Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Learning to Live with League Tables and Ranking: The Experience of Institutional Leaders

  • Article
  • Published:
Higher Education Policy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper draws on the results of an international survey of HE leaders and senior managers, which was supported by the OECD Programme on Institutional Management for Higher Education (IMHE) and the International Association of Universities (IAU). It focuses on how HEIs are responding to league tables and rankings (LTRS), and what impact or influence — positive or perverse — they are having on institutional behaviour, decision-making and actions. The growing body of academic research and journalist reportage is referenced to contextualize this international experience. The paper shows that while HE leaders are concerned about the impact of rankings, they are also increasingly responsive and reactive to them. In addition, key stakeholders use rankings to influence their decisions: students use rankings to ‘shortlist’ university choice, and others make decisions about funding, sponsorship and employee recruitment. Rankings are also used as a ‘policy instrument’ to underpin and quicken the pace of HE reform.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. An earlier version of this paper was presented to the Higher Education in the 21st Century — Diversity of Missions conference (Dublin, 2007) and 3rd Meeting of the International Ranking Expert Group (Shanghai, 2007). Special thanks are extended to Richard Yelland, OECD/IMHE, and Eva Egron-Polak, IAU, who supported the research, and Amanda Moynihan, my research assistant.

  2. The ‘Matthew Effect’ is based on a line in St. Matthew's Gospel that says, ‘For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath’ (Matthew 25:29). This line has often been summarized as: ‘The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer’.

References

  • Altbach, P.G. (2006) ‘The dilemmas of ranking’, International Higher Education 42 (Winter).

  • Baly, A. (2007) ‘What can we learn from Australia about ranking universities?’, Presentation to Ranking Universities for Students: Pilot Project Results Conference, Brussels.

  • Berger, M. (2001) ‘Why the USNWR law school rankings are both useful and important’, Journal of Legal Education 51 (4): 487–502.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowden, R. (2000) ‘Fantasy higher education: university and college league tables’, Quality in Higher Education 6 (1): 41–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brewer, D.J., Gates, S.M. and Goldman, C.A. (2002) In Pursuit of Prestige. Strategy and Competition in U.S. Higher Education, New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clancy, P. (2001) College Entry in Focus. A Fourth National Survey of Access to Higher Education, Ireland: Higher Education Authority.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, M. (2007) ‘The Impact of Higher Education Rankings on Student Access, Choice and Opportunity’, in IHEP (ed.) College and University Ranking Systems: Global Perspectives and American Challenges, Washington, DC: Institute for Higher Education Policy, pp. 35–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Contreras, A. (2007) ‘The cult of speed’, Inside Higher Education, 31 July.

  • Dichev, I. (2001) ‘News or noise? Estimating the noise in the US News University rankings’, Research in Higher Education 42: 237–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dill, D.D. and Soo, M. (2005) ‘Academic quality, league tables and public policy: a cross-national analysis of university ranking systems’, Higher Education 49: 495–533.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Egron-Polak, E. (2007) ‘Editorial’, IAU Horizons, May.

  • Ehrenberg, R.G. (2001) ‘Reaching for the Brass Ring: how the USNWR rankings shape the competitive environment in US higher education’, Paper prepared for Macalester Forum on Higher Education.

  • Ehrenberg, R.G. (2004) ‘Econometric studies of higher education’, Journal of Econometrics 121: 19–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Espeland, W.N. and Sauder, M. (2007) ‘Rankings and reactivity: how public measures recreate social worlds’, American Journal of Sociology 113 (1): 1–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrell, E.F. and van der Werf, M. (2007) ‘Playing the rankings game’, Chronicle of Higher Education, 25 May.

  • Federkeil, G. (2007) ‘Rankings and quality assurance in higher education’, Presentation to 3rd Meeting of the International Ranking Expert Group (IREG 3), Shanghai.

  • Finder, A. (2007) ‘Ivy League admissions crunch brings new cachet to next tier’, New York Times, 16 May.

  • Fitzgerald, G. (2006) ‘ITs [Institutes of Technology] suffer from change in student social base’, The Irish Times, 11 March.

  • Griffith, A. and Rask, K. (2007) ‘The influence of the USNWR collegiate rankings on the matriculation decision of high-ability students: 1995–2004’, Economics of Education Review 26 (2): 44–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hazelkorn, E. (2006) ‘Impact and influence of league tables and ranking systems on institutional decision-making’, Presentation to the HRK/IMHE Symposium on Institutional Diversity: Rankings and Typologies in Higher Education, Bonn, December.

  • Hazelkorn, E. (2007) ‘Impact and influence of league tables and ranking systems on higher education decision-making’, Higher Education Management and Policy 19 (2): 87–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Honan, J.P. (1995) ‘Monitoring institutional performance’, Priorities 5 (Fall).

