University rankings don't tell the whole story

Prof Ellen Hazelkorn, Director of Research and Enterprise at Dublin Institute of Technology and leader of the Higher Education Policy Research Unit (HEPRU), argues in this Irish Times article that too much focus on global rankings means that we risk transforming our higher education system to conform to metrics designed for other purposes.

Professor Hazelkorn looks at the various rankings, including the Shanghai Jiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universities (SJT), the Times QS World University Ranking and the Taiwan Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for Research Universities, and concludes that sometimes “global rankings focus on what is easily measured rather than measuring what counts”.

Stressing that “it is the total investment that is important”, she recommends that Ireland could usefully look to Australia and to Norway for models which recognise and reward excellence wherever it occurs, developing benchmarks which reflect our societal and innovation needs and assessing performance accordingly.

Links to Rankings information
Shanghai Jiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universities (SJT)
Times QS World University Ranking
Webometrics – Ranking Web of World Universities
Wikipedia – College and University Rankings

Australia - the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative
Norway - the Stjerno Commission

Link to the full Irish Times article