No World-Class University Left Behind

Abstract

I don't wish to appear alarmist, but to judge from the growing literature we appear to be facing a World Class University ranking crisis. Our problem is not that we lack such lists, but rather that there are too many and they are too different. Because of the lack of uniformity, many institutions across the globe are claiming either that they plan to become World Class Universities by a date certain, or else that they have already achieved this status. World-classness has been projected or claimed for institutions in Viet Nam, Turkey, Chile, Kashmir and Malaysia, among others. Thailand has been particularly blessed with three institutions with such aspirations, the University of Timbuktu (which apparently was a WCU in the 12th Century) has announced its intention of regaining that status, and the president of the Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research has claimed world-class status, even as the source of its accreditation is being questioned.