University rankings, diversity, and the new landscape of higher education / / Barbara M. Kehm, Bjorn Stensaker.

• Superior document: Global perspectives on higher education ; 18
• VerfasserIn: Kehm, Barbara, 1955-; Stensaker, Bjørn,
• TeilnehmendeR: Stensaker, Bjørn,
• Place / Publishing House: Rotterdam, The Netherlands : : Sense Publishers,, [2009]; ©2009
• Year of Publication: 2009
• Language: English
• Series: Global perspectives on higher education ; 18.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource.

University rankings are a relatively new phenomenon in higher education. Although quite an established practice in the U. S., it is only within the last decade that attempts to analyse university performance have spread to the rest of the world, and that we also have seen new global rankings appear—rankings attempting to measure university performance beyond national borders. No wonder that this trend is accompanied by a growing interest in studying rankings throughout the world. This book is written as part of the effort to better understand rankings and their effects on higher education. A serious approach towards university rankings implies that rankings should be analysed properly, including the methods used and the indicators chosen, and investigate the objectives claimed. If university rankings are considered as consumer information then everyone should have an interest in basing such guidance on valid and reliable data and methodology. A serious analysis should also discuss the wider implications of rankings as an emerging phenomenon in higher education. Consequently, the contributions to this book investigate and analyse how different rankings work, how they reach their conclusions, and on what data and methodology they are built. Furthermore it provides a critical reflection about the impact of rankings on higher education, how and in what way rankings influence policy-making, the structure of the sector, or the internal life of the sector.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material / Barbara M. Kehm and Bjørn Stensaker -- A Global Survey of University Rankings and League Tables / Alex Usher and Jon Medow -- Reputation Indicators in Rankings of Higher Education Institutions / Gero Federkeil -- World University Rankings. The Need for a New Paradigm / Roland Proulx -- Institutional Rankings, Marketing, and the Needs of Intending Students / Bernard Longden and Mantz Yorke -- Disseminating the Right Information to the Right Audience: Cultural Determinants in the Use (and Misuse) of Rankings / Leon Cremonini , Don Westerheijden and Jürgen Enders -- Global University Rankings: Some Potentials / Simon Marginson -- Convergence and Diversity: The Role and Influence of University Rankings / David D. Dill -- The ‘World-Class’ University in Europe and East Asia: Dynamics and Consequences of Global Higher Education Reform / Rosemary Deem , Lisa Lucas and Ka Ho Mok -- Towards Unified and Stratified Systems of Higher Education? System Convergence and Organizational Stratified Differentiation in Europe / Massimiliano Vaira -- Between Over-Diversification and Over-Homogenization: Five Decades of Search for a Creative Fabric of Higher Education / Ulrich Teichler -- About the Authors / Barbara M. Kehm and Bjørn Stensaker -- Global Perspectives on Higher Education / Barbara M. Kehm and Bjørn Stensaker.