are the University of Cape Town and the University of the Witwatersrand. Both are in South Africa. They are ranked in the <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-universities-africa">top 250</a> globally.</p>
<p>Both universities have between 30%-35% of all their scholarly output published in the top 10% of global academic journals. This is important for universities’ prestige as well as their finances. </p>
<p>Also notable was the high number of international co-authors in their outputs. At the University of Cape Town it was 60%. At the University of the Witwatersrand it was 54%. </p>
<p>An institution with a rapid increase in scholarly outputs is Egypt’s Zewail City of Science and Technology. Established in 2012, just over 43% of its scholarly outputs were published in the top 10% of global academic journals. In addition, 51% of all its outputs were co-authored with international institutions.</p>
<p>There are positive signs in Nigeria too. The University of Ibadan was the top West African university for scholarly outputs. The university has 15% of all its outputs published in the top 10% of academic journals. And 38% of its publications were co-authored with institutions in other countries.</p>
<p>Another institution with an increasing scholarly output rate is Covenant University, Nigeria. It’s also a relatively young institution – it was opened in 2002. Just over 8% of all its outputs were published in the top 10% of academic journals.</p>
<p>The fact that 31% of its publications were co-authored with institutions in other countries demonstrated a collaborative approach to research. </p>
<p>So how have these African universities bucked the trend, and made their voices heard outside Africa?</p>
<h2>Six key factors</h2>
<p>In researching the issue, I identified six lessons that can be learnt from these successful African universities: </p>
<p><strong>Research excellence:</strong> The University of Witwatersrand has driven a 37% increase in its <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/media/wits-university/news-and-events/images/documents/2018/2016-2017%20Research%20Report.pdf">scholarly outputs</a> over the last five years, with an emphasis on quality. The university has also adopted a strategic focus on increasing the number of post-graduate students. It aims to have post-graduates as <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/news/latest-news/general-news/2019/2019-07/huawei-awards-bursaries-to-wits-postgraduate-students.html">45%</a> of its student population by 2022. This, in turn, has helped drive the surge in scholarly output. The university also has a clear focus on priority <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/research/areas-of-excellence/">research areas</a> where it can make a significant impact. An example is clinical research to manage AIDS.</p>
<p><strong>Research support infrastructure:</strong> Research productivity is crucial for academic promotions within the universities. The University of Cape Town in particular has invested heavily in a pro-research infrastructure. This comes with extensive research administrative support and guidance. In Nigeria, the University of Ibadan recently established <a href="https://www.thenhef.org/news-events/partner-university-spotlight-university-of-ibadan/">a new leadership role</a> to focus on research and innovation.</p>
<p><strong>A balance between the teaching and research workloads, possibly by restricting student intake:</strong> The University of Ibadan, for example, has adopted an approach of rigorously maintaining a student-staff ratio that ensures academic workloads allow time for research. The university has maintained an annual undergraduate intake of approximately <a href="https://www.ngschoolz.net/ui-admission-statistics/">4,000</a> students. This has been despite growing pressure to increase the numbers.</p>
<p><strong>Attracting the best professors and researchers:</strong> The University of the Witwatersrand has made a concerted effort to recruit professors with high citations – <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/news/latest-news/general-news/2018/2018-04/wits-celebrates-its-rated-researchers.html">“A”-rated professors</a>. </p>
<p><strong>Setting levels of academic expectation:</strong> Covenant University in Nigeria has adopted a research, citations, innovation and teaching agenda that drives academic activities at all levels. There’s significant <a href="https://covenantuniversity.edu.ng/Research2#.XWaRLugzaM8">support</a> for staff through workshops in grant writing and publication. </p>
<p>Zewail City of Science and Technology was founded by Nobel laurate in Chemistry, Professor Ahmed Zewail. It has four Nobel laurates as members of its <a href="https://zewailcity.edu.eg/main/content.php?lang=en&alias=supreme_advisory_board_(sab_)_">Supreme Advisory Board</a>. It’s therefore no surprise that it has a significant number of its scholarly outputs in the top 10% of global academic journals.</p>
<p><strong>Forging international partnerships:</strong> The University of Ibadan, and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, also emphasise the importance of international references for professorial promotion. The University of Nigeria, Nsukka has taken the decision to actively seek collaborative international partners to mitigate the lack of research infrastructure. </p>
<p><em>As part of his research, the author also conducted interviews with: Dr Marilet Sienaert, Executive Director Research, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Postgraduate affairs, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa; Professor Olanike Adeyemo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Strategic Partnerships, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; Professor Salah Obayya, Zewail City of Science and Technology, Egypt; Professor Emeka Iweala, Director, Covenant University Centre for Research, Innovation and Discovery, Covenant University, Nigeria; Professor James Ogbonna, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122555/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Mba does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With limited resources and inadequate infrastructure, African universities appear to be under tremendous strain. But some are beating the odds and getting it right.David Mba, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Computing, Engineering and Media, De Montfort UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1183882019-08-26T13:40:14Z2019-08-26T13:40:14ZThese college rankings focus on schools that help students get ahead<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289129/original/file-20190822-170910-13k85vw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=403%2C986%2C5122%2C2316&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some college rankings focus on how students fare after graduation.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/education-graduation-people-concept-group-happy-759772861">Syda Productions/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
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<p><em>The Abstract features interesting research and the people behind it.</em></p>
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<p><strong>Robert Kelchen, a scholar of higher education, oversees the college rankings at Washington Monthly. The magazine’s rankings are meant to provide an alternative to the more popular college rankings put out each year by U.S. News & World Report.</strong></p>
<p><em>When was the first time you encountered the U.S. News college rankings?</em></p>
<p><strong>Robert Kelchen:</strong> I was a graduate student in the late 2000s and started to pay closer attention to how higher education worked. I became fascinated with how colleges would send out celebratory press releases whenever they rose in the U.S. News rankings and then either ignore or criticize the rankings in the following year.</p>
<p><em>Why did you decide to study these rankings?</em></p>
<p><strong>Kelchen:</strong> As a graduate student thinking about dissertation topics, I was interested in learning about how college rankings developed. The U.S. News rankings were (and still are) the <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Ever-Growing-World-of/190437">best-known</a> set of rankings out there, but I was frustrated by how colleges could move up in the U.S. News rankings simply by <a href="https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings">spending more money</a>. This led me to write a chapter <a href="https://search.proquest.com/docview/1413311777">of my dissertation</a> about what college rankings would look like if they took both graduation rates and the cost of providing the education into account. The editorial team at Washington Monthly heard about my research in 2012, and invited me to take over the role of putting together the rankings. I have been responsible for the rankings ever since.</p>
<p><em>3. What distinguishes your college rankings from the U.S. News college rankings?</em></p>
<p><strong>Kelchen:</strong> The U.S. News rankings <a href="https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings">place a lot of weight</a> on selectivity, prestige and how much money colleges have. The Washington Monthly rankings give equal weight to a college’s performance on measures of what is known as social mobility, research and national and community service among students.</p>
<p><em>4. How you determine if a college is fostering upward mobility?</em></p>
<p><strong>Kelchen:</strong> Social mobility, or helping students move up the social and economic ladders, is one of the key goals of American higher education. There are enormous gaps in college graduation rates by both <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2017/10/25/a-look-at-pell-grant-recipients-graduation-rates/">family income and race/ethnicity</a>. These gaps are important to close because students who earn a college degree <a href="https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/99078/evaluating_the_return_on_investment_in_higher_education.pdf">tend to do much better in life</a> than those who do not.</p>
<p>We look at a college’s contribution to social mobility in a number of ways. We look at whether an institution does a good job both enrolling and graduating students from lower-income families or who are the first in their family to go to college. We look at whether students are able to repay their loans, and also how affordable a college is for an individual student after all grants and scholarships are provided.</p>
<p><em>5. What other outputs do your rankings measure?</em></p>
<p><strong>Kelchen:</strong> We also consider how well colleges perform on research and service. Our primary research measures are the number of students who go on to earn Ph.D.s and the amount of research spending on campus, with research-focused universities also being ranked based on the share of award-winning faculty and the number of Ph.D.s they award. For service, we look at the share of students involved in the Peace Corps and the ROTC branches, and whether colleges use federal work-study funds to support community service.</p>
<p><em>6. Do you ever think the college rankings you oversee will become more popular than the U.S. News college rankings?</em></p>
<p><strong>Kelchen:</strong> It’s a harder sell to get status-conscious families to look at colleges that aren’t considered elite but actually do a better job of educating the students they have. If U.S. News evolved to a point where the Washington Monthly rankings were unnecessary, I would be a happy camper. But I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Until then, we will keep putting out the rankings every year, with the 2019 rankings being released on the <a href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/">Washington Monthly website</a> on Aug. 26.</p>
<p><strong>The Washington Monthly College Rankings is supported by funding from the Lumina Foundation, which is also a funder of The Conversation.</strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118388/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Kelchen is the data editor for Washington Monthly magazine's annual college rankings.</span></em></p>A higher education scholar explains how he came to oversee a set of college rankings meant to take a different tact than the more popular rankings from US News & World Report.Robert Kelchen, Associate Professor of Higher Education, Seton Hall UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1127172019-03-11T14:21:20Z2019-03-11T14:21:20ZNigeria’s universities are performing poorly. What can be done about it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261869/original/file-20190304-110107-162s7z1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In one year alone 380,000 domestic applicants didn't get a university place in Nigeria.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Why are Nigeria’s universities in such a sorry state? Some would say it had to do with just one word: money. Sadly this is part of the reason. But not entirely. </p>
<p>Nigeria’s universities have been under-funded for <a href="https://repository.library.northeastern.edu/files/neu:cj82pz897/fulltext.pdf">decades</a>. Like a talented but under-achieving football team, fail to achieve goals because the country hasn’t invested enough in their structure, their facilities and their people.</p>
<p>Higher education in Nigeria includes universities (federal, state and private) as well as polytechnics (skills-intensive and experiential learning programmes) and colleges of education. With over 160 universities, 128 polytechnics and 177 colleges of education, it constitutes the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273699592_Higher_Education_in_Nigeria_and_the_Emergence_of_Private_Universities">largest higher education system</a> in Africa. </p>
<p>My colleague Professor Val Ekechukwu, the Dean of Engineering at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and I did a <a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/02/03/are-nigerias-universities-hitting-enough-goals/">review</a> of Nigeria’s top 12 universities to assess their academic output. This review was undertaken as part of a comparative assessment of Nigerian universities to other emerging global economies (Brazil, Turkey and Thailand). The review hasn’t been published in an academic journal but its contents have been made available to readers interested in the development of tertiary education in Nigeria <a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/02/03/are-nigerias-universities-hitting-enough-goals/">via news outlets</a>.</p>
<p>We found that the country’s universities lag well behind equivalent emerging global economies like South Africa, Egypt, Thailand, Turkey and Brazil. They also lag behind traditional world leaders. </p>
<p>We sourced the data for our paper from <a href="https://www.scival.com/">SciVal</a>. This tracks the research performance of over 10,400 research institutions from 230 countries. </p>
<h2>The problems</h2>
<p>Decades of under-funding in universities has had dramatic consequences. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Nigeria’s university system isn’t big enough. The country’s <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html">population</a> is now pushing towards 200 million, over 60% of which is under the age of 25 years. Demand for university places vastly exceeds current capacity. In 2017, 380,000 domestic university applicants didn’t get a <a href="https://thepienews.com/analysis/two-million-applicants-for-750k-places-nigerias-bid-to-tackle-its-capacity-issue/">university place</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>Nigerian universities lack prestige. According to the 2019 Times Higher Education world university rankings, <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-universities-africa">Nigeria has two</a> universities in the world’s top thousand – Covenant University and the University of Ibadan. This compares to nine from South Africa – out of a total of <a href="https://www.usaf.ac.za/public-universities-in-south-africa/">26 in total</a> – and 11 from Egypt.</p></li>
<li><p>Universities under-perform on research. According to our research, Nigeria’s universities produce only 44% of the “scholarly output” of South Africa and 32% of Egypt. This is despite the fact that Nigeria has nearly four times more universities than Egypt and over six times more than South Africa.</p></li>
<li><p>The higher education sector loses local talent and fails to replace it. According to <a href="http://uis.unesco.org/en/uis-student-flow">UNESCO data</a>, over 60,000 of Nigeria’s brightest students – equivalent to 375 students for each of our 160 universities – choose to study abroad. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with this. The trouble in Nigeria’s case is that it fails to attract the equivalent in foreign students. It becomes a “brain drain” rather than the “brain exchange” it could be.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>And yet, the education budget in Nigeria has seen <a href="https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/04/education-free-fall/">little or no change</a> over the last few years, and government funding of education remains low. In 2018, it was just over 7% of the national budget. This level of funding, as a percentage of the total budget, has remained stagnant since 2009 when it was 7.25%. </p>
