Tendencies in developing university rankings and the ways of improving them

Abstract

The article is devoted to university rankings: the problems of their development, the real results of their use based on the role they fulfil in modern society. The university rankings classification according to the level of coverage of universities (international global, international regional, national, intra-university rankings), the target groups of users (rankings for applicants, for employers, for investors and financial donors, for society, general rankings), the methodology of compiling (rankings based on objective indicators, on peer reviews, mixed rankings) is developed. It is emphasized that the objectivity of university ranking depends largely on its methodology that above all covers its philosophy and methods of preparing. Philosophy of university ranking reflects its main idea, the purpose and the objectives of compiling, target audience, and the principles of formation. The methods of preparing comprise evaluation indicators, methods of their weighting (weight ratio), methods of surveys and experts selection, data sources for indicators assessment, verification of ranking results, ways and means of their publication, etc.