(The) university rankings phenomenon

Abstract

The past several decades have witnessed a growth in the popularity and consequent prominence of university rankings in the global network of higher education. Thanks to such rising popularity, university rankings now not only enjoy ubiquity but also strongly influence public and stakeholder perceptions. These stakeholders, ranging from individual students to state policymakers, find that their perception and actions are affected by the presence of university rankings ？ an effect that I term “ranking phenomenon.” This thesis examines the university rankings literature on the concept of the ranking phenomenon and finds that in the interactions between university rankings themselves and the literature on the topic of these rankings, an ideological conflict on higher education takes place. University rankings are constructed in accordance with the rankings producers’ ideologies on higher education, and the ranking phenomenon allows for the transmission of that ideology to rankings users. University rankings literature on the other hand represents the ranking scholars’ response

the arguments put forth by university rankings researchers reveals the ideological stance that scholars take on higher education, which often comes into conflict with those espoused by the rankings.