<p>A widely-used international indicator to measure the level of investment in research is the Gross Domestic Expenditure on Research and Development. It’s measured as a percentage of the total economic activity in a country or Gross Domestic Product.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/gb.xpd.rsdv.gd.zs">world average</a> is a healthy 1.77%. But African countries lag behind. In South Africa it is <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS?locations=ZA">0.76%</a> and in Egypt it’s <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS?locations=EG">0.4%</a>. </p>
<p>Nigeria trails behind even its African equivalents at <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS?locations=NG">0.2%</a>.</p>
<h2>How to fix the problem</h2>
<p>Nigeria is Africa’s biggest economy and most populous country. Why then, when it comes to university education, does it behave more like a backwater than the mainstream it should be? What can be done? </p>
<p>We would argue that improving the outcomes of Nigeria’s universities requires investment, powered by a national strategic vision and matched with good governance.</p>
<p>The Nigerian University Commission has <a href="https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/238940-number-nigerian-universities-may-double-nuc-considers-200-new-private-university-applications.html">indicated</a> that it intends to increase university capacity by supporting the creation of new private universities. But indications show that the commission hasn’t focused on the level of scholarly output. Quantity is of limited use unless accompanied by quality.</p>
<p>Offering joint faculties or schools between foreign and local institutions would be another way of bringing investment into Nigerian universities. The foreign investment model has led to significant improvements in the quality of education in other countries, for example in <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322222847_Education_and_Economic_Growth_A_Case_Study_in_Malaysia">Malaysia</a>. </p>
<p>But turning to the international market for investment would require significant policy and governance changes within the Nigerian University Commission.</p>
<p>To improve university research activity, the proposed establishment of the National Research and Innovation Foundation as detailed in the <a href="http://workspace.unpan.org/sites/internet/Documents/UNPAN048879.pdf">Science, Technology and Innovation Policy of 2011</a>, is now urgently required. An established research and innovation foundation could have responsibility to fund research and development across all subject areas, and monitor its quality.</p>
<p>It’s vital that the strategic vision of the foundation is aligned with the economic objectives of the country. This will ensure the development of strong research in subjects critical to the economy.</p>
<p>Of course, decades of neglect will not be remedied in a year. There are competing demands for government funds, such as in areas from transport infrastructure to health. But there must be a strong political will to improve universities year on year, and make education a long-term priority.</p>
<p>Nigeria has just voted for a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/26/muhammadu-buhari-to-claim-victory-in-nigerias-presidential-election">new government</a>. Let us hope the new government has a vision for Nigeria’s tertiary education – a vision that will give a youthful, vibrant Nigeria the universities it deserves.</p>
<p><em>Professor Val Ekechukwu, the Dean of Engineering at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, contributed to the research.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112717/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Mba does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Nigeria’s higher education system is the biggest on the continent but it lags behind on research output.David Mba, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Computing, Engineering and Media, De Montfort UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1052212018-10-31T14:03:02Z2018-10-31T14:03:02ZSouth African universities shouldn’t be playing the global rankings game<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241613/original/file-20181022-105782-128w9cw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South African universities need to shift their focus away from rankings.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Once again, Times Higher Education’s annual global <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2019/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats">university rankings</a> have drawn a lot of attention from the media and in the higher education sector. In South Africa, this has focused on the four institutions from the country that made the top 500 on the 2019 list.</p>
<p>Of the four, the University of KwaZulu-Natal maintained its 2018 ranking. The other three – the Universities of Cape Town, Witwatersrand and Stellenbosch – improved. The University of Cape Town moved from 171 to 156, keeping its place in the top 200.</p>
<p>But what does this signify? Has the quality of these universities’ offering improved? Is there a correlation between quality and ranking? Far from it. All it indicates is that in the 2019 rankings, they performed better on either one or all of the criteria used in determining rankings. </p>
<p>For instance, if a university received a major research grant for 2019, its research income increased. That’s one of the criteria used and so it climbs in the rankings. But it tells us nothing about the quality of research at that institution.</p>
<p>The ranking system is based on a snapshot of institutional performance in a given year. It’s a zero-sum game: a gain by one institution is necessarily a loss by another.</p>
<p>And as Chris Brink, a former university Vice-Chancellor, <a href="https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/the-soul-of-a-university">shows</a>, the rankings have no scientific validity. He points out that the different ranking systems – Times Higher Education is just one among many – produce different results based on the criteria used and the weighting assigned to each. A small change in the weighting results in significant changes in an institution’s ranking. </p>
<p>South African universities need to stop playing the game. There is no reason to. The government exerts no pressure on universities around rankings. The problem is that South Africa has a fixation on becoming “world class”. This is indicative of a lack of self-confidence in its own abilities and competence; a hangover from the isolation of the apartheid past and a colonial inheritance.</p>
<h2>The wrong priorities</h2>
<p>Rankings have perverse and distorting effects on the role and function of institutions in national higher education systems.</p>
<p>Research is a key criterion for rankings. This discourages institutional diversity. All institutions strive for research-intensive status irrespective of their context, capacity and resources. This has been the main stumbling block to creating the sort of differentiated system that’s needed to address South Africa’s knowledge and skills needs. </p>
<p>Differentiation would be based on a continuum of institutional types: some offering vocational and technical diplomas; others focused on undergraduate formative and professional degrees; and the research-intensive institutions focusing on postgraduate degrees and research. </p>
<p>But a differentiated system remains elusive. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, teaching is undervalued. Meeting research output targets is the key performance indicator. This generates income and boosts rankings. Senior professors, who tend to be more research productive, are often absolved from undergraduate teaching to focus on research. This diminishes the students’ learning experience. They are not exposed to developments at the cutting-edge of their chosen field of study to excite their curiosity and interest. </p>
<p>Finally, the criteria used in all the ranking systems – research outputs and income, staff-student ratios, international staff and students, staff qualifications, Nobel laureates and so on – are biased in favour of institutions in the developed world. And while some developing countries such as China are <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20170905140031381">making inroads</a> into the top 100, this is due to sustained and high levels of economic growth. This has enabled large investments in higher education that’s beyond the reach of developing countries in general.</p>
<p>It’s time for South African universities to remove themselves from this game. But why are they playing in the first place?</p>
<h2>Time to refocus</h2>
<p>The standard institutional response is that the rankings matter to students, parents and employers. It matters because institutions make it matter. They highlight their rankings (and how they compare to other institutions) for competitive reasons, trying to attract the best and brightest.</p>
<p>But quite frankly for the country’s research-intensive universities, this competition is at the margins. </p>
<p>Rankings should not be South African universities’ <em>raison d’etre</em>. They should focus on building a quality higher education system that is responsive to the challenges that face South Africa in the 21st century. </p>
<p>This requires a diverse and differentiated higher education system based on institutional collaboration rather than the market-driven competition that results from participation in global rankings. </p>
<p>Professor Adam Habib, the vice-chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand, has <a href="http://firstthing.dailymaverick.co.za/article?id=129121#.W8mZ9nszbIU">reportedly suggested</a> that South African universities should withdraw from rankings. This is a step in the right direction. Are his colleagues ready to rise to the challenge?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105221/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ahmed Essop does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Global university rankings are based on a snapshot of institutional performance. A gain by one institution is a loss by another.Ahmed Essop, Research Associate in Higher Education Policy and Planning, Ali Mazrui Centre for Higher Education Studies, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1040112018-09-28T10:50:01Z2018-09-28T10:50:01ZUniversity rankings: how do they compare and what do they mean for students?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238350/original/file-20180927-48659-mczgfq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What university rankings can tell us.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pexels</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>University rankings can be highly influential. They can help prospective students to narrow down their choice of institution and, of course, they also give universities something to brag about.</p>
<p>The UK’s elite institutions, Oxford and Cambridge, continue to occupy the top two posts in the latest <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings">Times Higher Education World University Rankings</a> And many other UK universities also appear in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/forget-university-rankings-open-days-are-the-biggest-factor-in-student-choice-87793">annual list</a> of “world class” universities. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-uk-continues-to-top-world-university-rankings-heres-why-that-matters-83671">Rankings</a> are very much an indicator of a sector that has been “marketised”. As such, they should probably come with a <a href="https://theconversation.com/students-beware-university-rankings-should-come-with-health-warnings-48353">consumer warning</a> of their own. And although many rankings now offer some explanation of their <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=F8KZxONuGXQC&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=Longden,+B.+%282011%29.+%27Ranking+indicators+and+weights%27+University+Rankings:+Theoretical+Basis,+Methodology+and+Impacts+on+Global+Higher+Education&source=bl&ots=LTSRoWRrvh&sig=4SvvVRTKNTDJt0xCbc-_mmVoAG4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAmoVChMIt6jIvLCeyAIVS9oaCh0nAweQ#v=onepage&q&f=false">various methods</a>, what is less clear is whether the rankings’ different viewers carefully read and understand what the methodologies do – or what is actually being measured.</p>
<p>Times Higher Education editor <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/world-university-rankings-2019-evolution-and-expansion">Phil Baty claims</a> their world rankings were developed partly in response to a UK government report that lamented the tendency of British universities to compare themselves to each other rather than to global counterparts. </p>
<p>Introducing international benchmarks means that <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-universities-have-already-changed-in-the-21st-century-39676">British universities</a> now need to perform even better as they enter into competition with the rest of the world – both in terms of rankings and attracting students. And in this sense, the UK is competing with both elite US institutions and rising Asian challengers.</p>
<h2>How rankings differ</h2>
<p>But has this increased competitiveness brought about a better experience for students at UK universities? The answer is complex. It involves several related questions: what do students care about – and what should they demand from their universities and their lecturers? In recent years, the question has also been posed as: what kind of experience are students entitled to? Different <a href="https://theconversation.com/university-rankings-good-intentions-image-polishing-and-more-bureaucracy-79936">rankings</a> answer these questions in different ways. </p>
<p>Students probably care about the quality of teaching first and foremost and, if UK policy discourse is a guide, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-ranking-universities-on-graduate-job-prospects-is-a-step-in-the-right-direction-79962">how employable they will be</a> after gaining their degree. Different ranking organisations address these two issues in various ways. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings says it uses indicators that show evidence of teaching quality but does not directly address the issue of employability – which is harder to compare across countries.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/qs-world-university-rankings">The QS World University Rankings</a> – another well known league table – uses a survey of employers to determine which universities have the best reputation for producing skilled graduates. Another approach is that of the <a href="http://www.shanghairanking.com/">Academic Ranking of World Universities</a>, also known as Shanghai Rankings, which does not claim to measure either teaching quality or employability. Instead, it focuses mainly on indicators surrounding research excellence.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-uk-continues-to-top-world-university-rankings-heres-why-that-matters-83671">The UK continues to top world university rankings – here's why that matters</a>
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<p>With these different nuances among rankings, students might be better advised to look at the recently released <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/rankings/europe-teaching/2018">Europe Teaching Rankings</a>. The purpose of the Europe Teaching ranking was to produce a league table that would speak more <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/rankings/europe-teaching/2018#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/undefined">directly to students</a> and, presumably, to their teaching staff who feel neglected by the mainstream ranking tables. But then again, although developed to measure teaching quality, some of the indicators in this ranking have <a href="http://eprints.brighton.ac.uk/17540/">been criticised</a> as measuring the wrong things. </p>
<h2>Choosing a top scorer</h2>
<p>My <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-017-0147-8">own research</a> shows how analysts develop these different rankings to respond to, and develop different audiences. Different rankings operate according to different “businesss models”. Some develop their products for different audiences specifically to create more opportunities to sell their expertise. Some rankings are better at this than others. </p>