  • Hossler, D. (1998) ‘Everybody wants to be Number One: The Effects of the Media's College Rankings’, in G.I. Maeroff (ed.) Imaging Education: The Media and Schools in America, New York: Teachers College Press, pp. 161–177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hossler, D. and Foley, E.M. (1995) ‘Reducing the Noise in the College Choice Process: The Use of College Guidebooks and Ratings’, in R. Dan Walleri and M.K. Moss (eds.) Evaluating and Responding to College Guidebooks and Rankings, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, pp. 21–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kallio, R.E. (1995) ‘Factors influencing the college choice decisions of graduate students’, Research in Higher Education 36 (1): 109–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keller, T. (2007) ‘Truth, lies and rankings’, Inside Higher Education, 12 April.

  • Levin, D.J. (2002) ‘The uses and abuses of the US news rankings’, Priorities 20 (Fall/Autumn).

  • Lovett, C. (2005) ‘The perils of pursuing prestige’, Chronicle of Higher Education, 21 January.

  • Machung, A. (1998) ‘Playing the rankings game’, Change (July/August): 12–16.

  • Marginson, S. (2007) ‘Global university rankings: implications in general and for Australia’, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management 29 (2): 131–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonough, P.M., Antonio, A.L., Walpole, M. and Pérez, L.X. (1998) ‘College rankings: democratized college knowledge for whom?’, Research in Higher Education 39 (5): 513–537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meredith, M . (2004) ‘Why do universities compete in the ratings game? An empirical analysis of the effects of the US News and World Report college rankings’, Research in Higher Education 45 (5): 443–461.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Monks, J. and Ehrenberg, R.G. (1999) ‘U.S. News & World Report's college rankings: why they do matter’, Change 31 (6): 43–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, D. and Thompson, L. (2007) ‘University League Tables and The Impact on Student Recruitment, Reputation Management for Universities’, Working Paper Series No. 2. Leeds, Cambridge and Brisbane: The Knowledge Partnership.

  • Rolfe, H. (2003) ‘University strategy in an age of uncertainty: the effect of higher education funding on old and new universities’, Higher Education Quarterly 57 (1): 24–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sadlak, J. and Liu, N.C. (2007) ‘Introduction to the Topic: Expectations and Realities of World-Class University Status and Ranking Practices’, in J. Sadlak and N.C. Liu (eds.) The World-Class University and Ranking: Aiming Beyond Status, UNESCO-CEPES and Shanghai Jiao Tong University: Cluj University Press, pp. 17–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salmi, J. and Saroyan, A. (2007) ‘League tables as policy instruments: uses and misuses’, Higher Education Management and Policy 19 (2): 31–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samuelson, R.J. (2004) ‘In praise of rankings. Demographics and fierce competition have created a new class of elite schools. That turns out to be a good thing’, Newsweek, 8 September.

  • Sauder, M. and Lancaster, R. (2006) ‘Do rankings matters? The effects of US News & World report rankings on the admissions process of law schools’, Law & Society Review 40 (1): 105–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmalbeck, R. (1998) ‘The durability of law school reputation’, Journal of Legal Education 48 (4): 568–590.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spies, R.R. (1978) The Effect of Rising Costs on College Choice. A Study of the Application Decisions of High-Ability Students, Princeton, NJ: College Board Publication Orders.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stake, J.E. (2006) ‘The interplay between law school rankings, reputations, and resource allocation: ways rankings mislead’, Indiana Law Journal 81 (Winter): 229–269.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, D. (2005) ‘Benchmarking in universities: league tables revisited’, Oxford Review of Education 31 (3): 353–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • University of Sussex School of Education. (2006) ‘Needs of employers and related organisations for information about quality and standards of higher education’, Report to HEFCE, UK.

  • Usher, A. (2006) ‘Can our schools become world-class’, The Globe and Mail, 30 October.

  • Usher, A. and Savino, M. (2006) ‘A world of difference: a global survey of university league tables’, Canadian Education Report Series. Toronto: Educational Policy Institute.

  • van Raan, A.F.J. (2007) ‘Challenges in the Ranking of Universities’, in J. Sadlak and N.C. Liu (eds.) The World-Class University and Ranking: Aiming Beyond Status, UNESCO-CEPES and Shanghai Jiao Tong University: Cluj University Press, pp. 87–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wedlin, L. (2006) Ranking Business Schools: Forming Fields, Identities and Boundaries in International Management Education, Cheltenham Glos: UK Edward Elgar.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Zhe, J., Whalley, G. and Whalley, A. (2007) ‘The power of information: how do U.S. News rankings affect the financial resources of public colleges?’, Working Paper 12941, National Bureau of Economic Research, http://www.nber.org/papers/w12941.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin, Dublin 2, Republic of Ireland

    Ellen Hazelkorn

Authors
  1. Ellen Hazelkorn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hazelkorn, E. Learning to Live with League Tables and Ranking: The Experience of Institutional Leaders. High Educ Policy 21, 193–215 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1057/hep.2008.1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/hep.2008.1

Keywords

Search

Navigation