How Do University Rankings Work?

 

When it comes to making a choice for an institution to pursue an international education, aspirants consider many quantifiable factors like the safety of the country to be visited, funding and endowment, student life and involvement, weather, job opportunities while studying, industrial linkage, excellence in specialization, diversity in faculty, research influence, etc. However, university ranking is an important factor to consider.

University rankings were set in motion during the 1980s, when countries started making use of indicators, such as academic reputation, admission selections, academic output, and financial resources, to demonstrate and rank the quality of education providers.

With increasing competition in the global economy and the growth in students traveling abroad to pursue higher education, ranking universities on a global scale were the next step.

This blog is aimed at knowing how these university rankings work. We are considering two factors i.e.

1. How are universities ranked?

2. Are these rankings important?

How are universities ranked?

Here’s a glimpse at a few of the most looked at rankings along with their ranking criteria:

1. QS World University Rankings is the most extensively looked upon university ranking across the world. It was produced by Quacquarelli Symonds and has issued rankings each year since 2004. The QS World University Rankings keep up with availing itself of an exceptionally reconcilable methodological framework, put together with the use of six uncomplicated metrics that effectively capture the performance of a university.

Thus, universities are evaluated according to the following six metrics:
i) Academic Reputation (20%)

ii) Employer reputation (10%)

iii) Faculty/Student Ratio (20%)

iv) Citations per faculty (20%)

v) International faculty ratio

vi) International student ratio (5% each)

2. Times Higher Education World University Rankings encompasses more than 1,600 universities situated across 99 destinations, making it a substantial and one of the most diverse university ranking. It makes use of 13 considerately gauged performance indicators, that measure an institution’s performance across four areas. The rankings are trusted by students, academics, universities, and industry leaders to understand the quality of research and its influence that sets an institution apart.

A few of these parameters are: 

1. Teaching

2. Research

3. Citations

4. International outlook

5. Industry Income

3. Academic Ranking of World Universities, also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. ARWU is regarded as one of the three most influential and widely observed university rankings, alongside QS World University Rankings and Times Higher Education World University Rankings. It ranks more than 2000 universities and eventually publishes the best 1000. Their parameters include:

i) The number of alumni winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals

ii) The number of staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals

iii) The number of highly cited researchers selected by Clarivate Analytics

iv) The number of articles published in journals of Nature and Science

v) The number of articles indexed in the Science Citation Index – Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index

vi) The per capita academic performance of a university

Are these rankings important?

The rankings by various sources like the ones mentioned above, prove to be useful to students who are researching in on their study destination and want to assess an institution’s strengths. From recruiters to the government, everyone makes use of these rankings to get aware of their standing in this increasingly competitive marketplace. Magazines, newspapers, websites, governments, and academics think of it as preferable to evaluate not only the entire institution but also programs, departments, and schools. This helps students to choose their institution wishing to consider specific criteria.

Employability and Graduate rankings are a good point of commencement for learning about the universities and colleges with the focus on providing employment opportunities to learners. It is necessary to balance both on- and off-campus experiences, in order to seek a diverse environment in the company of strong international involvement and expert faculty.

A university’s all-embracing recognition is highly consequential. Nevertheless, unearthing emotional support from an institute, as well as getting hands on a faculty that concerns itself about your growth, and having peers who share your passion is equally important.

For further assistance or queries students can contact us, Edwise International, and avail themselves of our wide range of services for students in destinations like Universities in Canada, study in Canada, study in UK, study in USA, Study in Ireland, study in Australia, study inNew-Zealand, study in Singapore and many other countries.