<p>The Times Higher Education rankings, for example, appear to be among the more successful organisations. From a single university ranking, they now produce rankings of universities in specific world regions – such as the Asia Rankings, Young University Rankings and are even now developing rankings that address the themes of innovation and social responsibility. </p>
<p>It’s also worth noting that the results for British universities in the Times Higher Education’s Europe Teaching Rankings vary from those of UK-only rankings – such as those produced by UK newspapers such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2018/may/29/university-league-tables-2019">The Guardian</a>. The Guardian’s rankings and the other national ones are targeted at students doing their A-levels (as well as their parents) who are starting to think about university options. So quite often teaching-oriented UK universities will do better in these national rankings. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238347/original/file-20180927-48634-u1kmqf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238347/original/file-20180927-48634-u1kmqf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238347/original/file-20180927-48634-u1kmqf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238347/original/file-20180927-48634-u1kmqf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238347/original/file-20180927-48634-u1kmqf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238347/original/file-20180927-48634-u1kmqf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238347/original/file-20180927-48634-u1kmqf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Findings from US research company Gallup, reveal that only 9% of businesses said university choice was ‘very important’ when it came to selecting future employees.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>These UK national rankings consider the results of the <a href="https://www.thestudentsurvey.com/">National Student Survey</a> which aims to measure student satisfaction and is broadly comparable across the UK. These rankings also show the relative performance of different academic departments. </p>
<p>So, for a British student seeking to study a particular degree in the UK, these rankings might be a better starting point than global rankings. Students from overseas would do well to examine both national as well as global rankings to get a better picture of what is on offer in the UK. The same applies to other countries.</p>
<p>Given the large number of organisations producing university rankings and league tables, the issue of whether rankings are changing universities into ever more fierce competitors with each other is of course a consideration. And while rankings, such as those released this week, can indeed keep universities on their toes, it’s easy to wonder if a more cooperative rather than competitive sector would be better for both for universities and the students they teach.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104011/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Miguel Antonio Lim received funding from the Marie Curie Actions.</span></em></p>What university rankings mean for students.Miguel Antonio Lim, Lecturer in Education and International Development, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1039582018-09-27T16:23:54Z2018-09-27T16:23:54ZDebate: Emmanuel Macron’s European university, an IDEA for moving Europe forward<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238162/original/file-20180926-48653-5nwvzc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C1280%2C712&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Humboldt-Universit%C3%A4t_zu_Berlin_04.JPG">Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In September 2017 Emmanuel Macron revived the idea of the European university during his <a href="http://international.blogs.ouest-france.fr/archive/2017/09/29/macron-sorbonne-verbatim-europe-18583.html">Sorbonne speech</a> on the future of Europe. Twenty of such European universities should emerge until 2024. Composed of four to six higher education institutions in at least three EU member states, European universities should develop joint-degree and executive-education programs, as well as ambitious research and innovation projects. An integrated and coordinated curriculum across several countries taught in different languages should enable and encourage students to move between participating universities instead of staying at one institution.</p>
<p>Several institutions and initiatives can be seen as predecessors of the European university, such as the <a href="https://sciencebusiness.net/news/deals-are-coming-4eu-alliance-signals-start-match-making-among-european-universities">4EU Alliance</a>, the <a href="http://eurotech-universities.eu/">EuroTech Alliance</a>, <a href="http://www.escpeurope.eu/">ESCP Europe</a>, the <a href="https://www.dfh-ufa.org/fr/">Franco-German University</a>, and obviously the <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/node_en">Erasmus+</a> program. The first official call for applications for the European university is planned to take place this fall. There are at least four pitfalls to avoid in order for the European university to best fulfil its intended purpose: to educate future Europeans, dedicated to European values, and able to work across national borders and cultures within and beyond the European Union.</p>
<h2>Identity</h2>
<p>EU higher education needs a European identity. Currently diplomas are only national. A European university graduate could thus obtain a French, German, or Italian diploma (or several of those in the case of double or triple degrees) but s/he will not be able to receive a European one. Symbolically, this is a hard sell – especially for students coming from outside Europe: a Chinese proudly studying at a European university would return with a national diploma from, say, the Netherlands.</p>
<p>Not being able to deliver a European diploma is hindering the development of a European identity and a sense of European-ness among its citizens, an identified aim of the European Commission: <a href="http://www.culturalfoundation.eu/library/education-and-culture-are-the-key-to-the-future">“Education and culture are the key to the future”</a> (Jean-Claude Juncker). To create a European degree, some seemingly simple yet in reality highly complex questions need to be answered: Who will deliver such a diploma? Who decides upon its requirements? Who will accredit that these requirements have been met?</p>
<h2>Diversity</h2>
<p>To gain <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_intelligence">cultural intelligence</a>, one necessarily needs to be exposed to cultural diversity. This is often easier said than done, because the teaching language can cause some serious headache. English might allow for a cultural mix in the lecture hall if the English level of all students and professors were sufficient. To achieve this, some more intensive language training during secondary education would be needed in several EU countries. The question becomes even more complex if one wants to reach trilingualism. Aware of this issue, the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwidtb_T36XdAhVS_qQKHYeeCzEQFjAAegQIABAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdata.consilium.europa.eu%2Fdoc%2Fdocument%2FST-9229-2018-ADD-2%2Fen%2Fpdf&usg=AOvVaw3Ukjj5p9l12eNdHfvYBwrO">Commission demands</a> that any European should finish secondary education with a “good knowledge” of at least two foreign languages.</p>
<p>Next to this cultural element, a second type of diversity needs to be considered at a European university: social diversity. Moving from one country to another and living in different cities within the scope of one’s studies is not cheap and there is a danger that only wealthier students could afford to do so. This obviously would be contradictive to European values and therefore solutions need to be found. Here, questions of scholarships, student jobs and loans will need to be addressed.</p>
<h2>Essence</h2>
<p>It goes without writing that a European university should teach European specificities in most academic areas. At <a href="http://www.escpeurope.eu/">ESCP Europe</a> Business School, for example, where all students move across Europe during their program, a European approach to management is taught defined as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263237314000425">“a cross-cultural, societal management approach based on interdisciplinary principles”</a>. Of course, this is easier in some areas than in others such as mathematics. But also here some common requirements could be found: For example, <a href="https://www.hrk.de/hrk-at-a-glance/executive-board/peter-andre-alt/">Peter-André Alt</a>, president of the German Rectors’ Conference suggests that texts from thinkers such as <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/marx-locke-and-rousseau-key-macrons-european-universities">Locke, Marx and Rousseau</a> should be mandatory readings at any European university.</p>
<p>Additionally, one could imagine that all students at a European university need to attend a course on European institutions and their functioning. In this line of thinking, the European Commission even suggests that specific attention (and budget) should be paid to higher-education institutions that <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=2ahUKEwjr0I3U4aXdAhUosKQKHfFaADEQFjABegQICRAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fec.europa.eu%2Fcommission%2Fsites%2Fbeta-political%2Ffiles%2Fcommunication-strengthening-european-identity-education-culture_en.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1XMJNTzcVJGgYC-ovCLnCB">“deliver education on European issues”</a>. Examples here are the <a href="https://www.eui.eu/">European University Institute</a> in Florence, the <a href="https://www.coleurope.eu/">College of Europe</a> in Bruges, or the <a href="https://www.eipa.eu/">European Institute of Public Administration</a> in Maastricht.</p>
<h2>Attractiveness</h2>
<p>Finally, European universities should be attractive for the brightest students. European politics might make this complicated. Well-known brands such as the <a href="https://www.hu-berlin.de/en?set_language=en">Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin</a> or <a href="http://www.sorbonne-universite.fr/en">Sorbonne Université</a> should participate. <a href="http://www.kurtdeketelaere.be/en/kurt">Kurt Deketelaere</a>, Secretary-General of the <a href="https://www.leru.org/">League of European Research Universities</a>, states that European universities should showcase the “excellence” in many universities across Europe and continues: <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/leru-head-warns-against-mediocrity-eu-university-network">“I hope […] not going to end up with mediocre institutions”</a> forming a cluster as they have the right geographical location and tick the right political boxes.</p>
<p>With respect to participating countries, the plan is to only have the <a href="https://www.erasmusplus.org.uk/participating-countries">Erasmus+ countries</a> be eligible. Thus countries like the post-Brexit United Kingdom and Switzerland might fall short – a pity when thinking of brands like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxbridge">Oxbridge</a> or <a href="https://www.ethz.ch/en.html">ETH Zurich</a>. Also, some countries’ languages might be more attractive and easier accessible than others. Obviously no country within the EU should be hindered to participate. Still, when choosing candidates, pragmatism should rule over pure EU technocracy. For example, smaller countries could participate in clusters with universities from two larger ones, and this, notably in domains they dispose of particular expertise: Estonia, <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/estonia-e-resident">Europe’s digitalisation expert</a>, could thus lead a European university in the area of digital transformation.</p>
<h2>An IDEA worth thinking about</h2>
<p>It is vital that the objective of the European university be clear. Some voices talk about the need to develop excellence clusters to be part of international university rankings, such as <a href="http://www.shanghairanking.com/index.html">Shanghai</a>. Others see a potential to help less-developed regions across Europe or to reduce inequalities between the North/South and West/East of Europe. However, successful initiatives usually have one primary focus. And if the European university is supposed to generate truly European, multilingual and culturally intelligent citizens open to the world, it will be necessary to put this purpose over politics and technocracy and follow the aforementioned <strong>IDEA</strong>: <strong>I</strong>dentity – <strong>D</strong>iversity – <strong>E</strong>ssence – <strong>A</strong>ttractiveness.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103958/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andreas Kaplan ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>To succeed, Europe needs citizens who are multilingual and open to the world. EU-level universities can lead the way with four key concepts: Identity, Diversity, Essence and AttractivenessAndreas Kaplan, Rector, ESCP Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/877932018-09-26T14:44:08Z2018-09-26T14:44:08ZForget university rankings, open days are the biggest factor in student choice<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238099/original/file-20180926-48665-1wfqow2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Open days are the main way students choose their future university.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>According to the <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2019/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats">Times Higher University Rankings</a>, which positions more than 1,200 institutions worldwide, the University of Oxford (which came top), the University of Cambridge (second), Imperial College London (9th) and University College London (14th) are the only <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-universities-uk">UK universities</a> in the top 25. </p>
<p>Other high-scoring institutions in the UK include the London School of Economics and Political Science (ranked five in the UK and 26 overall), the University of Manchester (ranked eight in the UK and 57 overall) and the University of Glasgow (ranked 11 in the UK and 93 overall). </p>
<p>Rankings have always been a popular way for universities seeking to quantify how much “better” they are than others. But over recent years this has moved beyond league tables to universities making <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-universities-forced-axe-misleading-rankings-claims">broader claims</a> – such as being in the “top 1% in the world” or “number one in the UK”. </p>
<p>In 2017 the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) forced <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-41984465">six institutions</a> to change their marketing campaigns and remove claims they couldn’t prove to be true. The ASA is now updating its advertising guidelines for UK universities, to prevent institutions from being able to make further unsubstantiated claims.</p>
<h2>Real-life experience</h2>
<p>When it comes to actually selecting a university to apply for, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0309877X.2015.1070400">research</a> shows that students’ perceptions are heavily influenced by anecdotal evidence from friends or family. Websites and prospectuses – where most of these claims are made – also help to shape impressions and support or refute perceptions. </p>
<p>But, while initial impressions are all very well, they only help students to compile a short list of universities to visit. And as <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/an-exploration-of-the-effect-of-servicescape-on-student-institution-choice-in-uk-universities(de3db61a-3aa8-4d43-9771-68051e36f87e)/export.html">our research shows</a>, when it comes to choosing a university, there is no substitute for personal experience – with many students making their decision after a visit or open day. </p>
<p>So while location, nightlife and transport links, all come into it, one of the most important factors to students is their experience of the open day and the feel they get from the town or city. A <a href="https://universitybusiness.co.uk/Article/how-do-uk-students-choose-their-university/">previous study</a> has also shown that one of the most important factors for students when selecting an institution, is the academic appeal of a university. This is followed by the institution’s overall reputation – as well as its ability to boost future career prospects.</p>
<h2>Fancy new buildings</h2>
