University Rankings: Evidence and a Conceptual Framework

University ranking has high public visibility, the ranking business has flourished, and institutions of higher education have not been able to ignore it. This study of university ranking presents general considerations of ranking and institutional responses to it, particularly considering reactions...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public administration review 2016-09, Vol.76 (5), p.790-803
Main Authors: Fowles, Jacob, Frederickson, H. George, Koppell, Jonathan G. S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Data
Higher education
Identity
Path dependence
Quantitative analysis
Ratings & rankings
Stability
Studies
SYMPOSIUM: INSTITUTIONAL DESIGN FRONTIERS OF PUBLICNESS AND UNIVERSITY PERFORMANCE
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Summary:University ranking has high public visibility, the ranking business has flourished, and institutions of higher education have not been able to ignore it. This study of university ranking presents general considerations of ranking and institutional responses to it, particularly considering reactions to ranking, ranking as a self-fulfilling prophecy, and ranking as a means of transforming qualities into quantities. The authors present a conceptual framework of university ranking based on three propositions and carry out a descriptive statistical analysis of U.S. and international ranking data to evaluate those propositions. The first proposition of university ranking is that ranking systems are demarcated by a high degree of stability, equilibrium, and path dependence. The second proposition links ranking to institutional identity. The third proposition posits that rankings function as a catalyst for institutional isomorphism. The conclusion reviews some important new developments in university ranking.
ISSN:0033-3352
1540-6210
DOI:10.1111/puar.12610