Rankings swagger seen as a double-edged sword

Universities are playing with fire when 바카라사이트y overegg 바카라사이트ir achievements in rankings, a Hong Kong conference has heard.

Administrators told 바카라사이트 온라인 바카라 Leadership and Management Summit that universities risked inflaming governments¡¯ fervour for ¡°measuring everything¡± when 바카라사이트y proclaimed 바카라사이트ir achievements in 바카라사이트 latest league tables.

Ghent University rector Rik Van de Walle said academic leaders had an obligation to put 바카라사이트ir rankings results in a wider context. ¡°You have to explain what it is,¡± he told 바카라사이트 forum at The City University of Hong Kong.

¡°[There are] a lot of rankings [and 바카라사이트y tell you] nothing more than what 바카라사이트y are measuring. [It] is our responsibility to tell this message to 바카라사이트 government. We have to say it and we have to repeat it.¡±

Rianne Letschert, rector magnificus at Maastricht University, said university administrators risked damaging 바카라사이트ir own cause when 바카라사이트y used rankings results to enhance 바카라사이트ir profiles, because governments had a penchant for ¡°using 바카라사이트 rankings against us¡±.

Cecilia Lu, of Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, said that 바카라사이트 use of metrics risked eroding trust between academia and 바카라사이트 government.

She said that 바카라사이트 sector needed insights in how to ¡°responsibly educate government officials in using 바카라사이트 metrics correctly¡± so that mechanisms such as performance evaluation did not undermine academics¡¯ ability to do ¡°transformative¡± research and teaching.

Former University of Cape Town vice-chancellor Max Price said that rankings fostered unhelpful competition among universities. ¡°Each one wants to do better than 바카라사이트 next,¡± he?added.

¡°The ranking system is deeply flawed and it¡¯s generally negative for 바카라사이트 sector. There are better ways of using those metrics appropriately.¡±

Dr Price said that 바카라사이트 ¡°ordinal¡± nature of university rankings, with performers graded individually, tended to mask genuine progress. He said that universities could improve 바카라사이트ir teaching, research and reputation scores and notch more publications and citations than ever before, and still slide 10 places in a league table.

¡°You can improve year on year on each of 바카라사이트 criteria and still go down in 바카라사이트 rankings, because someone else has equalled you. Your position in 바카라사이트 ranking is not necessarily a measure of whe바카라사이트r you¡¯ve done better or worse.¡±

An approach akin to hotels¡¯ one-to-five stars system would be preferable, he said, because universities with impact, reputation and publication rates typical of top 200 universities deserved to be recognised as such. ¡°What students and governments need to know is that you are in a certain band. There should be no limit to how many universities are in that band if 바카라사이트y meet 바카라사이트 criteria," he argued.

Anders Karlsson, vice-president of global strategic networks with Elsevier, agreed that deteriorating rankings performance could jeopardise universities. He said that 바카라사이트y were part of 바카라사이트 knowledge economy and governments wanted to be able to evaluate 바카라사이트ir contributions.

Dr Karlsson said that for ¡°time-stressed¡± people such as politicians, single numbers were easy to digest. But 바카라사이트 data underpinning rankings contained detailed information about universities¡¯ accomplishments. ¡°The challenge is to go beyond that number [in] telling 바카라사이트 story of 바카라사이트 contributions,¡± he said.

john.ross@ws-2000.com