University Rankings as Instruments for the Reform of the System of Higher Education in the Global Context

Abstract

An analysis of the rankings of university's in parts of Russia shows how the presence of regional scientific and innovative clusters can improve the competitive positions of these institutions. universities. It finds that clusters can act as the main breakthrough mechanism for advancing Russia's universities in world rankings on the global scale.

University Rankings: Proposal for a Future Research Agenda through a Systematic Literature Review

“…The articles that focused research specifically on a single country were Russia [7,24,52], China [2,4,14,22,53,54], Canada [8], India [30,32], Japan [26], Thailand [27], Indonesia [29], the United States [25], Yemen [17], Taiwan [6], and Armenia [3]. Some studies focus on two or more specific countries: Denmark and India [19]; Belgium and Italy [23]; Austria, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden [21]; Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea [50]; the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, and Belgium; and Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia [48].…”

“…Some studies focus on two or more specific countries: Denmark and India [19]; Belgium and Italy [23]; Austria, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden [21]; Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea [50]; the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, and Belgium; and Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia [48]. The articles that focused research specifically on a single country were Russia [7,24,52], China [2,4,14,22,53,54], Canada [8], India [30,32], Japan [26], Thailand [27], Indonesia [29], the United States [25], Yemen [17], Taiwan [6], and Armenia [3]. Some studies focus on two or more specific countries: Denmark and India [19]; Belgium and Italy [23]; Austria, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden [21]; Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea [50]; the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, and Belgium; and Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia [48].…”

“…[26] Relationship between university rankings and the perception of candidates, the competitiveness of universities, the methodology and bias of rankings, subjectivity in evaluations, and the impact of rankings on the quality of education. [52] Relationship between university rankings and aspects of educational and scientific development. [3] Relationship between university rankings and the influence of these rankings on educational policies, higher education reform, the challenges faced by ethnic minority higher education institutions, and the need to balance cultural identity and integration into wider society.…”

“…Among the aspects that stand out in Table 3, the strategic issue that studies related to university rankings help to make stand out [1,8,17,53] is a concern relating to educational policies [15,19,50]. The relationship made regarding internationalization is observed [7,9,10,22,54]; the quality aspect is highlighted [11,46]; reputation is also the focus of studies [32,34,44,56]; the position aspect of the ranking is studied by researchers [4,45,47,48]; an analysis of students' perceptions and experiences is highlighted [25,26,29,52]; and other research addresses the relationship between university rankings [2,3,30,55].…”

Non-EU Students’ Potential Challenges in Poland: The Case of the City of Poznan

“…Scott [2000] claimed that the universities are probably facing the fundamental challenge in its long history due to the impact of globalization. He identified three main reasons -I) universities' close association with its national cultures II) the impact of development of communication and information technology which demand standardization of teaching and the emergence of cross-cultural research activities and networks and III) national government's minimalistic approach in terms of public expenditure is reducing the universities' traditional and main source of income [Ivy 2001;Hemsley-Brown & Goonawardana 2007;Belanger et al 2002;Mazzarol et al 2003;Efimova 2014]. As a result, to seek for an alternative source of income, universities are expanding their operational activities beyond national boarders [Pimpa 2003;Lockwood & Hadd 2007].…”