NDLI: A Faustian bargain? Institutional responses to national and international rankings

Please wait, while we are loading the content...

A Faustian bargain? Institutional responses to national and international rankings

"Standards will drop" – and other fears about the equality agenda in higher education

The knowledge economy and higher education: Rankings and classifications, research metrics and learning outcomes measures as a system for regulating the value of knowledge

Rankings and the battle for world-class excellence. Institutional strategies and policy choices.

What's the difference? A model for measuring the value added by higher education in Australia

Defining the role of academics in accountability

The growing accountability agenda: Progress or mixed blessing?

The regional engagement of universities. Building capacity in a sparse innovation environment.

A Faustian bargain? Institutional responses to national and international rankings

Content Provider	OECD iLibrary
Author	West, Peter W. A.
Abstract	In the highly competitive international world of learning, universities make full use of favourable league table positions to strengthen their reputations. Yet are they, in so doing, entering into a Faustian Bargain in which the long-term cost outweighs the short-term gain? Success in league tables comes at a cost in terms of accepting the orthodoxies of others instead of pursuing particular institutional missions linked to the particular priorities of the local community. Based on recent surveys of institutional experience and on a new analysis of the impact of league tables on English higher education, this paper argues that if, as seems likely, rankings are here to stay, the shortcomings of the present approach must be acknowledged and addressed. By Peter W.A. West, University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom L’exploitation des classements nationaux et internationaux par les établissements d’enseignement supérieur : Un pacte avec le diable ? Face à l’internationalisation du secteur éducatif, désormais hautement concurrentiel, les universités exploitent au maximum leur place dans les classements internationaux en vue d’accroître leur prestige. Mais cette stratégie ne revient-elle pas à conclure un pacte avec le diable, dont les coûts à long terme sont en réalité bien supérieurs aux avantages immédiats ? L’université qui choisit d’asseoir sa réputation sur ces classements accepte en effet, implicitement, de se plier aux règles fixées par ceux qu’elle cherche à émuler, au lieu de concentrer ses efforts sur certaines missions spécifiques, plus en adéquation avec les besoins particuliers de la communauté locale. À la lumière de sondages récents menés auprès des établissements, et d’une nouvelle analyse de l’impact des classements sur le système d’enseignement supérieur britannique, ce rapport suggère que si la pratique des classements persiste – et c’est fort probable – le secteur n’aura d’autre choix que d’identifier leurs insuffisances et anomalies pour y apporter les améliorations nécessaires. Par Peter W.A. West, Université de Strathclyde, Royaume-Uni
Page Count	10
Starting Page	1
Ending Page	10
Volume Number	21
Issue Number	1
Language	English
Publisher	OECD Publishing
Publisher Date	2009-04-20
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Education
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article

Central Library (ISO-9001:2015 Certified)
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Kharagpur, West Bengal, India | PIN - 721302

See location in the Map
03222 282435
Mail: support@ndl.gov.in

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in