Introduction: putting rankings in context looking back, looking forward

Hazelkorn, Ellen; Mihut, Georgiana

doi:10.4337/9781788974981.00008

Cited by 10 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The HEIs of developing countries could be becoming aware of sustainability's relevance to promoting their universities and increasing their academic brands. Thus, concurring with Hazelkorn and Mihut (2021), this ranking represents an opportunity for institutions to accrue intangible assets in the form of reputation and competitiveness within the ranking's sphere of influence through achieving the SDGs and improving their positions on the ranking. In turn, as Hazelkorn (2015) foresaw, the university systems of these countries have noted how their flagship universities are positioned more highly in this ranking system than in the THE-WUR and how newcomers have emerged onto the scene of global rankings, reshaping the landscape of these institutions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Enhancing sustainable development goals or promoting universities? An analysis of the times higher education impact rankings

Bautista‐Puig

Orduña-Malea

Perez-Esparrells

2022

IJSHE

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Purpose This study aims to analyse and evaluate the methodology followed by the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings (THE-IR), as well as the coverage obtained and the data offered by this ranking, to determine if its methodology reflects the degree of sustainability of universities, and whether their results are accurate enough to be used as a data source for research and strategic decision-making. Design/methodology/approach A summative content analysis of the THE-IR methodology was conducted, paying special attention to the macro-structure (university score) and micro-structure (sustainable development goals [SDG] score) levels of the research-related metrics. Then, the data published by THE-IR in the 2019, 2020 and 2021 edition was collected via web scraping. After that, all the data was statistically analysed to find out performance rates, SDGs’ success rates and geographic distributions. Finally, a pairwise comparison of the THE-IR against the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE-WUR) was conducted to calculate overlap measures. Findings Severe inconsistencies in the THE-IR methodology have been found, offering a distorted view of sustainability in higher education institutions, allowing different strategic actions to participate in the ranking (interested, strategic, committed and outperformer universities). The observed growing number of universities from developing countries and the absence of world-class universities reflect an opportunity for less-esteemed institutions, which might have a chance to gain reputation based on their efforts towards sustainability, but from a flawed ranking which should be avoided for decision-making. Practical implications University managers can be aware of the THE-IR validity when demanding informed decisions. University ranking researchers and practitioners can access a detailed analysis of the THE-IR to determine its properties as a ranking and use raw data from THE-IR in other studies or reports. Policy makers can use the main findings of this work to avoid misinterpretations when developing public policies related to the evaluation of the contribution of universities to the SDGs. Otherwise, these results can help the ranking publisher to improve some of the inconsistencies found in this study. Social implications Given the global audience of the THE-IR, this work contributes to minimising the distorted vision that the THE-IR projects about sustainability in higher education institutions, and alerts governments, higher education bodies and policy makers to take precautions when making decisions based on this ranking. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this contribution is the first providing an analysis of the THE-IR’s methodology. The faults in the methodology, the coverage at the country-level and the overlap between THE-IR and THE-WUR have unveiled the existence of specific strategies in the participation of universities, of interest both for experts in university rankings and SDGs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Enhancing sustainable development goals or promoting universities? An analysis of the times higher education impact rankings

Bautista‐Puig

Orduña-Malea

Perez-Esparrells

2022

IJSHE

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“…As discussed earlier, preparing submissions for the sustainability rankings are resource intensive and the cost involved in such exercises does not provide a significant advantage. However, a lower rank may have an adverse impact in the main WUR standing or the ability to attract funding from government or private sources (Bautista, Calderon, 2019;De la Poza et al, 2021;Hazelkorn & Mihut, 2021).…”

Section: Regional Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability Rankings: What they are About and How to make them Meaningful

Calderón

2023

Journal of Studies in International Education

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Higher education institutions (HEIs) have long embraced a path towards sustainability and engaged in supporting sustainable development. The adoption of the sustainability development goals has forced HEIs to assess how they engage with these goals and how they address societal challenges head on. However, the emergence of sustainability rankings is when HEIs began to focus on promoting these institutional efforts in earnest. The aim of this article is to put in perspective the various sustainability rankings which have emerged over the past fifteen years, discuss some of the methodological nuances of these, and highlight the disparity in performance of HEIs across world regions. This article also suggests some ways in which these rankings can be improved and ways in which the administrative burden of supplying and analysing data can be strengthened.

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Sustainability Rankings of Universities

Lukman

2024

Strategies for Sustainability

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Introduction: putting rankings in context looking back, looking forward

Abstract: https:// ireg -observatory .org/ en/ initiatives/ ireg -inventory -of -international -rankings/ .

Cited by 10 publications

References 33 publications

Enhancing sustainable development goals or promoting universities? An analysis of the times higher education impact rankings

Enhancing sustainable development goals or promoting universities? An analysis of the times higher education impact rankings

Sustainability Rankings: What they are About and How to make them Meaningful

Sustainability Rankings of Universities

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