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Phil Baty. Editor, Times Higher Education world university rankings and Jonathan Adams, Director, research evalution, Thomas Reuters give an insider's account of the development of the new and improved methodology for the world university rankings.
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THE WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGSRoyal Institution, London. 30 September, 2010
Phil Baty Editor
Times Higher Education World University
Rankings
About Times Higher Education
The weekly magazine for all higher education professionals
About TSL Education
Times Educational Supplement (TES)Times Higher Education (THE)TES PrimeTSL EventsTES HirewireTHE HireWire
Why Rank? Rapid globalisation of higher education
• There are almost 3 million students enrolled in higher education outside their country of origin, a
53 per cent increase since 1999
• Universities now have 162 satellite campuses outside their home
countries, an increase of 43 per cent in just the past three years
• Around 20 per cent of all academics working in the UK are appointed from overseas
• Sir Drummond Bone said: “World class research is inherently international”
Why Rank? Rankings have a useful function
• “Rankings often serve in place of formal accreditation systems in countries where such
accountability measures do not exist.”
• “Prompt change in areas that directly improve student learning experiences”
• “Encourage institutions to move beyond their internal conversations to participate in broader
national and international discussions.”
• “Foster collaboration, such as research partnerships, student and faculty exchange
programmes.”
US Institute for Higher Education Policy, May 2009
Why Rank?
“The term world class universities has begun to appear in higher education discussions, in
institutional mission statements, and government education policy worldwide”
“Many staffing and organisational decisions at institutions worldwide have been affected by
ranking-related goals and outcomes.”
“Rankings play an important role in persuading the Government and universities to rethink core
national values”
US Institute for Higher Education Policy
The WUR became massively influential
“Rankings are an unmistakable reflection of global academic competition… they seem destined to
be a fixture on the global education scene for years to come… As they are refined and improved
they can and should play an important role in helping universities get better.”
Ben Wildavsky, The Great Brain Race
(Princeton University Press, May 2010)
Times Higher Education’s responsibility
“The responsibility weighs heavily on our shoulders. We are very much aware that
national policies and multimillion-pound decisions are influenced by the rankings….
We feel we have a duty to improve how we compile them.
“We believe universities deserve a rigorous, robust and transparent set of rankings
– a serious tool for the sector, not just an annual curiosity.”
Ann Mroz, Editor, Times Higher Education, November 2009
The development of a new world ranking system
In November 2009 we signed a deal with Thomson Reuters, to work with
us to develop and fuel a new and improved global ranking for the future.
Thomson Reuters’ stakeholder survey. Key findings:
* About 40 per cent globally said rankings were ‘extremely/very useful’ and a further 45 per cent said they
were ‘somewhat useful’
* But methodologies were perceived unfavorably by many and there was widespread concern about data
quality
* 74 percent of respondents believe that institutions manipulate their data to move up in rankings.
The development of a new world ranking system
Consultative meetings. Key points:
* Previous exercise (2004-2009) relied too heavily on subjective opinion
(50 per cent of weighting)
* Previous exercise’s use of citations data biased against fields with lower
average citations
* SSR too crude as proxy for teaching quality
The development of a new world ranking system
So after ten months of consultation, with more than 300 posts on our open website forums, advice from a platform group of 50 leading experts in 15 countries across every continent. What was the result?
Over to Jonathan Adams…
BUILDING DATA ABOUT WORLD CLASS UNIVERSITIESEVIDENCE THOMSON REUTERS
REFLECTIONS ON A NEW METHODOLOGY
JONATHAN ADAMS, Director Research Evaluation30 SEPTEMBER 2010
THOMSON REUTERS RECOGNISES THE COMPLEXITY OF UNIVERSITY MISSIONS
Publication impact
Publication impact
Med
Bio
PMS
Eng
Ar t
H&L
Soc
SAM
Distance along axis shows strength relative to maximum performance within sector group
Dotted line defines footprint of mid-ranked performance in this sector group
Continuous line defines footprint of institution in this profile
Title identifies research performance indicator covered by this footprint
Axes run from lowest rank to highest (first) within the sector and subject
Text identifies subject area on this axis
Our Research Footprint® draws on multiple indicators, subject
diversity and peer group comparisons
WHAT IS YOUR IDEAL UNIVERSITY?It depends on your perspective
The analysts and the experienced manager
The prospective student
MANAGER, ANALYST, EMPLOYEE, OR STUDENT?
NEW STATESMAN, 17th September 2010‘The reality of university rankings’
• World University Rankings– Cambridge and Oxford joint 6th globally
– UCL 22nd and 4th in the UK, Durham 10th in the UK
• Shanghai Jiao Tong– Cambridge 5th, Oxford 10th globally
– UCL 21st and 3rd in the UK, Durham in 15-19th UK band
• Times and Guardian– Oxford best in the UK
– Durham above UCL
• These rankings are not all doing the same thing
KEY CHANGES IN TIMES HIGHER’S ‘WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS’
• A more rounded picture than given by ‘research power’– Research achievement is primary, but we need balance
and quality, not volume
• Resources
• Scale
• Accounting for subject factors
• Accounting for international factors
• We have made major changes and we will build on these in 2011
THERE IS NO ONE IDEALYOU MAKE YOUR OWN PRIORITIES
BUILDING DATA ABOUT WORLD CLASS UNIVERSITIESEVIDENCE THOMSON REUTERS
REFLECTIONS ON A NEW METHODOLOGY
JONATHAN ADAMS, Director Research Evaluation30 SEPTEMBER 2010
The 2010-11 methodology
THE World University Rankings 2010-11: Results
THE World University Rankings 2010-11: Results
Rankings website: http://bit.ly/thewur
THE World University Rankings: IPhone App
Over to you
• Visit the Global Institutional Profiles Project website: http://science.thomsonreuters.com/globalprofilesproject
• See the results in full, with our interactive tables: http://bit.ly/thewur
* Join our rankings Facebook group. www.facebook.com/THEWorldUniRank
• Keep up to date with all the rankings news on Twitter: @THEWorldUniRank
