Improving quality of university rankings Articles uri icon

publication date

  • June 2012

start page

  • 99

end page

  • 109

issue

  • 2

volume

  • 28

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 1889-3805

abstract

  • University rankings have become a prominent issue in an increasinglycompetitive world of higher education. Although a positive view of rankings is not unanimously shared, the number of meetings and referencesto ranking of higher education confirms a wide interest and attention tothis phenomenon. This paper discusses the different instruments used forbuilding university rankings and proposes a new methodology that involves simulation techniques allowing ranking universities in a robust way.The immediate benefit achieved is a reduction of the uncertainty associated with the assessment of a specific rank which is not representative ofthe real performance of the university, and an improvement of the qualityassessment of composite indicators used to rank.

keywords

  • higher education institutions; composite indicators; weighting schemes; simulation techniques; rankings; benchmarking