<p>At a time when many universities are embarking on ambitious building developments, it might be a concern to realise that students aren’t impressed by fancy buildings and state-of-the-art facilities – <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/an-exploration-of-the-effect-of-servicescape-on-student-institution-choice-in-uk-universities(de3db61a-3aa8-4d43-9771-68051e36f87e)/export.html">they expect them</a>. Reflecting on the escalating cost of tuition fees, students need to be able to see their money is being spent on something they will benefit from. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238164/original/file-20180926-48641-1t6ss65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238164/original/file-20180926-48641-1t6ss65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238164/original/file-20180926-48641-1t6ss65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238164/original/file-20180926-48641-1t6ss65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238164/original/file-20180926-48641-1t6ss65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238164/original/file-20180926-48641-1t6ss65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238164/original/file-20180926-48641-1t6ss65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Snazzy buildings at the University of Antwerp in Belgium.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Beyond the fancy buildings, when it comes to the open day experience our research shows it is the <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/an-exploration-of-the-effect-of-servicescape-on-student-institution-choice-in-uk-universities(de3db61a-3aa8-4d43-9771-68051e36f87e)/export.html">social encounters</a> that provide the greatest opportunity for leaving a positive impression in students’ minds – and enables them to rank one institution as “better” than another. </p>
<h2>What students want</h2>
<p>Most open days offer course talks by a member of staff and our research showed these talks create the biggest impression for prospective students. Students are drawn towards institutions where staff are not just knowledgeable, but enthusiastic and passionate about their course. </p>
<p>Being able to interact with staff is also a key factor in decision making. Students are much more likely to choose institutions where they leave feeling that staff have taken the time to <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/an-exploration-of-the-effect-of-servicescape-on-student-institution-choice-in-uk-universities(de3db61a-3aa8-4d43-9771-68051e36f87e)/export.html">build a rapport</a> and engage with them.</p>
<p>The impact of social encounters is not just limited to interactions with staff either – both students and local residents are important too. Genuine encounters with existing students who speak positively about their institution are key. And students feel reassured to visit a town centre with seemingly happy, friendly local residents. </p>
<h2>A good fit</h2>
<p>As well as reflecting on whether they feel comfortable with the staff, our research revealed that prospective students also consider the other visitors on the day and assess whether or not they feel they “fit in” with the other prospective students.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238100/original/file-20180926-48647-1ugidpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238100/original/file-20180926-48647-1ugidpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238100/original/file-20180926-48647-1ugidpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238100/original/file-20180926-48647-1ugidpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238100/original/file-20180926-48647-1ugidpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238100/original/file-20180926-48647-1ugidpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238100/original/file-20180926-48647-1ugidpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Open days give prospective students an insight into university life.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Ultimately, when the social environment is at its best, a university can both excite and reassure a student and generate an all-important sense of belonging. And staff and existing students are key players in this process.</p>
<p>So while the ASA is busy reviewing the validity of various universities’ claims to be the “top university”, prospective students continue to make their choices based on their actual experience. So a university could well be in the top 1% of universities worldwide – but without genuine, friendly and enthusiastic staff and students to build a sense of belonging, it won’t make it to top place on a UCAS form.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87793/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Winter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When it comes to choosing a university, a positive personal experience is much more influential for students than rankings or league tables.Emma Winter, Principal Lecturer, Marketing, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/659612016-09-26T13:22:33Z2016-09-26T13:22:33ZUnder-funding, not protests, is driving South African universities down global rankings<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139151/original/image-20160926-2470-1ic1zw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ongoing student protests are unlikely to have been a direct cause of universities’ slide down global rankings tables.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Mike Hutchings </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The most widely respected world university rankings have all recently published their latest results. The release of the <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings">Times Higher Education</a> 2016-17 and <a href="http://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/university-news/qs-world-university-rankings-20162017-global-press-release">Quacquarelli Symonds 2016-17</a> rankings have coincided with a resurgence in <a href="http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/varsities-to-stay-shut-amid-uncertainty-over-protests-20160925">protests</a> at many of South Africa’s universities.</p>
<p>Most of South Africa’s universities have dropped down these ranking tables.</p>
<p>Some people <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2016/09/23/Did-student-activist-Qwabe-influence-world-university-rankings">argue</a> that the protests – which relate to fees, access and transformation and have occurred on and off for the past 18 months – are having a direct effect on universities’ global standing on rankings tables.</p>
<p>But it’s unlikely that the protests themselves are directly affecting rankings. Instead, decades of government under-funding in the higher education sector may be at least partly to blame.</p>
<p>The University of Cape Town (UCT), where I am a deputy vice-chancellor, has handed <a href="http://www.uct.ac.za/dailynews/?id=9955">a memorandum</a> to the Department of Higher Education and Training. It states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We believe that government has not acted decisively to ensure sustainable and adequate funding to address the systemic crisis in the higher education sector. Government has placed an undue burden on students, parents and universities to fund higher education.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This may seem unfair: the government has dramatically increased the amount of money it gives to universities. But so have students. And educational inflation has played a part too. In real terms, the amount universities receive in state subsidy as a proportion of their total income has <a href="http://businesstech.co.za/news/general/102010/what-you-need-to-know-about-university-fees-in-south-africa/">declined from 49% in 2000 to 40% in 2012</a>. </p>
<p>Funding has a direct effect on many of the indicators that are used to measure performance in world university rankings. With less funding, staff-student ratios rise. Top staff, who produce the most papers, leave for more lucrative salaries abroad. Universities can’t afford to send their academics to many conferences, so fewer conference papers are produced.</p>
<h2>How rankings are calculated</h2>
<p>UCT has, for some time, been able to compensate for the drop in government funding for research. We’ve done this, for instance, by working hard to increase external income – particularly research grants and donations. This has been remarkably successful.</p>
<p>But not all South African universities are in a position to do this. And a point will be reached where external income, for which there is increasingly tough competition, is not enough. UCT may have reached that point. Some other universities will have reached it long ago.</p>
<p>Universities don’t yet need to despair. First of all, a drop in rankings does not mean a drop in actual performance. On most of the indicators, in most of the rankings, UCT continues to improve as it has done for many years. A number of our sister universities are, likewise, improving across several indicators: producing more papers, bringing in more income, increasing their proportion of postgraduate students – all important indicators of research performance. </p>
<p>But it is perfectly possible for an institution to improve its scores and still see a significant drop in the rankings. This is because scores are ranked and so performance is relative. If other institutions have improved their scores even more than yours, they will climb above your institution in the rankings.</p>
<p>This is important. It’s exactly what is happening to South African universities. Institutions from elsewhere in the world are improving much more significantly. And it is no coincidence that the countries which are seeing a rapid rise in the rankings are mostly those that have chosen to invest heavily in their universities.</p>
<p>The most startling example is China, whose various projects to produce top-ranked universities, such as the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/jnylander/2015/09/14/chinas-investment-in-elite-universities-pays-off-new-ranking/#76afb5f875f2">C9 initiative</a>, are paying off spectacularly. Another well-performing BRICS competitor, India, spends 1.23% of its gross domestic produce (GDP) on tertiary education. This is compared to South Africa’s weak <a href="http://www.unisa.ac.za/contents/projects/docs/National%20Plan%20Higher%20Education.pdf">0.74%</a>.</p>
<p>After the release of its latest rankings Quacquarelli Symonds <a href="http://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/university-news/qs-world-university-rankings-20162017-global-press-release">argued</a> that levels of investment determine which institutions progress and which regress. Top American universities, which have significant endowments to rely on, and Asian universities, which have benefited from significant public funding, are rising. Many Western European universities, on the other hand, have seen cuts to public funding for research and are losing ground.</p>
<h2>Reputation matters</h2>
<p>There is one way in which the student protests themselves, rather than the under-funding that caused them, may directly affect some of the indicators by which universities are measured. </p>
<p>Each ranking uses different indicators to measure a university’s performance. But on the whole they are a combination of hard data, such as citations – the number of times an author has been cited, or referred to – and ratio of staff to students. There are also more qualitative “reputation” indicators. These are achieved by asking academics and employers to list the top institutions in their fields.</p>
<p>It is these “reputation” indicators that <em>could</em> be directly affected by the protests. Although they are intended to be objective, it does not require a great stretch of the imagination to believe that some academics who see South African institutions in constant crisis, with lectures cancelled, exams postponed and buildings burned, are affected at least subconsciously. </p>
<p>South African institutions were particularly hard hit in the reputation indicator in THE’s latest rankings. However, some universities that were affected by the protests bucked the trend: the University of the Witwatersrand rose in the THE rankings. So there is no clear evidence of a causal relationship between the protests and the universities’ performance in the rankings.</p>
<h2>But does it matter?</h2>
<p>In assessing the extent to which #feesmustfall protests might have affected South African universities’ rankings, I have left aside the much larger and more important question of whether it matters. </p>
<p>Universities certainly regard rankings with a measure of caution. Rankings are very imperfect measurements of excellence. They take no account of the contexts in which universities find themselves, particularly those based in developing or emerging economies. They do not measure some of the functions of a university that the sector would regard as critical: for instance, whether the research a university undertakes makes a difference, or whether the graduates it produces are thoughtful and productive citizens.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the drop in rankings has been greeted with <a href="http://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/137695/what-the-rest-of-the-world-thinks-about-south-africas-universities/">consternation</a> in the media. The coincidence with the university protests could lead to a damaging narrative that the country’s universities are inevitably “going to the dogs”. </p>
<p>I can categorically state that UCT is nowhere near that kind of precipitous decline. However, if under-funding from government continues and the issue of fees is not resolved, I am less confident of our and our sister universities’ future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65961/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Danie Visser does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s unlikely that student protests are directly affecting South African universities’ rankings. Instead, decades of government underfunding in higher education may be at least partly to blame.Danie Visser, Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/651142016-09-18T16:43:14Z2016-09-18T16:43:14ZIf Africa grows its universities cleverly, its economies will flourish<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137062/original/image-20160908-25272-1heut6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As degrees become more commonplace, African graduates are struggling more to find jobs.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">George Esiri/Reuters</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The idea of “education for the masses” – rapidly increasing university enrolment rates – has <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/education/es/files/9619/10376170210CommissionI-E.pdf/CommissionI-E.pdf">changed the face</a> of higher education in the past 50 years. The term “massification” has been adopted to describe it.</p>
<p>Universities in the US, Britain, Russia, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21647285-more-and-more-money-being-spent-higher-education-too-little-known-about-whether-it">lead the pack</a> when it comes to opening their doors to more students. </p>
<p>These countries’ institutions also perform well by any measure of research and postgraduate output. They have shown that, over time, there’s no conflict between dramatically increasing access to university education and the quality of this tertiary education. </p>
<p>Africa’s universities are also growing rapidly. In 1999, there were <a href="http://monitor.icef.com/2015/03/african-summit-calls-for-major-expansion-of-higher-education/">around 3.53 million</a> students on the continent. By 2012, that figure had <a href="http://monitor.icef.com/2015/03/african-summit-calls-for-major-expansion-of-higher-education/">trebled to 9.54 million</a>. However, they must learn from more developed nations’ successes and failures to ensure that their massification is not just haphazard.</p>
<p>Massification needs policy, planning and funding. It must be done with a keen eye on a country’s economic needs. Otherwise, increasing graduate numbers will simply translate into increasing graduate unemployment.</p>
<h2>Graduate unemployment around the globe</h2>
<p>There are some 150.6 million tertiary students globally. That’s <a href="http://www.unesco.org/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/ED/ED/pdf/WCHE_2009/1745_trend_final-rep_ES_FP_090617a.pdf">roughly a 53% increase</a> from 2000. Degrees are becoming more commonplace and job markets around the world are seeing a glut of graduates. There simply aren’t enough jobs for all of them. </p>
<p>This is true on all continents and is related to several factors: a mismatch between graduates’ skills and labour market demands; an oversupply of graduates for certain fields, and structural policies. Recent studies <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/04/53-of-recent-college-grads-are-jobless-or-underemployed-how/256237/">have found</a> that between 40% and 50% of US college graduates are overqualified for the work they’re doing.</p>
