The paper introduces a novel approach to university rankings that considers a university's contribution to sustainable development. It addresses the usual controversies surrounding the construction of rankings using composite indicators. The conventional approach typically involves normalizing sub-indicators and applying subjective weights for…

This paper assesses how UK universities seek to maintain their global dominant position post-Brexit through comprehensive strategic partnerships with key European institutions as part of their internationalisation strategies. Drawing on 24 semi-structured interviews conducted from November 2017 to July 2018 in 12 UK universities vertically…

To ensure the widespread dissemination of information and to foster interaction and dialogue with users, higher education institutions need to develop an active profile on the social networks. This paper analyses the influence of universities' posting strategy on their followers' engagement (reaction, virality and conversation) by measuring the…

This chapter examines three distinct approaches to lifelong learning to illustrate workforce and societal development efforts in Europe, Singapore, and the United States. The case studies bring to the fore various complex issues, including, in the case of Europe, ensuring more equitable access to workforce development initiatives for all.…

Existing university ranking systems blur differences between Higher Education Institutions because they only focus on research. The increased breadth, diversity and complexity of Higher Education Institutions' missions are repeatedly overlooked causing a low visibility to a wide audience. This paper demonstrates the possibilities to measure other…

This paper examines interactions between the presence of top-ranked universities and other conditions that encourage regional competitiveness. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was conducted to assess the combined effect of the conditions. The analysis yields several noteworthy conclusions. First, no single condition is necessary…

This paper discusses empirical comparisons of higher education institutions across world regions. It argues that institutional data systems have the potential for complementing global comparisons promoted by rankings by providing sensible information on institutional size, budgets, staffing, enrolments and activity profiles. With this perspective…

Universities have to cope with scarce resources and nevertheless are expected to achieve excellent results in research, teaching, and third mission. Therefore, efficient resource use is of great importance. This paper explains emerging concepts and requirements of efficiency analysis, connecting it to university rankings. In order to achieve…

This study examined how hierarchical positions within the global field of higher education influence the selection of strategic priorities by universities in different parts of the world. The study particularly focused on universities' commitment to third missions as reflected in their strategic plans and compared to their global rankings. The…

The starting point of this study is the argument that not only rankings of higher education institutions (HEIs) are inescapable, but so is the constant criticism to which they are subjected. Against this background, the paper discusses how HEIs from Central and Eastern Europe countries (CEECs) are (non)represented in the main global university…

University ranking systems are being implemented with the aim of assessing and comparing higher education institutions at a global level. Despite their being increasingly used, rankings are often strongly criticized for their social and economic implications, as well as for limitations in their technical implementation. One of these limitations is…

This contribution examines the domestic reinterpretations of international and European recommendations in Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs). It asks under what conditions these institutional recommendations, but also global processes such as the university rankings, affect domestic public policies. The countries of Central and…

The main purpose of this study is to explore Chinese and European university staff members' perceptions about the challenges and capacity building needs in terms of academic leadership and university governance. A survey questionnaire with open-ended questions was administered to 58 staff members from 7 Chinese universities and 31 staff members…

The "Rankings in Institutional Strategies and Processes" (RISP) project is the first pan-European study of the impact and influence of rankings on European higher education institutions. The project has sought to build understanding of how rankings impact and influence the development of institutional strategies and processes and its…