Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The effect of university mergers on the Shanghai ranking

  • Published:
Scientometrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The growing influence of the idea of world-class universities and the associated phenomenon of international academic rankings are intriguing issues for contemporary comparative analyses of higher education. Although the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU or the Shanghai ranking) was originally devised to assess the gap between Chinese universities and world-class universities, it has since been credited with roles in stimulating higher education change on many scales, from increasing the labor value of individual high-performing scholars to wholesale renovation of national university systems including mergers. This paper exhibits the response of the ARWU indicators and rankings to institutional mergers in general, and specifically analyses the universities of France that are engaged in a major amalgamation process motivated in part by a desire for higher international rankings.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. In 2014 ARWU made use of the old and new Thomson Reuters’ lists of Highly Cited Researchers to compute two HiCi sub-scores, old HiCi and new HiCi.

  2. In the case of the HiCi indicator the equation applies to both the old and new HCR counting separately.

  3. There are slight differences for universities specializing in social sciences and humanities where N&S is not included.

  4. http://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/cid51351/initiatives-d-excellence.html.

  5. http://cache.media.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/file/Loi_pour_l_ESR/23/4/MESR-1an-loi_341234.

  6. More explicitly: the rule is to count enseignants-chercheurs excluding research staff from e.g. CNRS or INSERM.

References

  • Aghion, P., & Cohen, E. (2004). Éducation et croissance. Paris: La Documentation française.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alix, J. P., & Andler, M. (2013). Is the new french research and education reform going far enough? Euro Scientist. http://www.euroscientist.com.

  • Aula, H. M., & Tienari, J. (2011). Becoming “world-class”? Reputation-building in a university merger. Critical Perspectives in International Business, 7(1), 7–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baron, M. (2010). The changes in the map of French universities since the 1960s: Findings and issues. Mouvement Social, 233, 93–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Billaut, J. C., Bouyssou, D., & Vincke, P. (2010). Should you believe in the Shanghai ranking: An MCDM view. Scientometrics, 84(1), 237–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourdin, J. (2008). French senate—Rapport d’information sur le défi des classements dans l’enseignement supérieur. French Senate—Session Extraordinaire de 2007–2008.

  • Chevaillier, T. (2013). Evaluation in French higher education: History, policy and debates. Scuola Democratica, 4(2), 619–627.

    Google Scholar 

  • Docampo, D. (2013). Reproducibility of the Shanghai academic ranking of world universities results. Scientometrics, 94(2), 567–587.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Docampo, D., & Cram, L. (2014). On the internal dynamics of the Shanghai ranking. Scientometrics, 98(2), 1347–1366.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Docampo, D., & Cram, L. (2015). On the effects of institutional size in university classifications: The case of the Shanghai ranking. Scientometrics, 102(2), 1325–1346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Florian, R. V. (2007). Irreproducibility of the results of the Shanghai academic ranking of world universities. Scientometrics, 72(1), 25–32.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Fridenson, P. (2010). The French higher education policy since 1968. Mouvement Social, 233, 47–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, W. (2004). Manchester aims to be academic powerhouse. Financial Times UK, October 22, 2004.

  • Harman, G., & Harman, K. (2008). Strategic mergers of strong institutions to enhance comparative advantage. Higher Education Policy, 21, 99–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hazelkorn, E. (2011). Rankings and the reshaping of higher education. The battle for world-class excellence. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • HERB. (2014). Higher education in Russia and beyond, nr.1, spring 2014. Newsletter of the National Research University Higher School of Economics. http://www.ihe.hse.ru.

  • Hoareau, C. (2011). Globalization and dual modes of higher education policymaking in France. Centre for Studies in Higher Education, UC Berkeley, Research and Occasional Paper Series. http://escholarship.org/uc/item/9r38v416.

  • Labi, A. (2011). University mergers sweep across Europe. Global Chronicle of Higher Education.

  • Lichtenberger, Y., Macron, E., & Padis, M. O. (2007). Introduction: La réhabilitation inattendue de l’université au sein de l’enseignement supérieur. ESPRIT, 12, 9–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, N. C., & Cheng, Y. (2005). Academic ranking of world universities: Methodologies and problems. Higher Education in Europe, 30(2), 127–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McBain, L. (2012). College and university mergers: An update on recent trends. American Association of State Colleges and Universities Higher Education Policy Brief.

  • Mérindol, J. Y. (2007). Strasbourg, l’exemple d’une fusion universitaire. ESPRIT, 12, 106–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Musselin, C., & Dif-Pradalier, M. (2014). When merging is clearly the best way forward: The (re)birth of the University of Strasbourg. Revue française de Sociologie, 55, 285–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pisani-Ferry, J. (2014). France ten years from now—priorities for the coming decade. http://blog.en.strategie.gouv.fr/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/NS-FS-juillet2014-anglais.

  • Podolny, J. (2005). Status signals: A sociological study of market competition. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salmi, J. (2009). The challenge of establishing world-class universities. Washington, DC: The World Bank.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Samuelson, R. (1968). French student revolt: An account of the origins and objectives. Science, 160, 971–974.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shih, C. (2012). Towards a new golden age: Goals-challenges at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Ninth Annual Lecture of the Higher Education Policy Institute.

  • Siganos, A. (2007). French universities alliances and mergers: Impact on ARWU global rankings. http://www.shanghairanking.com/wcu/wcu2/comptitivit/mondiaux/et/Universits/EM/pour/CampusFrance.

  • Siganos, A. (2008). Rankings, governance, and attractiveness of higher education: The new French context. Higher Education in Europe, 33(2/3), 311–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SIRIS. (2011). How to speak the language of French higher education and research part 1: Translating the reforms of 2011. http://www.sirislab.com/how-to-speak-the-language-of-french-higher-education-part-1/ (downloaded 22 September 2014).

  • Staley, O. (2014). Nations chasing Harvard merge colleges to ascend rankings. Bloomberg, March 13.

  • Stephenson, S. (2011). Discursive “policy logics” of mergers in US higher education: Strategy or tragedy? Tertiary Education and Management, 17(2), 117–137.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • The Ratings Game. (2010). Editorial in Nature, 464, 7–8.

  • Thomson Reuters. (2013). Web of knowledge v5.9 release notes. http://wokinfo.com/media/pdf/webofknowledge5-9RN.

  • Tight, M. (2013). Institutional churn: Institutional changes in United Kingdom higher education. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 35(1), 11–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Raan, A. F. J. (2005). Fatal attraction: Conceptual and methodological problems in the ranking of universities by bibliometric methods. Scientometrics, 62(1), 133–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The work of D. Docampo was supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Galician Regional Government under agreement for funding the Atlantic Research Center for Information and Communication Technologies (AtlantTIC).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Atlantic Research Center for Information and Communication Technologies, Universidad de Vigo, Campus Universitario, 36310, Vigo, Spain

    D. Docampo

  2. Observatoire de Paris, Laboratoire Univers et Théories, PSL Research University, 61 Avenue de l’Observatoire, 75014, Paris, France

    D. Egret

  3. Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 0200, Australia

    L. Cram

Authors
  1. D. Docampo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. D. Egret
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. L. Cram
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to L. Cram.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Docampo, D., Egret, D. & Cram, L. The effect of university mergers on the Shanghai ranking. Scientometrics 104, 175–191 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-015-1587-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-015-1587-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation