Education Universities

How Are Universities Ranked?

Published at 03/19/2012 21:31:03

Introduction

The quality of education given determines the quality of students produced. In our system of education, ranked universities take the role of holding the last and most important stage of schooling. The higher the standard of the university, the higher the learning one can expect to gain. 

History

Choosing a university is very crucial for a student’s life. It is one of the determining factors of whether a student will have a successful career or will become a failure. Knowing who the top universities in the country are is very important. However, to be sure of the integrity in ranking the universities, one must also know the process of making the ranking. Here are some things we need to know as to how universities ranked.

There are basic criteria to determine the ranking of the different universities. Among all the criteria, the following proved to be the most common.

Basic Criteria

To ranked universities, the first criterion is the quality of education. For most students, this is the most basic factor that has to be considered when choosing a university. This makes this criterion the most important. How is the quality of education being assessed? Certain indicators are used in evaluating the quality of education. One of this is by focusing on the achievements or success of the alumni of the university. The more number of alumni produced by the university that has achieved significant success in different fields, the higher the points they will get for the ranking.

Another common type of criterion is the quality of university faculties. Universities who have teachers or instructors who are well known for their personal accomplishment especially in their field of studies would gain more points, resulting to the university’s having a better place in the ranking. Universities give their best efforts to recruit or hire experts in the different fields of science and other arts to teach in their schools. This would boost the university’s reputation as well as give them recognition as being an elite school in the country.

Research output is another important criterion for ranking. The kind of research conducted by a university is a huge factor in determining their rank level. Universities spend much of their resources and time to be able to conduct significant research projects. This will help the school to increase their chances of a better ranking.

Last of the important criteria for ranking is academic performance. How the university fares in levels of academic excellence in terms of research studies conducted, examination and test scores, passing rates and academic awards are considered.

Tips and comments

These are criteria on how universities ranked. Each criterion is important to determine the rankings of the different universities. Regarding the procedure of ranking, there are different approaches and methods in ranking the universities. However, these different approaches and methods have somehow caused a stir to many concerned individuals and student bodies. Because of the many varying methods that are being used, reliability of the results in ranking has been somehow questioned. A very big concern with having different ranking methods is that it ultimately leads to different ranking results. It is very difficult to judge which result is right, making the whole process of ranking quite trivial and untrustworthy.

Regardless the imperfect methods and process in getting the ranks, the one thing that is certain is that unoversities ranked are very crucial for the universities. This will ultimately verify their place in the educational system and cement their reputations as one of the best universities.

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