Studies On The Uses Of University Rankings Based On Literature

Since the first national university ranking"U.S.News-Best Colleges,published in 1983,and the first global university ranking"Academic Ranking of World Universities"published in 2003,university rankings have played increasingly important role in global higher education development.University rankings which were originally designed to provide information for students to choose colleges are now widely used by higher education institutions,governments,funding agencies,employers and other stakeholders.However,misuses and abuses of university rankings are frequently reported.The aim of this research is to systematically analyze the uses,misuses and abuses of university rankings through qualitative content analysis of academic journal papers,conference proceedings,and research reports published between 1994 and 2014.50 specific uses in 17 categories by various kinds of stakeholders are identified.For example,students use university rankings to choose colleges;higher education institutions use rankings in internal management,public relations,strategic planning,teaching and research;governments and funding agencies use rankings in excellence initiatives,higher education reforms and funding distribution;employers use rankings in graduates hunting.10 reasons and purposes of using rankings are identified in two categories.From users' perspective,university rankings are used in order to improve ranking positions,compete for resources,maximize reputation and social status,increase higher education quality and acquire higher education information.From the perspective of rankings themselves,the importance of ranking indicators,the increasing impact of rankings,the simplicity of ranking results,the variety of information rankings can provide and the objectivity of ranking methodology are the reasons why various stakeholders use rankings.10 types of influences resulted from ranking applications are identified in three categories.Negative influences include challenges for internal management,diminishment of original education objectives,and conflict between teaching and research.Positive influences include enhancement of higher education quality,improvement of public relationships and improvement of ranking methodology.Controversial influences include problems in the distribution of higher education resources,admission and college choice,learning experience of students,and enhancement of ranking positions.On the basis of value theory and additional information from websites,newspaper,magazines and policy reports,the value of 50 specific uses of rankings is assessed.The results indicate that as the majority of uses are reasonable and positive,though a certain percentage of uses are misuses or abuses.