<p>The situation is similar in Britain, where <a href="https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/publications/long-destinations-2008-09/introduction">underemployment among graduates</a> rose from 37% in 2001 to 47% in June 2013.</p>
<p>Graduate unemployment <a href="http://acetforafrica.org/highlights/unemployment-in-africa-no-jobs-for-50-of-graduates/">plagues Africa</a> too. </p>
<p>But the continent should not use this as an excuse to bring massification to a halt. Given Africa’s growth trajectory, it needs skilled graduates. To meet this need, universities must open their doors to more students. But they must do so armed with knowledge, lessons from elsewhere and strong funding models. </p>
<h2>A regional focus</h2>
<p>Funding models from other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries provide some useful guidelines. Studying these will allow African universities to understand more about how to successfully pursue massification. Political will, government investment and a proper understanding of what sorts of graduates a country needs are all crucial. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uyZwufrro7s?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The US’s experiences with massification hold many lessons for African universities.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The massification of higher education must be linked to regional socioeconomic development strategies. Universities need to respond to their regions’ specific needs. </p>
<p>For instance, Ethiopia is focusing on <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201506250731.html">two major economic initiatives</a>: the development of hydroelectric power and the development of an agricultural sector that provides food security.</p>
<p>The initiatives are in their infancy. But Ethiopia is <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201506250731.html">already starting</a> to integrate infrastructure projects with research and skills development. Its <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201505190473.html">Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam</a> was a site for scientific research and innovation as well as students’ skill development.</p>
<p>A similar model was used for <a href="http://www.smartrailworld.com/nation-building-through-rail-high-speed-rail-and-south-korea">South Korea’s</a> high-speed railway system. The project spawned major innovations and bolstered local engineering skills.</p>
<p>These examples show that large national projects can be run in tandem with universities and other research institutes.</p>
<h2>Alignment is key</h2>
<p>University systems must also align with local industries. One of the most striking is in Rochester, New York led by the Research Foundation for the State University of New York. It is a public-private partnership with a clear mandate to create new jobs and innovative products.</p>
<p>This creates a symbiotic partnership in which both academics and students get practical, relevant exposure. Such partnerships also give universities the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/07/27/fact-sheet-vice-president-biden-announces-new-integrated-photonics">chance to share</a> laboratories and cutting edge research facilities with both industry and government. </p>
<p>This should feed both research and industry needs. Simultaneously, it can drive the creation of new industries. It can also encourage commercialisation and entrepreneurship. A university that specialises in agriculture or has a strong faculty of agriculture should be using its expertise to develop commercial projects. </p>
<p>For instance, Kenya is a major tea producer. Since the 1980s the country has run the <a href="http://www.tearesearch.or.ke/">Tea Research Institute</a>. It taps into an available commodity and produces research which harnesses that commodity’s potential.</p>
<p>When such initiatives are properly organised students can move between classrooms and, for instance, solving concrete agricultural problems. They then gain skills and new insights. And the products that spring from their ideas can generate more funding for their institutions.</p>
<p>This sort of thinking will lead to the development of <a href="http://www.oecd.org/science/inno/2101733.pdf">robust national innovation systems</a>. These systems coherently organise the research and development initiatives of private industry, public research institutions and universities. This makes it easier for research to <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/files/documents/ostp/PCAST/past_research_partnership_report_BOOK.pdf">feed into</a> national development.</p>
<p>If Africa’s universities can get this right, their quality and competitiveness will improve. They’ll be in a position to add value to industry and economic development more broadly – an attractive proposition for the private sector, which will then be more willing to pour funding into universities.</p>
<p>And, as students and professors become part of this collaborative system, the private sector is more likely to develop a seamless capacity for absorbing graduates. If the market is absorbing graduates, the value of a country’s degrees goes up.</p>
<h2>The Asian example</h2>
<p>This is not pie in the sky thinking. It has precedents in Asian countries like South Korea, Singapore, China and Malaysia, among others. There universities have been able to expand enrolments while simultaneously developing partnerships between industry and themselves.</p>
<p>China is considered a latecomer in university massification. In 1988, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01425692.2015.1111751">there were 0.67 million</a> available places at China’s universities and colleges. By 2012, this <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01425692.2015.1111751">had climbed</a> to 6.89 million.</p>
<p>Until now its graduate unemployment rate has remained very high. But the country has in the past few years adopted <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20110610213858656">a policy</a> of aligning its graduates’ skills to the emerging knowledge economy. It has realised a key lesson of massification: universities cannot be divorced from local, provincial and national economic development plans if they want their graduates to be employed.</p>
<p>Africa must apply this lessons to drive rapid and sustainable economic development. </p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>Africa’s universities need to take massification seriously. But they must also be aware of their own – and their countries’ – specific limitations.</p>
<p>A high-quality university education system must be realistic and appropriate to a nation’s stage of economic, technological and industrial development. A high-quality university is not simply a replica of one in the Western world. It must be grounded fully in addressing the local population’s tangible needs before it chases global prestige.</p>
<p>Africa’s universities need to start growing and developing in two dimensions: horizontally, in terms of reaching out to enrol more and more students; and vertically, in terms of total quality management. </p>
<p>If it is strategically managed, massification won’t just benefit individual universities and students. It will improve daily life for all those living on the continent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Emmanuel Ojo receives funding from National Research Foundation (NRF). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sandile Swana does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Global economic realities shouldn’t deter African universities from continuing to push for massification. But they must do so armed with knowledge, lessons from elsewhere and strong funding models.Sandile Swana, Lecturer at Wits Business School, University of the WitwatersrandEmmanuel Ojo, Lecturer, Faculty of Humanities, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/627092016-07-24T20:02:23Z2016-07-24T20:02:23ZRanking African universities: hypocrisy, impunity and complicity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131256/original/image-20160720-31146-1w00d5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ranking organisations call the shots about which universities are ‘best’.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nearly ten years ago I confronted an expert about what she claimed was an “African phenomenon” in higher education. She was reluctant to provide me with the raw data upon which this “phenomenon” was premised, so I vigorously contested her claim.</p>
<p>Later I managed to access that data through a credible international organisation. The conclusion she’d reached about Africa was based on feedback from just one country, Algeria. </p>
<p>I am sharing this story because so much of the talk about ranking higher education institutions in Africa goes on without meaningful, let alone credible, data. Research <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20111123211515245">has found</a> that some African universities can’t answer basic questions about their own operations because they lack data.</p>
<p>This data deficit isn’t limited to higher education; it’s a <a href="https://theconversation.com/studying-africa-by-numbers-can-be-misleading-what-can-be-done-about-it-62638">huge problem</a> across sectors in Africa.</p>
<p>Yet ranking bodies go on making statements about which universities are “best” or “most research intensive”. They seem to be unencumbered by a lack of data. These bodies also disregard universities in Africa’s many <a href="http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/countries_by_languages.htm#French">French-</a> and <a href="http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/countries_by_languages.htm#Portuguese">Portuguese-speaking</a> countries. Instead they focus on institutions that teach in English.</p>
<p>When Times Higher Education ventured into Africa in 2015, just months after the high-profile <a href="http://summit.trustafrica.org/">African Higher Education Summit</a> in Dakar, Senegal, it boasted that it was “moving Africa’s universities forward and building a shared global legacy”. Another ranking organisation, QS, has also started an African ranking system. Its <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20160416154105336">stated mission</a> is to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>build world-class universities for … African communities through global partnership and collaboration.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Certainly, the academic community must support as many meaningful summits, conferences and symposia as possible. These should be welcomed and encouraged. But it’s arrogant and hypocritical for ranking institutions to declare that they’re building Africa’s legacy or its global partnerships on the continent’s behalf. </p>
<h2>Impunity</h2>
<p>In March 2016 <em>New Vision</em>, a widely circulated East African newspaper, published an article headlined “<a href="http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1420701/makerere-world-development-studies">Makerere among world’s top 50 for development studies</a>”. The QS ranking agency placed Uganda’s Makerere University above some of the US’s “leading” universities like Johns Hopkins and Duke on its list of best places to pursue a development studies degree. I am as sentimental as anyone else in Uganda and on the continent more broadly about this “achievement”. If only it was credible: on QS’s overall list, Makerere occupied position 1,156! </p>
<p>A couple of years ago another ranker, <a href="http://www.webometrics.info/en">Webometrics</a>, put my own institution – South Africa’s University of Kwazulu-Natal – at the very top of its Africa list. A year later, the university didn’t even make the top five. But in that same period it appeared to actually scale up, not down, in the areas that Webometrics measured. </p>
<p>African institutions go up and down the scale without an iota of explanation. Universities that are known to be struggling and facing massive challenges have previously appeared high up on the Times Higher Education <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/best-universities-in-africa-2016">list</a>. An institution that was described by one of its former CEOs as a “catastrophic failure” was among the list’s top performers.</p>
<p>South Africa has some dozen fine institutions. Accordingly, and as expected, these have <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/best-universities-in-africa-2016">dominated</a> the African higher education ranking scale. But as I’ve <a href="http://reference.sabinet.co.za/webx/access/electronic_journals/high/high_v29_n5_a2.pdf">pointed out before</a>, the risk of rankings is that they dangerously conceal these South African universities’ serious shortcomings, particularly in graduate education.</p>
<p>These lists, then, seem to be designed with impunity by the rankers. </p>
<h2>Complicity</h2>
<p>These so called “legacy building efforts for Africa” are mounted in alliance with the continent’s universities. The African institutions that are partaking in this futile game obviously can’t be stopped from engaging in such exercises. But it’s lamentable that a couple of credible players are part of this folly: it comes with real consequences of unduly distracting, and even forcing, universities from their stated objectives and broader stakeholder expectations. </p>
<p>The institutions and high-profile personalities involved in the events orchestrated by ranking agencies need to be more cautious and more responsible in their engagements. And their declaration of building Africa’s legacy must be categorically rejected outright. </p>
<p>At <a href="http://lseafricasummit.com/">a summit</a> hosted by the London School of Economics in April 2016, a representative for Times Higher Education said the organisation would establish an advisory committee during its <a href="http://www.theworldsummitseries.com/events/africa-universities-summit/event-summary-a54af174228b4be3b1f3940b326881eb.aspx">meeting</a> later that month in Ghana. </p>
<p>This committee’s role is supposedly to oversee Times Higher Education’s adventure in ranking African universities. Presumably, having African universities more actively involved may improve the process. But as long as ranking organisations call the shots and act with impunity, even these sorts of cosmetic interventions may not help.</p>
<h2>African universities must be more vocal</h2>
<p>It may be true that higher education rankings are here to stay. It is conceivable that they may even flourish as interest in – and the implications of – rankings grow. </p>
<p>With this growth there may well be a proliferation of higher education ranking bodies. I wish for a “thousand flowers to bloom” in the ranking business – only because, at the end, they may not mean much. Less cynically, the proliferation of these bodies may push most, if not all, to be more responsible, more accountable and more truly consultative.</p>
<p>For now, African higher education stakeholders must be vocal in rejecting flawed and <a href="https://theconversation.com/ranking-african-universities-is-a-futile-endeavour-46692">massively defective</a> ranking instruments that are absurdly sold as building the continent’s legacy. The ranking entities have set their sights on several objectives; advancing Africa’s legacy, whatever that may be, is not among them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62709/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Damtew Teferra does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It is arrogant and hypocritical for ranking institutions to declare that they’re building Africa’s legacy or its global partnerships on the continent’s behalf.Damtew Teferra, Professor of Higher Education, University of KwaZulu-NatalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/580842016-04-21T20:41:21Z2016-04-21T20:41:21ZCompetition as a fetish: why universities need to escape the trap<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119637/original/image-20160421-27001-1l2x18h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What are universities losing in their obsession with competition?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is a foundation essay. These are longer than usual and take a wider look at a key issue affecting society.</em></p>
<p>Competition has colonised our world. Everywhere we go and every step we take, we hear the siren call of competition. Higher education, too, is trapped in a competition fetish. </p>
<p>A fetish is <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/20166719?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">the belief</a> in something having the power to make our desires come true and protect us from harm.</p>
