Such is the international nature of higher education in the 21st century that, for the top institutions at least, global rankings are beginning to assume greater importance than national league tables. Particularly where research is concerned, Oxford and Cambridge are as likely to compare themselves with Harvard and Princeton as with other UK foundations. And governments all around the world have expressed an ambition to have at least one university among the international elite.
How such rankings should be constructed remains a matter of constant debate. The Higher Education Funding Council for England was the latest official body to commission a review. Its report, published in April and covering both national and global rankings, concluded that globalisation was sure to see greater significance attached to international comparisons in future.
This year’s World University Rankings will be based on a record number of responses from academics and employers, as well as on thoroughly-researched data on citations, staffing levels and the proportions of international faculty and students. More than 6,000 academics ventured an opinion on the leading universities in their own discipline. The results were weighted to ensure a fair representation both geographically and by subject grouping.
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