The higher education sector witnessed substantial growth globally in recent decades in response to mass demand, expansion of access and the emergence of new institutional models. This gave rise to concerns for the quality of higher education outcomes, which in turn led to increased demand for accountability, transparency, evidence of quality and value for money. The result has been a continuously expanding evaluation culture (F.J van Raan, 2005), with rankings and the methodologies it employs comprising just one element of this evaluation culture alongside other elements such as quality enhancement which employs comparative analysis and benchmarking and quality assurance and its range of approaches that include accreditation, assessment and audit among others (Kis, 2005).
Rankings gained momentum at the beginning of the 21st century with the emergence of the knowledge-based economy and the role universities play in contributing to the development and competitiveness of their countries. This seminar aims at exploring the importance attached to rankings. It focuses on four rankings - the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), referred to as the Shanghai Rankings, Times Higher Education (THE), Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and U-Multirank. While the first three ranking systems produce a combined, weighted score across different dimensions of performance, which translates into a position in a league table, U-Multirank uses a varied approach. In the seminar, we will examine the methodologies employed by these four ranking systems, particularly the new U-Multirank approach to ranking. We will also explore the uses and misuses of rankings.
Different universities have taken different approaches to reinforce or improve their position in the ranking tables or to enter the ranking tables. Some institutions have invested significant funds in human resources and infrastructure. Others have formed partnerships with existing universities combining their resources together to enhance their quality and research output. Still some institutions have used rankings strategically to enhance performance outcomes as they align with their mission. Regardless of the approach, institutions participate in rankings with the aim of communicating to their stakeholders their quality and competitiveness. We will explore how rankings have been used globally as a driver for strategic reform and improvement at both the institutional and the system level. We will examine how rankings and the dimensions of performance they employ are being used by Lebanese higher education institutions and it higher education system to enhance quality. Lebanese universities that are ranked globally and regionally will share with the audience the strategies they employ to improve their position in the ranking tables. Rankings of Lebanese universities in the various ranking systems are summarized in Table 1
Table1: Position of Lebanese Universities in International Rankings
|
AURW |
THE World University Rankings |
QS World University Rankings |
|||
|
2020 |
2021 |
2020 |
2021 |
2020 |
2021 |
American Uuniversity of Beirut -AUB |
601-700 |
N/A |
351-400 |
301-350 |
244 |
220 |
Beirut Arab University - BAU |
|
|
|
|
801-1000 |
801-1000 |
Holy Spirit University -USEK |
|
|
|
|
601-650 |
601-650 |
Lebanese American University - LAU |
|
|
801-1000 |
801-1000 |
581-590 |
551-560 |
Lebanese University |
|
|
|
1001+ |
- |
701-750 |
Notre Dame University - NDU |
|
|
|
|
801-1000 |
701-750 |
Saint Joseph University - USJ |
|
|
801-1000 |
801-1000 |
561-570 |
541-550 |
University of Balamand - UOB |
|
|
|
|
581-590 |
501-510 |
One thing for sure is that rankings will not disappear soon, although they are evolving continuously as is the higher education landscape. This reality has influenced even the most skeptical higher education institutions of the ranking systems, the methodologies they employ and the purposes they serve to participate in the rankings. Rankings have made a revolution in defining quality in higher (Hazelkorn, 2015). They offer the possibility to conduct performance measures of universities across the globe in a somewhat reliable and valid way over a short period and cost effective manner. They have made readily accessible to stakeholders - governments, policy makers, funding agencies, donors, faculty, students and the public among others - volumes of data on the quality of higher education and generated intelligence to guide institutional and government strategies for higher education.
Hazelkorn, E. (2015). Rankings and the reshaping of higher education: The battle for world-class excellence. Springer.
Kis, V. (2005). Quality assurance in tertiary education: Current practices in OECD countries and a literature review on potential effects. Tertiary Review: A contribution to the OECD thematic review of tertiary education, 14(9), 1-47.
Van Raan, Anthony FJ. "Challenges in ranking of universities." In Invited paper for the First International Conference on World Class Universities, Shanghai Jaio Tong University, Shanghai, pp. 133-143. 2005.
