Using the Classification for Institutional Profiling: The University of Strathclyde

In this chapter, the experiences and aspirations of one European university, Strathclyde in Glasgow, are examined to see what practical value a European classification of higher education institutions would provide. Institutional rankings have developed more rapidly in the United Kingdom than elsewhere in the European Union and British universities such as Strathclyde have amassed many years of experience in dealing with the managerial consequences of league tables. For them, classification holds out the alluring prospect of being compared with like institutions within the rich diversity of European higher education.

The pressure to perform well in the institutional rankings is rising inexorably. Rankings have become so closely linked with both external reputation and institutional self-image that they can no longer be ignored. Yet they can easily pull an institution away from its unique mission, often aligned with the particular needs of the local community, towards the orthodoxy that secures league table success. Thus league tables are the enemy of diversity.