Globalisation and New Developments in Global University Rankings

Abstract

In the past two decades, higher education has been going through a dra- matic change, in large part to meet the dramatic challenge of globalization. A num- ber of theoretical orientations have been devised to explain some of these changes, including intriguing labels such as Academic Capitalism and McDonaldization. These orientations usually give excessive attention to the market as the impetus for driving institutional reform, and the greatest indicator of this change is the growing importance of global university rankings. However, scholars, politicians, and pun- dits have also generated widespread criticism to rankings, and in response to that criticism, alternative ranking systems have begun to be formulated. This paper explores the growing criticism to established global university rankings and the criteria developed for alternative ranking systems, including the European Commission rankings, the Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan (HEEACT) rankings, and the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities. We ultimately ask whether these new ranking systems are improving the process or adding to the negative attention to rankings. Keywords