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The Forum > Article Comments > Times Higher Education World University Rankings: why do we care? > Comments

Times Higher Education World University Rankings: why do we care? : Comments

By Nattavud Pimpa, published 17/10/2011

Australian Universities have been rising in the THE rankings, but so what?

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One of the reasons we care I suppose is that the rankings are then used by the marketing department to sell the Uni. Adelaide Uni flogs the fact that it's in the top one percent of unis in the world - but that's only if you include Botswana, Somalia, etc.

The Times Index has flaws, no doubt about that. Those who don't make the cut like RMIT, tend to be critical. Those such as Melb Uni and ANU think the rankings are reasonably fair.

Better to be inside the tent peeing out than outside the tent trying to pee in.
Posted by Cheryl, Monday, 17 October 2011 8:36:00 AM
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My argument is about the consequences that the THE rankings may bring to Australia and other HEIs, not the point on which unis make it to top 400.
Posted by moburne, Monday, 17 October 2011 9:24:00 AM
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Nattavud Pimpa wrote 17 October 2011:

> The Times Higher Education (THE) World University ... help Australian universities to improve their academic performance in the future. ...

Yes, regardless of what we think of these university rankings, they will influence potential students and collaborators. Even my own institution, Australian National University, cannot afford to be complacent.

Universities tend to neglect the role of the World Wide Web in reputation. Some of university rankings include the quality of the university's web presence. There is consideration being given to the measures of performance of Australian academics and universities to take into account their contributions to on-line discussion, not just traditional journal conference papers.

The Group of Eight Universities has provided "Australia's Knowledge Gateway" (AKG) a search system to find experts and information collected from contributing universities: http://gateway.go8.edu.au/

AKG was produced by Australian company Funnelback and makes use of information universities already publish about their people and work. But this, in the main, only includes formal papers and books, not social networking contributions by academics: http://www.funnelback.com/news-and-events/news/posts/group-of-eight-launches-knowledge-gateway-with-funnelback-search

Why track other than formal publications? One of the lessons I learned early in my career as an IT professional, was that reputation as an expert comes partly from how you are perceived by non-experts. While a few close collaborators will know of your work in detail, most will judge you by public comments. So what is said in the media and on the chat forms matter. A parent looking for a university for their child will not read a technical paper I write, but will read what I said to the media, or what was reported from a parliamentary inquiry: http://blog.tomw.net.au/2011/08/parliamentary-report-on-nbn.html

Another way universities can improve their reputation on-line is to give away information. ANU ePress provides eBooks for free online, showcasing the work of its authors: http://epress.anu.edu.au/

I have suggested this practice be extended to all Australian universities, with a national Universities Australia e-Press: http://blog.tomw.net.au/2011/10/universities-australia-e-press.html

As an example, of what can be done, here are the notes for my ICT Sustainability course at Australian National University: http://www.tomw.net.au/ict_sustainability/
Posted by tomw, Monday, 17 October 2011 10:55:57 AM
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IMO rankings based on methodology like this one, or the Chinese equivalent, are largely rubbish. How, and why, would you use the 'information' they provide? If your interest is in how to help a new student in the search for the right place, they are next to meaningless. If to help an aspiring PhD choose the right place, he or she has dozens of better insights.

These rankings are about relative status and status-seeking, and are best ignored (unless of course you are seeking status or defending it).
Posted by Don Aitkin, Monday, 17 October 2011 10:59:43 AM
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The article is interesting for an educator like me. I still believe in TIMES rankings, due to its rigorous system and its long-term reputation. One point, however, by Nattavud on the missing roles of University (i.e. teaching) is very important.

I have been working with one University in Sydney since 1990s and never before I have seen the decline of teaching. Most academic staff members are now aiming for ARC and outsourced their teaching to some unqualified sessional staff. This is truly unfair for our students.
Posted by lupita, Monday, 17 October 2011 12:20:40 PM
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plus, most of my colleagues do feel the pressure to publish, although they are more interested in good teaching or relationship building with the industry. Rankings have influenced us tremendously.
Posted by lupita, Monday, 17 October 2011 12:23:05 PM
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