Erasmus+ Webinar on “Impact of International Ranking on the Performance of Lebanese HEIs and the New U-Multirank Approach”
Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday 15 June 2021, Via Zoom platform at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3736380377?pwd=MXdaaVAyckZkSDNjZ0dqRmt1QVU5UT09
Programme
10h00 - 10h15 Welcome notes
Aref Alsoufi, National Erasmus+ Office Lebanon
Fadi Yarak, Director General of Education and Acting Director General of Higher Education
10h15 - 11h00 Keynote Presentation
Discuss the importance attached to rankings. Explore the existing ranking systems and what they measure with details about U-Multirank.
Explore the uses and misuses of rankings.
Speaker: Ellen Hazelkorn
Moderator: Diane Nauffal
11h00 - 11h15 Q&A
11h15 - 11h35 How to use rankings strategically to enhance the outcomes of HEIs
Explore trends on how rankings are used globally as a lever for enhancement. Explain how performance measures used for rankings can be employed by Lebanese institutions and its higher education system to enhance quality.
Speaker: Ellen Hazelkorn
Moderator: Hania Nakkash
11h35 - 11h45 Q&A
11h45 - 12h45 Mapping of HEIs in Lebanon within the current global ranking systems
Based on the experience of Lebanese universities, describe what is required to participate in the rankings and how rankings are used to inform institutional and national strategies
- What is required on the part of the institutions to participate in the rankings?
- How can rankings help institutions enhance their outcomes?
- How can rankings be used to inform institutional strategy?
- How can rankings be used to inform national strategy in terms of research?
- How can rankings be used to inform national strategy?
- What is the influence of rankings on the different stakeholders of higher education (students, parents, employers, funding agencies)?
Speakers: Bradley Jon Tucker (AUB), Ursula Hage (USJ), Walid Marrouch (LAU), Hoda Moukannas/Zeinab Saad (LU), Hania Nakkash (BAU), Lara Khabbaz (NDU), Rima Mattar (USEK)
Moderator: Chafic Mokbel
12h45 - 13h00 Q&A
13h00 - 13h15 Benefits of participating in U-Multirank
13h15 - 13h30 Conclusions and recommendations including feedback from Prof. Hazelkorn
Hazelkorn, E. (2020). Clarion call to higher education. In T. DeLaquil and H. De Wit (Eds.),
Year in review, 2019-2020 (16, pp. 15-17). Boston College Center for International Higher Education. https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/bc1/schools/lsoe/sites/cihe/publication/Perspectives/Perspectives%20No%2016%20.pdf
Hazelkorn, E. (2020). Renewing the civic agenda. In People, productivity and place: the civic
role of colleges (pp. 10-13). London: Commission on the College of the Future. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c8847f58dfc8c45fa705366/t/5f1712a7b7c02d65b1b8c822/1595347633317/English_ICCF+-+People%2C+productivity+and+place+FINAL.pdf
Hazelkorn, E. (2020). Relationships between higher education and the labour market–A
review of trends, policies and good practices. UNESCO Commissioned Study, China Funds-in-Trust Project Phase III, https://en.unesco.org/themes/higher-education/cfit-higher-education-africa
Hazelkorn, E. (2021). Some challenges facing higher education in Europe in view of the Covid-
19 pandemic. In S. Bergin, T. Gallagher, I. Harkavy, R. Munck and H. van’t Land (Eds.), The higher education response to the COVID-19 pandemic: building a more sustainable and democratic future. Strasburg: Council of Europe. https://book.coe.int/en/higher-education-and-research/9141-higher-education-s-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic-building-a-more-sustainable-and-democratic-future-council-of-europe-higher-education-series-no-25.html
Gibson, A. and Hazelkorn, E. (2019). Part of the furniture: Ireland, Bologna, and two decades of higher education reform. In B. Broucker, K. de Wit, J. C. Verhoeven and L. Leišytė (Eds.), Higher education system reform: an international comparison after twenty years of Bologna (pp. 151-163). The Netherlands: Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004400115
Hazelkorn, E. and Gibson, A. (2018) Public goods and public policy: What is public good, and
who and what decides? Higher Education, 78(2), pp. 257-271. ttps://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0341-3
Hazelkorn, E. and Edwards, J. (2019). Skills and smart specialisation: the role of vocational
education and training in smart specialisation strategies. Luxemburg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/-/skills-and-smart-specialisation-the-role-of-vocational-education-and-training-in-smart-specialisation-strategies
Hazelkorn, E. (2020, 21 March). Should universities be ranked for their SDG performance?
