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Rosina White Belchere

World University Rankings: Is Reputation Enough?


Russell group and Ivy League Universities are considered among the best places to study in the world. In the annual world rankings by Times Higher Education and QS World University Rankings, certain names keep on appearing at the very top. Oxford University has been ranked number one for nine consecutive years, with the US-based Stanford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Harvard never far behind. Yet, to what degree does a higher-ranking university influence your undergraduate experience, and your future career path? And, is this system of ranking accurate- or even fair?


The first mystery about these rankings are the grading systems themselves. The Times uses 18 different ‘indicators’, or aspects of education split into 5 categories. These are: Teaching, Research Environment, Research Quality, Industry, and International Outlook. Perhaps the most fascinating and concerning method of how these categories are ranked fall within Teaching and Research. A whole 33% of the overall ranking of a university is determined by ‘Teaching Reputation’ and ‘Research Reputation’. For this, a survey is sent out to a selected group of academics, asking which institutions are best for teaching and research as a whole. This seems logical, except for the fact that academics can vote for their own institutions. According to the official methodology documentation, published on the Times Higher Education (THE) website, ‘self-votes are still allowed and are included’ in the overall calculation of an establishment’s reputation score. Universities can therefore spend a lot of effort and time voting for themselves in the process of these rankings. 


Furthermore, ‘the academic reputation score for a university is the number of mentions they received for the 2022 and 2023 surveys’, meaning that a university’s score in the 2023 world rankings would have directly affected their 2024 ranking. Similarly, QS also uses ‘Academic Reputation’ as a category in their calculations, bringing its weighting up to a massive 60% with Arts and Humanities subjects. These factors suggest that the system is full of biased, subjective material; and that once a university’s reputation is set, it is very difficult to drastically change the order of who always sits at the top. 


The true significance of reputation when considering which university to apply to is employability. The QS world rankings include the ‘Employers Reputation’ indicator, in which employers and academics complete a survey considering which universities they trust to produce the best employees for their field or industry. Even this is partly skewed by academics from certain institutions filling out such surveys. Nevertheless, certain universities’ reputations may make a CV look better to an employer. Graduate Employment Rate is also an interesting statistic, yet it is also important to remember that undergraduates who start at high-ranking intensive universities often pursue further higher education after completing their degree rather than immediately entering the job market. 


You may ask, how else are we meant to rank these institutions? Well, quality of education does not only lie in the numbers; it is also in the individual student’s experience, outside and inside the classroom, mental health support, and even living conditions. Industry-leading scientific discoveries will realistically not be made by undergraduates, so these popular ranking systems can establish unrealistic expectations to young people trying to gain fulfilling university experience both academically, and on a personal level. 


So, when researching universities, consider what lifestyle you could see yourself leading at each institution. Is reputation enough for you to go there? Visiting the institutions in person, talking to friends already enrolled at university, or meeting with a member of our friendly team at Hermiona can all help you make these decisions! 

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