Purpose: This paper aims to examine whether the position of universities in the times higher education (THE) impact rankings (IR) is related to the different dimensions of academic quality of universities according to the THE world universities ranking. Design/methodology/approach: The research, based on universities ranked in the top 100 of THE…

"Elite" and "flagship" are two influential groupings used to conceptualize differences among higher education institutions, but rarely defined. We derive common features attributed to these groupings from a content analysis of 40 years of higher education literature. Next, we explore the relationship of these features to other…

Purpose: Nowadays, universities increasingly consider reputation as a key component for improving quality and rankings. A positive reputation opens doors to added value and diverse opportunities. This paper aims to explore Middle Eastern higher education managers' perceptions of university reputation components. Design/methodology/approach: Given…

Private master's comprehensive institutions (PMCIs) in the United States navigate pressures to expand college access and equity while striving for prestige in the academic hierarchy. To strive for prestige entails competing for world-class status of greater selectivity, research intensity and resources, but such a pathway to excellence may,…

We offer a Cultural Studies approach--a transdisciplinary field of study critically examining contemporary culture--to illuminate the roles of cultural producers and consumers in mediating the meaning of university rankings amidst a global media landscape. Using the case study of Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and drawing on the concepts of: (1)…

Policy discussions related to higher education in sub-Saharan Africa often include concerns related to quality. Rather than being an abstract characteristic, quality of higher education is the result of a series of actions and practices, and yet there is limited research on the practices associated with quality in higher education in Africa. This…

State and federal governments invest millions of dollars in providing accurate and relevant information on expected outcomes to students pursuing higher education, but whether such information targets what students value about college is unclear. We use new survey data to identify the extent to which conventional indicators for college quality and…

In creative higher education (HE) undergraduate courses in the UK, women students are over-represented by a proportion of two-to-one. However, music HE shows almost the reverse gender balance, with women students under-represented. This article, theorising HE as hierarchically stratified according to institutional prestige, uses descriptive…

Purpose: The converging global trends for countries and educational institutions is to push the boundaries of science and develop new technologies through the application of internationalization strategies. However, the extent to which higher education institutions (HEIs) participate and apply internationalization strategies in higher education…

The role of rankings in higher education accrediting procedures is examined in this essay. It examines how rankings are integrated, as well as their advantages, drawbacks, and potential applications. Rankings have grown in popularity as instruments for evaluating institutional excellence, offering comparison data, and assisting in decision-making.…

This paper uses a rich set of student background characteristics to estimate the value added of second-level schools in Ireland. We show that there is a considerable degree of reranking of schools when we move from analysing raw outcomes to value added; in many cases the best performing schools in raw terms are not the best in value-added terms.…

This paper empirically explores the underlying factors influencing students' choice of private education providers in a developing country. Hence, this research aims to contribute to the existing literature by enhancing the understanding of university choice among students, satisfaction, and loyalty, particularly within the context of African…

This article reviews the history of world university rankings and their large-scale impact. It then analyzes some of the criticism of the world ranking systems before exploring their impact in the context of Thai universities. The authors' assertions centre on the premise that much of the criticism of these ranking systems can be divided into…

The purpose of the research is to theorise about the determinants of academic reputation and the moderating effects of aspiration performance in Latin-American universities present in three of the most important rankings in the world: The Times Higher Education, QS World University Rankings, Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). To…

This study shows findings of an investigation into the forms of institutionalizing academic rankings as accountability tools for Brazilian public universities. The absence of institutional conditions which allowed the rise of these league tables in other countries - competitive admission markets and incorporation into public policies - evinces the…