University World News. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200317145134326
Hazelkorn, E. (2020, 27 April). Time to Strengthen Multilateralism in Higher Education, University
World News. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200427100841585
Hazelkorn, E. (2020, 14 November). Have too many people been left behind, post-secondary?
University World News. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20201111143351960
Hazelkorn, E. (2021, 26 January). The Westminster government’s skills agenda is the narrowest
of all the UK nations, Wonkhe. https://wonkhe.com/blogs/the-westminster-governments-skills-agenda-is-the-narrowest-of-all-the-uk-nations/
Hazelkorn, E. (2021). What do global university rankings tell us about US geopolitics in higher
education? In J. J. Lee (Ed.), U.S. power in international higher education. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/u-s-power-in-international-higher-education/9781978820777
Hazelkorn, E. (2021). Are rankings (still) fit for purpose. In H. van’t Land, A. Corcoran and D.
C. Iancu (Eds.), The promise of higher education: essays in honours of 70 years of IAU. McMillan/Springer Nature.
Forthcoming
Hazelkorn, E. (2021). Complex relationship between quality assurance, accountability and
ranking: where next? In P. Okebukola and S. Uvalic-Trumbic, (Eds.), Quality assurance in higher education across the world – a festschrift for Judith Eaton. Sterling Publishers.
Hazelkorn, E. and Mihut, G. eds. (2021) Research handbook on university rankings: history,
methodology, influence and impact. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Hazelkorn, E. and Gibson, A. (2022. Global governance of international higher education and science:
rethinking multilateralism. Bloomsbury Press.
Name | Organization |
Rony Darazi | Antonine University |
Mohammad Malli | Arab Open University |
Doreen Kharrat | Arab Open university |
Dani Aoun | Arab Open University |
Bardely Jon Tucker | AUB |
Karma Elhassan | AUB |
Jean Abi Saab | AUB |
Hala Dimechkie | AUB |
Hiba Othman | AUST |
Layal Abu Daher | BAU |
Ghassan Hamdan | Beirut Arab University |
Maha Aboul Ela | Beirut Arab University |
Hania Nakkash | Beirut Arab University |
Hassan Noura | Islamic University of Lebanon |
Makram Chehayeb | Islamic University of Lebanon |
Makram Chehayeb | Islamic University of Lebanon |
Mohammad Ayache | Islamic university of lebanon |
Jamal Haydar | IUL |
Pierre Gedeon | LCU |
Aya El Mir | Lebanese American University |
Samer Saab | Lebanese American University |
Walid Marrouch | Lebanese American University |
Samer Saab | Lebanese American University |
Diane Nauffal | Lebanese American University |
maha jarjour | lebanese University |
Mohamad Oueidat | Lebanese University |
Hoda Moukannas | Lebanese University |
Pascale Salameh | Lebanese University |
zeinab saad | Lebanese University |
Mariam Fadel | Modern University for Business & Science |
Iman Rabah | Modern University for Business and Science |
Nadim Tabbal | Modern University for Business and Science |
Nina Zeidan | MUBS |
Bassem kaissi | MUBS |
Aref Alsoufi | National Erasmus+ Office |
Lara Khabbaz | NDU |
Rania Najem | NDU |
Yasmine Al Gharib | NEO LB |
Amer Helwani | NEO Lebanon |
Ursula Hage | Saint Joseph University of Beirut |
Nada Moghaizel | Saint Joseph University of Beirut |
Elie Sayegh | Universite Antonine |
Rosabelle CHEDID | Université Antonine |
Joud Bey | Université Libano-Française de Technologie et des Sciences Appliquées ULF- Academic Division - Tripoli Branch |
Melissa Greck | Université Saint-Joseph de beyrouth (Saint-Joseph University of Beirut) |
NAYLA HAJJ | Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth, USJ |
antoine Abche | university of Balamand |
Karim Nasr | University of Balamand |
Chafic MOKBEL | University of Balamand |
maha khachab | UOB |
Maha Hurayki | UOB |
Rima Mattar | USEK |
Joan Samaha | USEK |
Josiane Abi Khattar | USF |
Hana El-Ghali | World Bank |