<p>Higher education can be seen to be trapped in a kind of magical thinking that makes a fetish out of competition. There is a modern-day notion that competition will <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/474266/BIS-15-623-fulfilling-our-potential-teaching-excellence-social-mobility-and-student-choice-accessible.pdf">solve all problems</a>. Its proponents believe it will lead to equity, enhance quality and protect universities against risk. Most importantly, competition is perceived as a natural force that is independent from human agency.</p>
<p>Of course, not all competition is negative. But it is important to understand what has caused the issues bedevilling modern higher education and the extent to which competition can solve these. In its current form, competition unthinkingly applied damages higher education by compromising research values, encouraging academics to focus inwards rather than engaging in work that will boost global well-being and turning students into consumers.</p>
<h2>Competition comes in many forms</h2>
<p>There are many varieties of competition in higher education. I would like to outline four:</p>
<p><strong>1. Intellectual capital</strong></p>
<p>Scholars have long engaged in various forms of competition, including the symbolic destruction of rival scholarship. Today the competition for intellectual capital or research prestige remains strong, but it is changing and other forms of competition are beginning to jostle for dominance.</p>
<p><strong>2. The contribution of higher education to geopolitical rivalry</strong></p>
<p>We live in an era of “<a href="http://eatonak.org/IPE501/downloads/files/New%20Imperialism.pdf">the new imperialism</a>”, asserts British anthropologist David Harvey. Dominant states and their allies search for new areas for profit. National borders are penetrated by political and economic measures for access to raw materials and strategic geopolitical positions. </p>
<p>States also exist in <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/globalized-corporations-and-the-erosion-of-state-power/5661?print=1">complex relations</a> with transnational corporations. Global corporations gain more and more power to change policy and regulation in their own interests.</p>
<p>The rivalry between nations is more than economic. It is also a race for influence through which powerful groups assert their own preferred political, economic and cultural models. This happens through the <a href="https://www.udel.edu/anthro/ackerman/hidden%20curr.pdf">hidden curriculum</a>, which refers to the unwritten and unofficial values and perspectives that students learn in higher education through course content and teaching methods. It also occurs more explicitly. Richard Riley, a former secretary of education in the US, called on higher education to promote the country’s <a href="http://search.proquest.com/docview/218535013?pq-origsite=gscholar">diplomatic interests</a> with the rest of the world. China has deployed what some call “soft power” to set up <a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-confucius-institutes-arent-perfect-but-have-much-to-offer-africa-51596">Confucius Institutes</a> in about 88 countries.</p>
<p>Higher education stands at the centre of such struggles. It has become a crucial engine to enhance a country’s position in the global economy. Higher education has also been transformed into <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01425690301902">a commodity</a>.</p>
<p><strong>3. “Government-sponsored competition”</strong> </p>
<p>These are generally termed “excellence policies” and include Germany’s Excellence Initiative and the UK Research Excellence Framework. The aim is to identify and divert funding to “world-class” universities so they’re well-positioned for global competition. State-sponsored competitions are presented as being in the national interest. But such battles are fought between the most elite universities in the most powerful countries. In highly stratified systems few benefits trickle down: the whole system is sacrificed to the national competition fetish.</p>
<p><strong>4. Status competition</strong></p>
<p>Universities shape their speculative value through global rankings – even though such rankings don’t measure holistic performance. Even under-resourced institutions push to feature on these ranking lists so they’ll be seen as competitive.</p>
<p>Academics and students, too, play their part. Competition is so powerful in higher education because it borrows legitimacy from elite intellectual capital. Academics are seduced and coerced to co-produce various types of competition. For example, academics undertake peer assessment in a process through which assessors accommodate themselves to externally generated pressures. </p>
<p>Research I’ve conducted with fellow academics <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233310908_The_Consumerist_Turn_in_Higher_Education_Policy_Aspirations_and_Outcomes">shows</a> that market competition, tuition fees and the policy of introducing choice to users of public services have also positioned students as consumers who are responsible for driving competition in higher education. There have been some positive outcomes from this, but our research also reveals how consumerism promotes passive learning, threatens academic standards and entrenches even more inequality in the system.</p>
<h2>The consequences of competition</h2>
<p>Competition can generate <a href="http://www.commonhouse.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/4873-american_nightmare_neoliberalism_neoconservatism.pdf">extreme inequalities</a> of wealth, precarious communities and an unholy intimacy between capital and governments. This is also true in higher education.</p>
<p>Competition reproduces old hierarchies and channels new forms of inequality both within and across national higher education systems. High status, well-resourced universities in poorer countries that serve an elite are <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289725792_Rethinking_development_Higher_education_and_the_new_imperialism">intimately connected</a> to the global power nodes of higher education. </p>
<p>Competition threatens academic work by setting up research excellence frameworks that result in unintended consequences. There is evidence for this: Germany’s “Excellence Initiative” has <a href="http://www.uni-kassel.de/wz1/mahe/course/module4_2/05_kehm08.pdf">resulted in</a> more stratification, a downgrading of teaching and an additional administrative burden. Such frameworks also militate against <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01425692.2015.1100530#abstract">“blue skies” research</a> – the sort that is driven by curiosity rather than a production agenda. These frameworks encourage dubious research tactics for maximising citations. They over-emphasise conformity to politically expedient external expectations.</p>
<p>The competition fetish also threatens academics’ capacity to work towards global well-being. Much research and policy focuses on how universities contribute to the economic and social development of their own countries. But many of the major issues facing humankind – the destruction of the environment, rising inequality and violence across borders – can only be solved by countries and universities working together. In this sense, the question of how higher education contributes to global well-being becomes very important.</p>
<h2>Moving beyond the competition fetish</h2>
<p>As I have said, not all competition is negative. Traditional academic competition in research has led to huge intellectual advances. </p>
<p>What I am arguing against is the idea of competition as a fetish – the idea that different types of competition can be unthinkingly applied to answer all of higher education’s unsolved problems. Or the idea that competition has become so powerful that other ways of organising such as planning and co-ordination are rendered obsolete.</p>
<p>By its very nature, the competition fetish produces the conviction that “there is no alternative”. Academics must explicitly counter this view. The stakes are too high. Higher education is too important to be left to a fetish. Higher education needs to find ways to recollectivise; to sustain the small and big acts of hope and to work together as policymakers, researchers, teachers, managers and students to find new visions and alternative ways to organise.</p>
<p><em>This an edited version of the <a href="http://worldviewsconference.com/">2016 Worldviews Annual Lecture</a> on Media and Higher Education delivered on April 13 2016 at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada. It first appeared in written form on <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20160413131355443">University World News</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58084/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rajani Naidoo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Competition can be a force for positive change. But in its current form, it’s setting universities back rather than moving them forward.Rajani Naidoo, Professor and Director, International Centre for Higher Education Management, School of Management, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/511572015-12-16T12:50:13Z2015-12-16T12:50:13ZFunneling funds to elite universities won’t guarantee world ranking success<p>Asian universities occupied the top six spots in the latest ranking of the <a href="http://www.topuniversities.com/top-50-under-50">top 50 universities</a> under 50-years-old. As in previous years, Asia made a particularly strong showing on the list, published by QS World University Rankings, with 16 of the region’s universities making the cut.</p>
<p>Two thirds of institutions in the ranking are from non English-speaking countries. This contrasts sharply with general overall world university league tables, which <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2016/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25">tend to be dominated</a> by English-speaking universities – particularly those from the US. In the QS top 50 under 50 list there are no institutions from the US, just one from Canada and eight from Australia. Five are from the UK: the universities of Bath, Loughborough, Heriot-Watt, Brunel and Aston.</p>
<p>The impressive performance of young Asian universities on the list could be used to back up claims that Asian institutions are <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-34390466">“snapping at our heels”</a> – a claim regularly made by the Russell Group of elite UK universities in response to the publication of university rankings. The <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-boosts-standing-but-asian-countries-snap-at-our-heels/408580.article">Russell Group has argued</a> that Asian countries are investing in their “top” institutions, and pushes for the UK to do the same to fend off a supposed challenge. </p>
<p>But would concentrating funding on a top tier of “world-class” universities boost the UK’s performance in the world university rankings?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/sass/research/AcceptedManuscriptMatthewDavidFabricatingWorldClassBJSE.pdf">New analysis</a> that one of us has published in the British Journal of Sociology of Education (BJSE) of overall university rankings (not just those under 50-years-old) reveals that there has been no significant improvement in the performance of Asian universities. Indeed, historical analysis of world university rankings up until 2011 shows there has been no large-scale evidence for an Asian ascent, as the graph below shows. </p>
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<p>Looking at the data another way, by “reverse scoring” the results so that the first-placed university gets 200 points and the 200th placed gets one point, doesn’t change this for the most part. But this kind of analysis does show a modest statistically significant increase in performance for Asian universities. This is wholly explained by the performance of one country – South Korea, whose results now parallel Scotland’s. With South Korean students paying different amounts of private fees for their education and Scottish students studying in Scotland eligible for free tuition, no policy implications can readily be drawn. </p>
<p>So Asian universities’ consistently good performance in the of rankings of universities under 50-years-old is not down to an overall “Asian ascent”. Rather, the absence of an “old elite” in many of these countries may be more significant in explaining the success of newer institutions.</p>
<h2>In search of international excellence</h2>
<p>In the UK, the Russell Group positions its member institutions as the <a href="http://www.russellgroup.ac.uk/policy/publications/jewels-in-the-crown-the-importance-and-characteristics-of-the-uk-s-world-class-universities/">“jewels in the crown”</a> of the UK higher education sector. It <a href="http://www.russellgroup.ac.uk/policy/publications/jewels-in-the-crown-the-importance-and-characteristics-of-the-uk-s-world-class-universities/">argues</a> that government policy: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Should support and concentrate funding significantly on centres of international excellence and allow for greater diversity within the higher education sector … [to] help ensure the UK continues to enjoy the international recognition it rightly deserves for the quality of its educational provision and cutting-edge research.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/sass/research/AcceptedManuscriptMatthewDavidFabricatingWorldClassBJSE.pdf">The BJSE analysis</a>, which also looked at all UK media coverage of the world university league tables between 2002 and 2012, shows that the Russell Group has argued that global league tables of universities prove that concentrating resources at the top, such as is the case in the US, produces the best results.</p>
<p>Yet <a href="https://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/sass/research/AcceptedManuscriptMatthewDavidFabricatingWorldClassBJSE.pdf">the BJSE analysis</a> of all non-age restricted world university league table data since they first began shows that, once language is controlled for, the success of universities in English-speaking countries in global rankings correlates almost exactly with their population size. In other words, the US dominates the top 200 world university league tables not because its best institutions are much more generously funded but because it is a bigger country and they teach in the academic <em>lingua franca</em> of English. This is the case from the US all the way down to New Zealand. </p>
<p>Under such an analysis, a country such as South Korea isn’t any more successful than you’d expect, given its relative wealth. That its universities now parallel Scotland’s in university rankings – a country ten times smaller in population – may be evidence of the effect of speaking English.</p>
<p>Results for the under fifties show that English-speaking countries with more old universities (the US and UK) have fewer high-ranking new universities than their size would otherwise predict, in comparison to smaller countries with fewer older universities such as Australia and Hong Kong. </p>
<p>There are two possible interpretations for this. First, where high quality universities already exist, talent and resources will naturally remain, gravitate to and develop in those institutions rather than in less-established institutions. Second, the existence of dominant elite universities may act to harm newer entrants by squeezing resources unfairly away from them. </p>
<h2>An elite tier</h2>
<p>But can the Russell Group be said to constitute a distinctive elite tier of universities within the UK? <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03054985.2015.1082905">Previous analysis</a> of the research activity, teaching quality, economic resources, academic selectivity and socioeconomic student mix of 127 UK universities suggests that there are <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03054985.2015.1082905">four distinctive clusters</a> of universities in the UK.</p>
<p>The top cluster was not in fact the 24 Russell Group universities, but just two of its member institutions – the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The other 22 Russell Group universities were found to occupy a <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/comment/laurie-taylor-26-november-2015">second distinctive cluster</a>, which also included most other old, non-Russell Group institutions. The third and fourth clusters identified were comprised predominantly of new universities created since a change in the law in 1992. This raises doubts as to whether the Russell Group really are the UK’s “jewels in the crown”. </p>
