Abstract
Higher education practitioners, especially marketers are turning to university rankings and league tables as a cue for comparing themselves with other universities to attract students. The purpose of this chapter is to investigate whether students in South Africa, consider university rankings as a significant factor when deciding on a university of choice. A survey was conducted amongst students at a South African university and specifically considered the importance of the factors relating to university rankings. Most students indicated they considered university ranking as an important factor in their decision and university of choice.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Altbach, P. G. (2011). Rankings season is here. International Higher Education, 62, 2–5.
Altbach, P. G. (2015). The costs and benefits of world-class universities. International Higher Education, 33, 5–8.
Altbach, P. G. (2017, March). College and rankings, 1383. http://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2012.636001.
Altbach, P. G., & Balán, J. (Eds.). (2007). World class worldwide: Transforming research universities in Asian and Latin America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Altbach, P. G., & Salmi, J. (Eds.). (2011). The road to academic excellence-the making of world-class research universities. Washington, DC: The World Bank. http://doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-8805-1.
Amsler, S. S., & Bolsmann, C. (2012). University ranking as social exclusion. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 33(2), 283–301. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2011.649835.
ARWU. (2016). Academic ranking of world universities. Retrived from http://www.shanghairanking.com/index.html#.
Badat, S. (2010). Global university rankings: A perverse and present burden. In E. Unterhalter & V. Carpentier (Eds.), Global inequalities and higher education: Whose interests are we serving? (pp. 2–19). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Barron, G. R. S. (2016). The Berlin principles on ranking higher education institutions: Limitations, legitimacy, and value conflict. Higher Education, 780, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-016-0022-z.
Bjorkquist, C. (2009). Stakeholder influence in higher education: Old ideas in new bottles? (Dissertation). Karlstad University Studies, 47.
Bourdieu, P. (1987). The force of law: Toward a sociology of the juridical field. Hastings Law Journal, 7(1971), 805–853.
Brooks, R., & Waters, J. (2009). A second chance at ‘success’: UK students and global circuits of higher education. Sociology, 43(6), 1085–1102. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038509345713.
Brunsson, N., & Jacobsson, B. (Eds.). (2000). A world of standards. Oxford: Oxford University Press. http://doi.org/10.1177/2347631116648515.
Dearden, J. A., Grewal, R., & Lilien, G. L. (2014). Framing the university ranking game: Actors, motivations, and actions. Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics, 13(2), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.3354/esep00138.
Dill, D. D., & Soo, M. (2005). Academic quality, league tables, and public policy: A cross-national analysis of university ranking systems. Higher Education, 49. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-004-1746-8.
Docampo, D., & Cram, L. (2014). On the internal dynamics of the Shanghai ranking. Scientometrics, 98(2), 1347–1366. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-013-1143-0.
Elken, M., Hovdhaugen, E., & Stensaker, B. (2016). Global rankings in the Nordic region: challenging the identity of research-intensive universities? Higher Education, 72(6), 781–795. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-015-9975-6.
Espeland, W., & Sauder, M. (2009). Rating the rankings. Contexts, 8(2), 16–21. https://doi.org/10.1525/ctx.2009.8.2.16.
Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Boston: Pitman.
Hallinger, P. (2014). Riding the tiger of world university rankings in East Asia: Where are we heading? International Journal of Educational Management, 28, 230–245. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-11-2012-0126.
Horstschräer, J. (2012). Economics of education review university rankings in action? The importance of rankings and an excellence competition for university choice of high-ability students. Economics of Education Review, 31(6), 1162–1176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2012.07.018.
Huang, L. L., Chen, S. W., & Chien, C. L. (2015). The effect of university ranking on learning satisfaction: Social identities and self-identity as the suppressor and mediators. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 18(1), 33–42. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajsp.12064.
Institute for Higher Education Policy. (2007). College and university ranking systems: Global perspectives and American challenges, 64. Retrieved from http://www.ihep.org/Publications/publications-detail.cfm?id=11.
Ishikawa, M. (2015). University rankings, global models, and emerging hegemony. Journal of Studies in International Education, 13(2), 159–173. http://doi.org/10.1177/1028315308330853.
Jeremic, V., & Jovanovic-Milenkovic, M. (2014). Evaluation of Asian university rankings: Position and perspective of leading Indian higher education institutions. Current Science, 106(12), 1647–1653.
Jongbloed, B., Enders, J., & Salerno, C. (2008). Higher education and its communities: Interconnections, interdependencies and a research agenda. Higher Education, 56(3), 303–324. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-008-9128-2.
Jons, H., & Hoyler, M. (2013). Global geographies of higher education: The perspective of world university rankings. Geoforum, 46, 45–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2012.12.014.
Kazeem, Y. (2016). Only ten of the world’s top 1,000 universities are in Africa, according to one list. Retrieved from https://qz.com/africa/731712/only-ten-of-the-worlds-top-1000-universities-are-in-africa-according-to-one-list/.
Kehm, B. M. (2014). Global university rankings—Impacts and unintended side effects. European Journal of Education, 49(1), 102–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12064.
Kováts, G. (2015). “New” rankings on the scene: The U21 ranking of national higher education systems and U-multirank. In A. Curaj, L. Matei, R. Pricopie, J. Salmi, & P. Scott (Eds.), The European higher education area (pp. 293–311). Budapest. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20877-0.
Liu, N. C. (2003). The story of Academic Ranking of World Universities. Retrieved from https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ihe/article/view/8409/7543.
Liu, N. C., & Cheng, Y. (2005). The Academic Ranking of World Universities. Higher Education in Europe, 30(2). http://doi.org/10.1080/03797720500260116.
