Exploring the Pertinence of University Rankings: Benefits and Considerations

There are lots of debate in the academic circle and social media about the value, validity, and acceptance of university rankings. This let me pen down and explore the pertinence of the university ranking. 

While researching and analyzing the content on university ranking and its importance for university leaders, students, and the academia, I also came across various negative and supportive contents & views about it, which will be discussed in the upcoming posts. Let’s begin exploring the university ranking to understand its relevance for the beneficiaries. 

Beyond doubt, ranking plays a pivotal role in shaping and organizing the higher education as per the pre-defined indicators, which were well researched and periodically updated by the ranking organizations and ranked the institutions as “best” institutions in different categories, such as top ranked subject, best institution in the country, region and globally, . Hence, it is apparently understood that university rankings are means towards better higher education and should not be considered as an end of achievement. Thus, the various pertinence of university rankings is as follows:

• The ranking results were published by rankers on their portals and also displayed on various social media platforms and discussion portals, which leads to appreciate the impact and visibility of the ranked institute.
• Enhance reputation and branding of the institution
• Provide valuable information and insights that can aid in strategic decision-making and management of universities
• University ranking encourages collection and publication of academic data by the academic institutions
• Attract International Collaborations and Partnerships
• Assist in choosing international partnerships and benchmarked institutions, having top universities as partner could also be helpful in appreciating reputation of the university.
• It could be a part of the national policy on higher education
• Rankings could be used for monitoring its own as well as its partners’ and competitors’ performance.
• Ranking influences the student choice of study destination when selecting foreign university.
• The enrollment of quality students correlates with the performance of the university in the rankings.
• In the same way, ranking influence talented applicants and researchers. They tend to seek employment in top ranked institutions in their field.

Keeping above points into consideration, it becomes extremely crucial for the ranking organizations to provide the most objective picture of the position of specific institutions in relation to one another.

The flaws both intended and unintended of the rankings couldn’t be ignored, and their utilization based on convenience by institutions and even by governments. The discussion about the limitations and flaws in ranking would be discussed in next post, also would strive to explore the substitute of ranking for higher education.

Considering the points mentioned above, it becomes extremely crucial for the ranking institutions to provide the more objective picture of the position of specific institutions in relation to one another. It is essential to acknowledge the existence of both intended and unintended flaws in rankings, as well as their potential utilization for the convenience of institutions and even governments. In the upcoming post, the discussion will dig into the limitations and flaws in ranking the universities and explore the alternatives to ranking in the context of higher education. By discussing these issues, a more comprehensive understanding of the complexities surrounding rankings can be achieved, leading to informed discussions on how to effectively evaluate and assess institutions in the pursuit of continuous improvement and excellence in higher education.