<p>The Russell Group has argued that the key to success in world university rankings is a concentration of research funding at the top and the <a href="http://russellgroup.ac.uk/news/summer-budget-2015/">ability to increase fees</a>, and that pursuing such “success” is necessary for fear of Asian ascent. Neither claim is proven by ranking data itself, and it is just as possible to conclude from such data that exactly the opposite might be the case.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51157/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vikki Boliver has received research funding from the British Academy, ESRC and Scottish Funding Council. She published the research mentioned here on clusters of universities in the Oxford Review of Education. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew David published the research on world university rankings mentioned here accepted for publication in the British Journal of Sociology of Education. </span></em></p>New analysis shows the secret to success in world university rankings isn’t all about money.Vikki Boliver, Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy, School of Applied Social Sciences, Durham UniversityMatthew David, Senior Lecturer in Sociology in the School of Applied Social Sciences, Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/518952015-12-07T19:10:19Z2015-12-07T19:10:19ZAre Australian universities getting better at research or at gaming the system?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104610/original/image-20151207-22680-1agyu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Time to make research audits more transparent?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>University research in Australia is improving, according to the latest <a href="http://www.arc.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/research-excellence-innovative-future-era-2015-results-released">round of results</a> from the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) audit.</p>
<p>Every two to three years the ERA reviews hundreds of thousands of research papers from researchers in universities across Australia. </p>
<p>For each university, research in each field (such as psychology, chemistry, medicine and history) is rated from one to five stars, the later being what all universities strive for – “well above world-standard” research. These results determine how much research funding universities receive. It’s a big deal for institutions.</p>
<p>On the surface, it may look like the ERA exercise <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/eras-rising-tide/story-e6frgcjx-1227633436699">has achieved</a> what it set out to do – improve Australia’s collective research performance. </p>
<p>However, <a href="http://socialscience.uq.edu.au/governing-performance">research that I have been leading</a> over the past five years – examining performance measurement in publicly funded services, including the ERA – suggests that we should be wary about how these results are being produced.</p>
<h2>Growth, gaming or fraud?</h2>
<p>I have become acquainted with the various pressures, professional responses and governance practices operating in universities from individual academics, to teams, to units, to executives.</p>
<p>My research shows that strategic gaming and what could appear to be fraud is systematically happening in universities as part of ERA processes. Universities construct submissions by allocating publications to fields of research (FoR) to demonstrate high research quality and quantity.</p>
<p>Consider the following cases:</p>
<p>In one university, one senior science executive explained that they performed so strongly in one field that they reclassified “surplus” publications to another field with the hope of increasing the second field’s ranking. For example, research in civil engineering might be reclassified as chemical engineering.</p>
<p>In another university, almost one half of research papers submitted for a professional discipline were not authored by members of that profession or in journals associated with that profession. The strategy was to artificially increase the size of research activity in a field to enhance their ERA rank. This is not uncommon. I’m aware that this practice has also been used by universities in the social sciences.</p>
<p>The ERA assesses research fields, not institutional departments. In another case, a university submitted research on the basis of a department in which it was undertaken, not the field of research it contributed to.</p>
<p>These strategic gaming practices are, however, not without risk. </p>
<p>The ERA rules limit the level of shifting of journal articles by linking FoR codes to journal titles, but still leaves considerable space for institutional discretion, particularly in books and research funding. Submitted data must also be scrutinised by ERA assessors and research evaluation committees.</p>
<p>In some cases, such gaming strategies have been detected by ERA processes. The ARC <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/universities-questioned-over-alleged-gaming-of-research-rankings-20151117-gl0yva.html">reportedly sent “please explains”</a> to several universities. </p>
<p>I am also aware that some ERA evaluators did not reward reallocating research publications into a different discipline to increase its apparent size. However, sometimes the strategy pays off, with one institution receiving a five in a “gamed” research field.</p>
<p>To pretend strategic gaming does not happen – or that it will be discovered and punished, or is of no consequence – is sheer nonsense. </p>
<p>The creators of the ERA must think critically about what it actually is doing in Australia’s universities, and whether the many millions of dollars to run it are worth the cost.</p>
<p>The real question to the education minister, his department and the Australian Research Council (ARC), is what they will do about it?</p>
<h2>How to move forward: make the process open to the public</h2>
<p>One approach is to reduce the capacity for gaming within ERA processes. </p>
<p>A way to do this could be for the ARC to make universities’ ERA submissions publicly available. </p>
<p>At present, the ERA submissions are confidential and typically the submissions are created within institutions by executives and administrators with no accountability to the very researchers whose research performance data they manage, massage and submit. </p>
<p>Such transparency would provide external checks by academics who have a personal interest in their own discipline, and not the disciplines administrators deem their research to be strategically useful for. </p>
<p>It would also enable public shaming of institutions which cannot publicly justify ERA submissions.</p>
<h2>Apply stricter rules for submitting research</h2>
<p>Another option is to provide much stricter rules for allocating ERA input, such as only allowing publications to be submitted according to journals’ FoR codes or to authors’ self-identified FoR code.</p>
<p>Similarly, ERA rules could ensure that research funding can only be submitted into the fields of the investigators.</p>
<p>Academics and their unions should also be allowed to challenge the internal secrecy that typically operates within universities in the preparation of ERA submissions. Given the rise of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australia-needs-a-new-model-for-universities-43696">corporate managerial university</a>, such an approach seems unlikely to gather much momentum.</p>
<h2>How valuable is the ERA exercise?</h2>
<p>A third approach is to question the value of the ERA exercise and to find new ways in which to enhance collective research quality and assessment. </p>
<p>The ERA process involves many millions of dollars. It also involves thousands of hours from academics in preparing and reviewing ERA submissions.</p>
<p>With all the data currently out there, how useful is the ERA process?</p>
<p>An alternative approach would be for the Australian government to require universities to systematically, publicly and regularly report their research inputs and outputs in a standardised format. </p>
<p>The ARC could commission research to analyse this publicly available data at a fraction of the cost of the ERA and under the quality control of academic peer review. This approach is much more suited to a 21st-century open government.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51895/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Henman works for The University of Queensland, which is assessed under the ERA exercise. He has received research funding from the ARC which manages the ERA. </span></em></p>Making the whole process of auditing research open to the public could help reduce the capacity for universities to game the system.Paul Henman, Associate Professor, Sociology and Social Policy, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/491452015-11-09T19:18:54Z2015-11-09T19:18:54ZThe rise of China: a threat or opportunity for Australian universities?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/100722/original/image-20151104-21235-zxi5ym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">China's higher education sector is gaining strength. Should we be worried?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There has been <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/international-students/universities-face-competition-from-china/story-fnahn4sk-1227562513492">lots of discussion</a> in the media around the rise of China and the potential threat it poses to Australian higher education – not least given that education in Australia is a big driver for the economy as the third-largest export earner.</p>
<p>But is there really cause for concern?</p>
<p>There is no doubt that China’s higher education sector is gaining strength. </p>
<p>Over the past five years, Chinese universities have started to rise up the world university rankings. They have done this while charging significantly <a href="http://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/student-finance">lower tuition fees (around US$1,000 per year) compared</a> with competing countries such as the UK (US$13,430), the US (US$9,139), Australia (US$4,770 to US$7,960 depending on the course) and Canada (US$4,534).</p>
<p>While Australia is one of the countries that <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-07/adam-bandt-research-development-spending-claim-checks-out/5789134">spends the least</a> on research and training – in 2013 just 0.441% of GDP was spent on research – China is investing heavily in research. China’s GDP spend on education increased from 3.93% in 2011 to 4.15% in 2014.</p>
<p>China is also <a href="http://www.moe.edu.cn/srcsite/A07/moe_737/s3877/201511/t20151102_216985.html">upgrading its technical training system</a> and programs. It recently announced a three-year action plan to promote technical and professional training.</p>
<p>Like most university sectors around the world, China is also planning to increase its number of international students in the drive to be globally recognised. </p>
<p>The government has introduced a 10-year plan to increase international student numbers from 265,090 in 2010 to 500,000 by 2020. It aims to increase degree and diploma students from 107,432 to 150,000 in that time.</p>
<p>Australian universities may well be concerned about the effect the rise in Chinese universities will have on the demand for Australian courses as Chinese students account for 30% of the Australian international student population.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101213/original/image-20151109-16242-86gscn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101213/original/image-20151109-16242-86gscn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101213/original/image-20151109-16242-86gscn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101213/original/image-20151109-16242-86gscn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101213/original/image-20151109-16242-86gscn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101213/original/image-20151109-16242-86gscn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101213/original/image-20151109-16242-86gscn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chinese students account for 30% of the Australian international student population.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A threat or opportunity?</h2>
<p>On the surface this may be seen as a threat. But is there a different way to look at it? </p>
<p>Australia has five universities ranked in the top 100 universities in the world, according to the <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2015/reputation-ranking#!/page/1/length/25">2015 THE World Reputation Rankings</a>. Mainland China has just two. </p>
<p>Australia <a>accounts for 3.9% of the world’s research output</a> with only 0.3% of the world’s population.</p>
<p>Its work and immigration opportunities are an extra incentive for students who are seeking assurances on quality, safety and affordability, along with the geographic proximity and similar time zones.</p>
<p>A big factor in student recruitment for universities is the support on offer for international students. </p>
<p>The attractiveness of international study is easily lost when students complain of communication problems, poor teaching facilities, lack of access to current technologies, and low levels of accommodation and student welfare assistance. </p>
<p>The global student is looking for a 21st-century education and lifestyle – and China’s restrictions on the use of social media, such as Facebook, and platforms, such as Google, are increasingly powerful disincentives for prospective international students. </p>
<h2>How can Australia make the most of these changing times?</h2>
<p>It is time for Australian universities to embrace these potential threats as challenges, and to provide a better, more inspiring university experience. </p>
<p>Despite China’s rise, it <a href="http://www.bossacn.org/cn/xingyezixun/liuxuedongtai/20150518/104.html">is still likely</a> that Chinese students will want to study abroad. And China’s continuing economic growth will enable more Chinese families to send their children to study overseas. </p>
<p>Over the next decade many universities will face serious long-term decisions about how to stand out through their use of technology, blended learning and partnerships with industry and other tertiary providers. </p>
<p>The challenge for Australian universities will be how to distinguish themselves from other international universities. </p>
<p>To achieve this, a greater understanding of the international student experience is critical, such as through institutional partnerships, exchange programs and recruiting international staff.</p>
<p>A sheer focus on money could be detrimental for Australia’s long-term appeal to international students. </p>
<p>The Chinese government has taken a strategic perspective on internationalisation and regards international students as a strategic resource that will assist the country in its reform agenda as it continues to open up to the world. </p>
<p>Australian students are encouraged to study in China and participate in the many exchange programs. </p>
<p>Students from Australia currently account for around 1% of the international student population at Chinese universities. Encouraging a larger number of Australian students to study in China will lead to closer relationships and more interest in study opportunities in Australia. </p>
<p>Diversifying where we recruit international students from – for example, South America, Africa and the subcontinent – is also essential, especially for developing long-term diverse learning communities within Australian universities. </p>
<p>Australia has a huge opportunity to continue to grow its higher education reputation across the world and particularly in China. </p>
<p>We just need to increase investment and spend more wisely to keep the lead in our strong research areas – and also ensure excellent student support and mutual cultural awareness.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/49145/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Chinese universities have started to rise up the world university rankings, increase their investment in research and grow their numbers of international student. Should Australia be worried?Zuocheng Zhang, Senior lecturer in TESOL education, University of New EnglandStephen Tobias, Head of School of Education, University of New EnglandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/494522015-10-20T13:07:15Z2015-10-20T13:07:15ZFive trends South Africa’s universities must reject if they really want change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99009/original/image-20151020-32225-ghlj6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students protest outside one of the University of Cape Town's main administration buildings.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Imraan Christian</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s no surprise that student movements are shutting down university campuses all over South Africa. More than two decades have passed since the advent of democracy and change in higher education appears to be stuttering. </p>
<p>Students and many academics are fed up with high fees, a teaching body that remains <a href="https://africacheck.org/reports/how-many-professors-are-there-in-sa/">stubbornly white and male</a>, and a curriculum that needs more relevance in an African country.</p>
