Global University Rankings And The Politics Of Knowledge

For many institutions, to ignore your university’s ranking is to become invisible, a risky proposition in a competitive search for funding. But rankings tell us little if anything about the education, scholarship, or engagement with communities offered by a university. Drawing on a range of research and inquiry-based methods, Global University Rankings and the Politics of Knowledge exposes how universities became servants to the education industry and its impact. Conceptually unique in its scope, Global University Rankings and the Politics of Knowledge addresses the lack of empirical research behind university and journal ranking systems. Chapters from internationally recognized scholars in decolonial studies provide readers with robust frameworks to understand the intersections of coloniality and Indigeneity and how they play out in higher education. Contributions from diverse geographical and disciplinary contexts explore the political economy of rankings within the contexts of the Global North and South, and examine alternatives to media-driven rankings. This book allows readers to consider the intersections of power and knowledge within the wider contexts of politics, culture, and the economy, to explore how assumptions about gender, social class, sexuality, and race underpin the meanings attached to rankings, and to imagine a future that confronts and challenges cognitive, environmental, and social injustice.

"For many institutions, to ignore your university's ranking is to become invisible, a risky proposition in a competitive search for funding and talent. But rankings tell us little if anything about the education, scholarship or engagement with communities offered by a university. Drawing on a range of research and inquiry-based methods, Global University Rankings and the Politics of Knowledge this book exposes how universities became servants to the education industry and its impact. Conceptually unique in its scope, Global University Rankings and the Politics of Knowledge addresses the lack of empirical research behind university and journal ranking products systems. Chapters from internationally recognized scholars in decolonial studies provide readers with robust frameworks to understand the intersections of coloniality and Indigeneity and how they play out in higher education. Including contributions from diverse geographical and disciplinary contexts, this book explores the political economy of rankings within the contexts of the Global North and South, as well as examines alternatives to media-driven rankings. This book allows readers to consider the intersections of power and knowledge within the wider contexts of politics, culture, and the economy, to explore how assumptions about different factors such as gender, social class, sexuality, and race, underpin the meanings attached to rankings, and to imagine a future that confronts and challenges cognitive, environmental, and social injustice."--

The emotive discourses on the subject of university rankings are directly linked to the effect of such rankings on the performance of universities throughout the world. It has been observed that the top-ranked universities attract major financial commitments from the industry, the best students, quality researchers, and a wide range of other quality endowments such as equipment, libraries, and laboratories. It is not surprising that the ranking of universities has gained popularity and become a significant factor shaping not only the reputation of universities but also the performance of said institutions around the world, including the developing countries. Impact of Global University Ranking Systems on Developing Countries presents a collection of perspectives from scholars and other stakeholders on the impact of the global ranking systems on developing countries. The book is an additional resource for discussion and discourse as far as the global university ranking systems are concerned and opens new frontiers for further research. Covering key topics such as assessment, ethics, and academic freedom, this premier reference source is ideal for administrators, policymakers, researchers, scholars, academicians, practitioners, instructors, and students.

Academics, policymakers, postgraduate students, and government agencies responsible for the quality and accreditation of higher education will find the analysis in this book valuable.

Higher Education Institutions simultaneously critique and participate in national and international rankings of universities. However, this creates a difficult situation since if universities do participate in rankings they acquiesce to a system based in media logics that has little to do with academic norms of research. If they do not participate in the rankings they risk losing public funding, students and donors in an increasingly competitive and globalized environment. This book delves into the influence of journalists, business tycoons and multinational corporations in defining what world class is and how it will be measured. Rankings provide us with a rich study for understanding how universities define, deploy and manage their assets and liabilities in a mediatized globalized economy.

This book adopts a qualitative case study approach to provide the readers with a systematic delineation and interpretation of the implications of the university ranking phenomenon for Taiwan’s higher education system. It reviews the literature on different theories concerning the global transformation of higher education and presents basic information on higher education in Taiwan. The author develops a four-dimensional framework for the analysis of the ranking phenomenon in the island-state. First, the technological/ecological dimension aims to look into how the rankings have impacted Taiwan’s higher education based on empirical findings from five Taiwanese public universities. Next, the technological/geographical dimension examines how Taiwan can use rankings to promote its interests in global higher education. The two conceptual dimensions focus on the relationship between the rankings and power in higher education. They show how the phenomenon can be read and explained through theoretical lenses from ecological and geographical perspectives. From an ecological perspective, the empirical evidence suggests that the influence of rankings varies throughout the academic hierarchy in Taiwan. The theoretical analysis then illustrates the relationship between the ranking phenomenon and the power structure in academic hierarchy. Geographically, while the empirical analysis is based on data from Taiwan, the theoretical analysis offers essential insights that help readers to understand the changing global landscape of higher education and its implications in East Asia.

This book, written by three generations of rankings academics with considerable experience from three very different regions of the globe, lifts the lid on the real impact of higher education ranking systems (HERS) on universities and their stakeholders. It critically analyses the criteria that make up the ‘Big Three’ global ranking systems and, using interviews with senior administrators, academics and managers, discusses their impact on universities from four very different continents. Higher education continues to be dominated by a reputational hierarchy of institutions that sustains and is reinforced by HERS. Despite all the opinions and arguments about the legitimacy of the rankings as a construct, it seems experts agree that they are here to stay. The question, therefore, seems to be less about whether or not universities should be compared and ranked, but the manner in which this is undertaken. Delivering a fresh perspective on global rankings, this book summarizes the development of HERS and provides a critical evaluation of the effects of HERS on four different major regions – South Africa, the Arab region, South East Asia, and Australia. It will appeal to any academic, student, university administrator or governing body interested in or affected by global higher education ranking systems.

Universities have been propelled into the center of the global political economy of knowledge production by a number of factors: mass education, academic capitalism, the globalization of knowledge, the democratization of communication in the era of the Internet, and the emergence of the knowledge and innovation economy. The latest book in the International Studies in Higher Education series, Universities and the Public Sphere addresses the vital role of research universities as global public spheres, sites where public interaction, conversation and deliberation take place, where the nature of the State and private interests can be openly debated and contested. At a time of increased privatization, open markets, and government involvement in higher education, the book also addresses the challenges facing the university in its role as a global public sphere. In this volume, international contributors challenge prevalent views of the global marketplace to create a deeper understanding of higher education's role in knowledge creation and nation building. In nearly every national context the pressures of globalization, neo-liberal economic restructuring, and new managerial imperatives challenge traditional norms of autonomy, academic freedom, access and affordability. The authors in Universities and the Public Sphere argue that universities are uniquely suited to have transformative democratic potential as global public spheres.