Liu, N. C., Wang, Q., & Cheng, Y. (Eds.). (2011). Paths to a world-class university. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-355-6.
Marginson, S. (2007). Global university rankings: Implications in general and for Australia. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 29(2), 131–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/13600800701351660.
Marginson, S. (2009). Open source knowledge and university rankings. Thesis Eleven, 96. http://doi.org/10.1177/0725513608099118.
Marginson, S. (2014). University rankings and social science. European Journal of Education, 49(1), 45–59. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12061.
Marginson, S., & van der Wende, M. (2007). To rank or to be ranked: The impact of global rankings in higher education. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11(3–4), 306–329. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315307303544.
Marope, P., Wells, P., & Hazelkorn, E. (2013). Rankings and accountability in higher education: Uses and misuses. In Education on the Move (p. 235).
Martin, J. P. (2015, March–April). Moving up in the U.S. News and World Report Rankings. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 47(2), 52–60.
McDonough, P. M., Antonio, A. L., Walpole, M., & Pérez, L. X. (1998). College rankings: Democratized college knowledge for whom? Research in Higher Education, 39(5), 513–795.
Meredith, M. (2004). Why do universities compete in the analysis ratings game? An empirical of the effects of the U. S. News and World Report College Rankings. Research in Higher Education, 45(5), 443–461.
Mok, K. H., & Cheung, A. B. L. L. (2011). Global aspirations and strategising for world-class status: New form of politics in higher education governance in Hong Kong. Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management, 33(3), 231–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2011.564998.
Olaniran, B. A., & Agnello, M. F. (2008). Globalization, educational hegemony, and higher education. Multicultural Education & Technology Journal, 2(2), 68–86. https://doi.org/10.1108/17504970810883351.
Ordorika, I., & Lloyd, M. (2015). International rankings and the contest for university hegemony. Journal of Education Policy, 30(3), 385–405. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2014.979247.
Paradeise, C., & Filliatreau, G. (2016). The emergent action field of metrics: From rankings to altmetrics. The University Under Pressure, 46, 87–128.
Park, J., & Park, M. (2016). Qualitative versus quantitative research methods: Discovery or justification? Journal of Marketing Thought, 3(1), 1–7.
QS WUR. (2017). About Academic Ranking of World Universities. Retrieved from http://www.shanghairanking.com/aboutarwu.html.
Raisman, N. (2012). Students and staff are the most important stakeholders and customers on campus. Great Service Matters. Retrieved from http://academicmaps.blogspot.com/2012/08/students-and-staff-are-most-important.html.
Rauhvargers, A. (2011). Global university rankings and their impact—Report II. http://doi.org/9789078997276.
Rauhvargers, A. (2014). Where are the global rankings leading us? An analysis of recent methodological changes and new developments. European Journal of Education, 49(1), 29–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12066.
Richter, U. H., & Dow, K. E. (2017, October). Stakeholder theory: A deliberative perspective. Business Ethics: A European Review. http://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12164.
Rodriguez-Pomeda, J., & Casani, F. (2016). Legitimating the world-class university concept through the discourse of elite universities’ presidents. Higher Education Research & Development, 35(6), 1269–1283. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2016.1160877.
Salmi, J. (2009). The challenge of establishing world class universities. Directions in Development Human Development. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-7865-6.
Sauder, M., & Espeland, W. N. (2007). Rankings and reactivity: How public measures recreate social worlds. American Journal of Sociology, 74(February), 63–82. https://doi.org/10.1086/517897.
Soh, K. (2015). Times Higher Education 100 under 50 ranking: Old wine in a new bottle? Quality in Higher Education, 19(1), 111–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/13538322.2013.774795.
Soo, K. T. (2013). Does anyone use information from university rankings? Education Economics, 21(2), 176–190. https://doi.org/10.1080/09645292.2011.561626.
Sowter, B. (2013). Issues of transparency and applicability in global university rankings In P. T. M. Marope, P. J. Wells, & E. Hazelkorn (Eds.), Rankings and accountability in higher education: Uses and misuses (pp. 54–68). Paris: UNESCO Publishing.
SRC. (2017). About Academic Ranking of World Universities (2018). Retrieved from http://www.shanghairanking.com/aboutarwu.html.
Stack, M. L. (2013). The Times Higher Education ranking product: Visualising excellence through media. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 11(4), 560–582. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2013.856701.
Tilak, J. B. G. (2016). Global rankings, world-class universities and dilemma in higher education policy in India. Higher Education for the Future, 3(2), 126–143.
THE. (2016). About Times Higher Education world university rankings. Retrieved from https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/about-the-times-higher-education-world-university-rankings.
THE. (2019). World university rankings. Retrieved from https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings.
Top Universities. (2019). Top universities in the world 2019. Retrieved from https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings-articles/world-university-rankings/top-universities-world-2019.
Usher, A., & Medow, J. (2009). A global survey of university rankings and league tables. In B. M. Kehm & B. Stensaker (Eds.), University rankings, diversity, and the new landscape of higher education (pp. 3–18). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Vernon, M. M., Balas, E. A., & Momani, S. (2018). Are university rankings useful to improve research? A systematic review. PLoS ONE, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0193762.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cullen, M.D.M., Calitz, A.P., Kanyutu, W. (2020). The Importance of University Rankings for Students’ University of Choice: A South African Perspective. In: Mogaji, E., Maringe, F., Ebo Hinson, R. (eds) Higher Education Marketing in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39379-3_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39379-3_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-39378-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-39379-3
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)