<p>But I think it is a mistake to reduce this to a single story. This student movement is not just a call for change at institutional level. It is a reaction to the failure of the human capital model of education. We must look at how demands for free education and more black professors are part of a larger critique of crass capitalism in society.</p>
<p>South Africa’s national conversations are increasingly dominated by economic growth <a href="https://theconversation.com/it-doesnt-end-with-piketty-five-policies-that-could-reduce-inequality-in-south-africa-26199">discourses</a> – at the expense of policies and actions that are pro-poor. The language of the free market has become the norm in public fora. The state’s main function seems to be lubricating the way for big business in the vain hope that this will eventually lead to improved lives for the masses through the laughable notion of <a href="http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=42986.0">trickle-down economics</a>. </p>
<p>It’s important not to neglect the potential that higher education institutions have to fight back against these forces.</p>
<p>There are many ways in which university structures can challenge the value systems of big business and the state. To do so, academia must say “no” to many processes that are fast becoming ubiquitous in our institutions. Here are five of these processes – and an exploration of how universities can reject them.</p>
<h2>Outsourcing</h2>
<p>It makes no financial sense for universities to run their own gardening, catering, maintenance and security divisions. Many universities globally and in South Africa have <a href="http://www.ihep.org/sites/default/files/uploads/docs/pubs/outsourcing.pdf">outsourced</a> these functions.</p>
<p>But it makes enormous moral and educational sense not to outsource. Scholars do not attain their understanding of the discipline of history or physics simply through access to the great minds of their professors and textbooks. Their educational progress is made possible, at least in part, by the people who prepare their meals, clean the floors and <a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2015-10-06-rhodes-must-falls-busy-week-instalment-two-marching-against-outsourcing/#.ViYB3LSqqko">mow the lawns</a>. </p>
<p>If we truly believe that universities have a responsibility to develop critical citizens, then they have a concomitant responsibility to instil gratitude for those who make it possible and empathy with all lives around them. Universities must model what collegial, caring, decent employment looks like: it is the antithesis of the business model of outsourced “peripheral tasks” that’s taken hold at South Africa’s institutions.</p>
<h2>Performance management</h2>
<p>Following <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/feb/03/universities-league-tables-distorting-research">international trends</a>, performance management has been implemented with a vengeance at many universities. If it can’t be listed on an Excel spreadsheet and contribute to a Key Performance Area, it didn’t happen. The notion that everything can and should be counted undermines the academic project in multiple ways. </p>
<p>But, not having a numeric measure of targets and achievements should not be the way in which academics who neither teach with commitment nor produce research avoid censure. </p>
<p>We need to have accountability and transparency – but we also need to have the nuanced understanding that the university is a complex system. Even within the academic staff there is, and needs to be, a wide array of focus areas and realms of expertise.</p>
<h2>Research backhanders</h2>
<p>Most South African universities reward researchers financially for <a href="http://che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/kagisano9.pdf">their output</a>. This could be money paid into a research account or, at some universities, part of one’s salary.</p>
<p>But research is fundamental to the university’s endeavour of contributing to knowledge, solving social ills and providing quality teaching. To give rewards for research and ignore other academic responsibilities like teaching and community <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-universities-obsessed-with-research-heres-what-falls-between-the-cracks-938">engagement</a> reinforces the hierarchy of academic work. </p>
<p>It leads to numerous <a href="https://theconversation.com/dishonest-academics-may-make-students-think-plagiarism-is-acceptable-45187">unintended consequences</a>, such as a perverse incentive for individualistic, un-collegial behaviour. Why mentor a junior colleague through co-publication when that would mean halving the money with her?</p>
<h2>Executive deans</h2>
<p>Academic management must change regularly and needs to strongly represent the voice and needs of a faculty’s staff and students. For deans to genuinely reflect the interests of these constituents they need to be active members in touch with the realities of the academy. They should be producing research and guiding postgraduate scholars. They should be invested in returning to these academic roles after their term of office. </p>
<p>This assumes that senior academics will be willing to put up their hands and take on these roles, secure in the knowledge that their colleagues support and trust them. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-deans-of-universities-need-help-to-become-better-leaders-48275">Most universities</a> in South Africa now hire executive deans, paying huge salaries to people who may bring an expertise in business management but have little knowledge about research production or concern for the transformation agenda.</p>
<h2>Rankings</h2>
<p>One major thrust in the “university as business” models is the ranking of universities in a competitive list. We are no longer a public sector working together to achieve a public good by contributing to knowledge and preparing skilled critical citizens.</p>
<p>Instead, we are a set of businesses trying to maximise our <a href="https://theconversation.com/ranking-african-universities-is-a-futile-endeavour-46692">brand value</a>. </p>
<p>Universities should be focused on how we function together as a sector rather than spending their energy on improving rankings.</p>
<h2>A battle ahead</h2>
<p>The university where I work has been able to hold out on all of these issues. </p>
<p>Perhaps this is because of its small size, or because both its previous and current vice-chancellors have been compassionate leaders who put people and the intellectual project above all else. But we should not rest on our laurels and assume it will retain these characteristics. </p>
<p>The university is just one small social structure. That doesn’t mean it has to replicate the injustices of broader society. As a sector, we must work together now as never before to resist the dangerous construction of higher education as big business.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/49452/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sioux McKenna does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Students and academics are fed up with the situation at South Africa’s universities. One way to improve conditions is for universities to be run as institutions of learning – not big businesses.Sioux McKenna, Professor and Higher Education Studies PhD Co-ordinator, Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/483532015-10-01T05:34:39Z2015-10-01T05:34:39ZStudents beware: university rankings should come with health warnings<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96654/original/image-20150929-30999-15q3oo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Open days help students work out where to apply.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cambridgeuniversity-engineering/19279099520/sizes/l">Engineering at Cambridge/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As first-year students around the UK arrive to start freshers week and begin university, sixth formers are turning their attention to university applications. In deciding on their choice of university, many students make use of rankings of universities published in the media, such as <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/">The Complete University Guide</a>, <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/education/gooduniversityguide/tables/">The Sunday Times Good University Guide</a> or the <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/">Times Higher Education World University Rankings</a>, which have just been published. But can such rankings be trusted? </p>
<p>These university rankings, which present a list of institutions in the form of a league table, suggest a precision which is unlikely to be supported by detailed examination of the data. They deliberately draw attention to the performance of each university relative to all others. But often, <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=F8KZxONuGXQC&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=Longden,+B.+%282011%29.+%27Ranking+indicators+and+weights%27+University+Rankings:+Theoretical+Basis,+Methodology+and+Impacts+on+Global+Higher+Education&source=bl&ots=LTSRoWRrvh&sig=4SvvVRTKNTDJt0xCbc-_mmVoAG4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAmoVChMIt6jIvLCeyAIVS9oaCh0nAweQ#v=onepage&q&f=false">the methodology is such</a> that the differences between universities, which can appear large, conceal the fact that there are only very small differences in the scores from which the rankings have been derived. </p>
<p>This is illustrated in the graph below using the 2016 rankings from <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/">The Complete University Guide</a>. This shows the relationship between a university’s index score – an amalgamation of data used to calculate the rankings – on the vertical axis and its ranking on the horizontal axis. When the dots in the graph below lie on a relatively flat line, there is only a small difference in a university’s score on the index compared to its place in the ranking. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96769/original/image-20150930-5809-199tkiw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96769/original/image-20150930-5809-199tkiw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96769/original/image-20150930-5809-199tkiw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96769/original/image-20150930-5809-199tkiw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96769/original/image-20150930-5809-199tkiw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96769/original/image-20150930-5809-199tkiw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96769/original/image-20150930-5809-199tkiw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Comparing a university’s ranking on The Complete University Guide and their score on its index.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/">The Complete University Guide</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, there are greater differences between the top six universities (where the difference in index is 74 points) than the subsequent seven universities, ranked 7 to 13 (where the difference in index is only 36 points). Given the premium an institution gets from being able to refer to itself as a “top-ten” university, those in the teens just outside this band (but with scores close to the ones inside the top ten) must find the situation particularly galling.</p>
<h2>A range of indicators</h2>
<p>There are many dimensions on which universities’ performance can be evaluated and a variety of possible indicators (for UK universities) can be found on websites such as the <a href="http://www.hefce.ac.uk/data/ukpi/">Higher Education Funding Council for England</a>. Rankings done by the media use these data and other information (such as the <a href="http://www.thestudentsurvey.com/">National Student Survey</a>) to construct their own league tables. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/methodology/">The Complete University Guide</a>, for example, examines ten aspects of activity likely to be of interest to prospective students: entry standards, student satisfaction, research assessment, research intensity, graduate prospects, student-staff ratio, academic services spend, facilities spend, “good honours” (the proportion of first degree graduates who obtain first and 2:1 degrees) and degree completion.
<a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/">The Times Higher Education World University Rankings</a>, however, differ in that they cover not just the teaching and research activities in their international data set of universities, but also their knowledge transfer and international outlook (which includes campus diversity and collaboration with researchers around the world).</p>
<p>A weighting system is applied to the individual components of the index to produce an overall performance ranking. Publications therefore vary in the weightings applied as well as the underlying indicators used to derive their rankings. </p>
<h2>What’s in a weighting?</h2>
<p>The Complete University Guide assigns weightings of between 0.5 and 1.5 to the ten individual measures. While the methodology underpinning rankings (in particular how the separate indicators are combined to form an overall indicator) is often <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/education/gooduniversityguide/tables/">clearly provided</a>, the justification of it is not. Publishers of these and other university rankings generally do not explain why they have chosen their weightings, or the fact that other weightings could be equally legitimate, and that a different weighting scheme could produce different rankings. </p>
<p>To illustrate the importance of the weighting system we can examine the relationship of the overall index from <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/methodology/">The Complete University Guide</a> with each of its ten individual components by performing what’s called a correlation analysis. This looks at how universities fare on each individual measure, compared to how they fare in the actual index. If the index has a strong linear relationship with any underlying component, the correlation value is close to the value one, and if it has a weak relationship the value is close to zero. </p>
<p>A simple analysis reveals that student satisfaction and facilities spend are only weakly related to the overall index of <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/methodology/">The Complete University Guide</a> (with correlation values of 0.35 and 0.34 resepctively) and hence they are poorly represented by the overall university rankings. Users of rankings for whom these dimensions are of particular interest would therefore appear to be poorly served by the overall ranking.</p>
<p>This finding is not unique: <a href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100202100434/http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2008/08_14/08_14c.pdf">analysis</a> of other rankings in the media leads to similar conclusions. In the Sunday Times University Guide, for example, some of the components used, such as the drop-out rate and, to a lesser extent, student satisfaction, are only weakly related to the overall index.</p>
<h2>More weight</h2>
<p>Rankings are becoming increasingly important to individual universities. National and global rankings can be used by other institutions to identify suitable collaborative partners, by students to inform their choice of university, or by prospective academic employees seeking new posts and by employers for recruitment. </p>
<p>Many of the underlying components of rankings, however, are under the control of the university – meaning they are not always an independent measure. Graduation rates, for example, can be improved by more effective teaching delivery (which is a desired effect of producing such rankings and assessing performance) – or by lowering standards (so-called “grade inflation”).</p>
<p>More generally, there is concern from senior managers of universities that some measures in league tables are vulnerable to <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-2273.00233/pdf">“cheating” behaviour</a>, and evidence that universities are, in fact, manipulating, influencing or reclassifying data in order to <a href="http://herb.hse.ru/data/2015/05/15/1098623404/HERB_04_view.pdf">raise their rankings</a>. Those using rankings are therefore in danger of being misled if universities adopt gaming behaviour to ratchet their position in the league table.</p>
<p>University rankings should come with a serious health warning and be handled with great care.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48353/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jill Johnes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Don’t worry too much about university league tables – they might not be all they seem.Jill Johnes, Professor of Production Economics - Strategy, Marketing and Economics, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.