A Comparison of China’s “Ivy League” to Other Peer Groupings Through Global University Rankings

Abstract

This article analyzes the People’s Republic of China’s elite-making higher education policies that began in the early 1990s, notably with the 211 Project and then 985 Project, which led to the formation of the C9 League, a group of nine leading institution’s dubbed China’s “Ivy League.” This elite grouping is compared with other Chinese universities in terms of global rankings from 2003 to 2015 to ascertain the separation by these top tiered institutions. Furthermore, the C9 League will be compared with other global elite coalitions in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom over the same period. University rankings, despite considerable criticism, have provided the Chinese leadership with key benchmarks for their vision of world-class higher education. This article finds that the C9 League has made some separation from other Chinese universities and has also caught up with its Western peers (notably passing Canada’s U15) in terms of international rankings.

The ‘internationalisation agenda’ and the rise of the Chinese university: Towards the inevitable erosion of academic freedom?

“…The rise of China’s academia is certainly impressive: following large injections of funding by central government from the 1990s onwards, Chinese universities have rapidly ascended the global league tables, with China’s prestigious C9 League exhibiting a yearly growth rate of 12.8% and even overtaking Canada’s elite U15 group of universities in 2014 (Allen, 2017: 405). 8 Chinese universities now produce the second highest volume of research output in the world and could overtake the United States in research impact as soon as the mid-2020s, according to some estimates (Baker, 2018; Royal Society, 2011: 16).…”

A shortage of cadavers: The predicament of regional anatomy education in mainland China

“…The final number of respondents included 55 (52.38%) which reflected a broad spectrum of medical colleges ( n = 55) located in Beijing, and along the coastal, central, northeastern, and western provinces of mainland China. The colleges in the study population cover a variety of different rankings: 10 colleges from the top ten (including Peking Union Medical College and 85.71% of the medical colleges of the C9 League in China), 26 colleges from the top 30 (including 72.73% of the medical colleges of Project 985 in China), 46 colleges from the top 80 (including 76.47% of the medical colleges of Project 211 in China), and 9 colleges below the top 80 (for the geographical distribution and academic rank of sampling schools, refer to Table ) (Allen, ). Because some colleges do not utilize cadavers for dissection, respondents from these institutions did not respond to the survey.…”

Adding an international lens to the university striving model: How both global and national indicators influence the Chinese higher education hierarchy

“…Only 39 institutions were selected for this elite status, with the first nine selected dubbing themselves as the C9 League. The universities in the 985 grouping have gained international acclaim and have seen dramatic rises in their global rankings such as those from Times Higher Education (I) Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), or the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) (Allen, 2017; Rhoads et al., 2014; Yang & Welch, 2012).…”