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A Faustian bargain? Institutional responses to national and international rankings

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  • Peter W. A. West

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

Suggested Citation

  • Peter W. A. West, 2009. "A Faustian bargain? Institutional responses to national and international rankings," Higher Education Management and Policy, OECD Publishing, vol. 21(1), pages 1-10.
  • Handle: RePEc:oec:edukaa:5ksq6h9fdjr3
    DOI: 10.1787/hemp-v21-art1-en
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    Cited by:

    1. El Gibari, Samira & Gómez, Trinidad & Ruiz, Francisco, 2018. "Evaluating university performance using reference point based composite indicators," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 1235-1250.

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