Europese Commissie lanceert onderzoek voor een Europees ranking systeem voor universiteiten(en)

IP /09/859

Brussels, 2 June 2009

Commission launches feasibility study to develop a multi-dimensional university ranking

Following an open call for tender, the European Commission has selected the winning bid to carry out a feasibility study on the design and testing of a new multi-dimensional global university ranking. The winning bid comes from the CHERPA-Network consortium and is led by the Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies of the Twente University (NL) and the Centrum für Hochschulentwicklung (DE). The other partners in the consortium are the Centre for Science and Technology Studies of the Leiden University (NL), the Research Division INCENTIM of the Leuven University (BE), the Observatoire des Sciences et des Techniques Paris (FR), the European Federation of National Engineering Associations and the European Foundation for Management Development. The project will take 2 years and will cost approximately €1.1million.

Ján Figel i', the European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, said: "It's important that we look into the feasibility of making a multi-dimensional ranking of universities in Europe, and possibly the rest of the world too. Accessible, transparent and comparable information will make it easier for students and teaching staff, but also parents and other stakeholders, to make informed choices between different higher education institutions and their programmes. It will also help institutions to better position themselves and improve their quality and performance."

Why rank universities?

Comparable information on higher education institutions and their teaching and research programmes should make it easier for students, researchers, academics, and parents etc. to make informed choices on where and what to study and where to work. Better information would also help policy-makers at institutional, national and European levels develop future strategies in higher education.

Existing rankings tend to focus on research in "hard sciences" and ignore the performance of universities in areas like humanities and social sciences, teaching quality and community outreach.

A new type of university ranking

While drawing on the experience of existing university rankings and of EU-funded projects on transparency in higher education, the new ranking system should be:

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  multi-dimensional: covering the various missions of institutions, such as education, research, innovation, internationalisation, community outreach and employability;
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  independent: it should not be run by public authorities or universities;
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  transparent: it should provide users with a clear understanding of all the factors used to measure performance and offer them the possibility to consult the ranking according to their needs;
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  global: covering institutions inside and outside Europe (in particular those in the US, Asia and Australia).

The project will consist of two consecutive parts:

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  • a) 

    In a first phase, from May 2009 to the end of 2009, the consortium will design a multi-dimensional ranking system for higher education institutions in consultation with stakeholders.
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  • b) 

    In a second phase, from January 2010 to the end of May 2011, the consortium will test the feasibility of the multi-dimensional ranking system on a representative sample of no less then 150 higher education and research institutions. The sample will focus on the disciplines of engineering and business studies. The sample should have a sufficient geographical coverage (inside and outside of the EU) and a sufficient coverage of institutions with different missions.

Depending on the outcome of the project, recommendations may be made on how this ranking system could, eventually, be implemented at a European and global level.

To find out more:

European Commission: Calls for tender in Education and Culture:

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/calls/tenders_en.html

European Commission: Higher education in Europe