Ben Sowter
Head of Division, QS Intelligence Unit
September 2012
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Copyright © 2012 QS Intelligence Unit
Rankings have many faults and do not
adequately describe universities and cannot
show whether one institution is better than
another…
…but I am very happy when Cambridge is rated
as the top university in the world
Alison Richard
Former Vice-Chancellor, University of
Cambridge
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2003
Shanghai Rankings emerge
2004
QS (initially with THES) and Webometrics Rankings launched
2005
Employer component
added to QS ranking
2007
HEEACT ranking published for the first time
2009
2010
QS University Rankings: Asia launched
URAP rankings begin
2010
Times Higher Education go their own way
October 2011
February 2012
QS Best Student Cities
published
QS University Rankings: Latin America launch
June 2012
Improved subject tables extended to embrace 29 disciplines
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To ENABLE motivated people
around the WORLD
achieve their POTENTIAL by
fostering international MOBILITY,
educational ACHIEVEMENT
and career DEVELOPMENT
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






Higher education costs increasing
Number of students increasing
Number of international students increasing
More universities actively recruiting
Flooded with information
Employers increasingly dissatisfied with graduate
skill sets
Need for discernment
Need for navigation tools
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Chart C4.1. Evolution in the number of students enrolled outside their country of citizenship, by region
of destination (2000 to 2010)
Worldwide
OECD
G20 countries
Europe
North America
4.5m
Number of foreign students
4.0m
3.5m
3.0m
2.5m
2.0m
1.5m
1.0m
0.5m
0.0m
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Source: OECD and UNESCO Institute for Statistics for most data on non-OECD countries. Table C4.5.
See Annex 3 for notes (www.oecd.org/edu/eag2012).
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South Korea
1655%
Brazil
1069%
New Zealand
763%
Czech Republic
540%
Saudi Arabia
320%
Ireland
295%
Russia
291%
Spain
287%
Netherlands
251%
Greece
212%
Poland
200%
Italy
180%
Chile
177%
Australia
United Kingdom
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156%
140%
8
A UNIQUE LENS
QS the only global
ranking authority to
consider it
Central to the life goals
of most prospective
students
An essential inclusion in
every QS assessment
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Faculty Student
Academic Reputation
Citations per Faculty
Employer
Reputation
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International
Faculty
International
Students
10








46,079 academic respondents
25,564 employer respondents
729 institutions ranked
72 countries overall
32 countries in top 200
19m students at ranked

institutions

16m self-citations excluded
1m visits in first week
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Avg change in position:

Top 100 – 4.6 places

Top 200 – 9.1 places

Top 100 an average of 7
years younger than 2010

9.2% growth in international
students at top 200
35% of all international
students at top 3% of
institutions
11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
University of Cambridge
Harvard University
UCL (University College London)
University of Oxford
Imperial College London
Yale University
University of Chicago
Princeton University
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Columbia University
University of Pennsylvania
ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)
Cornell University
Stanford University
Johns Hopkins University
University of Michigan
McGill University
University of Toronto
Duke University
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
12
54
United States
United…
30
Germany
11
Netherlands
11
10
Japan
9
Canada
8
Australia
China
7
Switzerland
7
Belgium
6
South Korea
6
Hong Kong
5
Sweden
5
4
France
Denmark
3
Ireland
3
Other
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13
Alumni Awards
Academic Reputation
Faculty Awards
Employer Reputation
Faculty Student
Size
Teaching Reputation
PhDs/Bachelors
Research reputation
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HiCis
Rich Files
PhDs per academic
Citations
Co-authored papers
Nature & Science
International Faculty
Scholar
SCI/SSCI Articles
Size
International Students
Citations per Faculty
Visibility
Undergrads per academic
Papers per academic
International Staff
Income per academic
Research income
International Students
14
ARWU
QS
Webometrics
THE
1 Harvard
MIT
Harvard
Caltech
2 Stanford
Cambridge
MIT
Harvard
3 MIT
Harvard
Stanford
Stanford
4 Berkeley
UCL
Berkeley
Oxford
5 Cambridge
Oxford
Cornell
Princeton
6 Caltech
Imperial
Minnesota
Cambridge
7 Princeton
Yale
Pennsylvania
MIT
8 Columbia
Chicago
Wisconsin
Imperial
9 Chicago
Princeton
UIUC
Chicago
Caltech
Michigan State
Berkeley
September 2012
July 2012
October 2011
10 Oxford
August 2012
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UNIVERSITY RANKINGS
MORE SUBJECTS
MORE CONTEXTS
MORE DIMENSIONS
26 subject tables in
2011
More anticipated for
2012
QS Best Student
Cities
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




A way to address many criticisms of rankings
A broad based rating system, designed to identify,
evaluate and recognize universities for their diverse
and specialist strengths.
Once evaluated, universities are awarded with a star
rating, based on their performance.
Can include all universities—including those not in
the rankings or low ranked
Benefits institutions looking to increase international
presence
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Points Available – 1000
Learning Environment
100
Core Criteria
600
Teaching
6 indicators
150
+
Employability
3 indicators
Facilities
6 indicators
100
OR
150
Online/Distance
6 indicators
Research
100
Internationalization
7 indicators
3 indicators
Culture
3 indicators
OR
Access
150
Specialist Criteria
200
+
Innovation
150
Discipline Ranking
2 indicators
50
OR
+
5 indicators
Advanced Criteria
100
4 indicators
50
50
OR
Engagement
4 indicators
50
150
+
Accreditation
2 indicators
50
Version 4.0
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Though of course we recognize limitations of all
league table methodologies, we greatly value
QS for the clarity and quality of the data you
use and for the stability which enables us to
see and understand
trends over time.
This, we think, gives your rankings a
comparative advantage and considerable
authority.
David Eastwood
Vice-Chancellor, University of Birmingham
More than double
the average for the
world’s top 600
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Population
GDP growth
11.3m
-6.9%
1960
2011
Population density (per km²)
1960
87.8
2011
GDP per capita
$26,892
1961
2011
1980
Population Age
0-14
15-64
2011
Education expenditure (%GDP)
65+
1960
2011
1998
Tertiary Enrolment
1971
Source: World Bank – World Development Indicators
2009
Expenditure per tertiary student
2010
1998
2007
21
QS Global Academic Survey
Count
% Global
Avg years in
academia
Average seniority
QS Global Employer Survey
327
0.7%
% Global
547
2.2%
20.3
Rank by response
13
Assistant Professor
Average seniority
Other Human Resources
Leaders
44
Rank by response
38
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Weighted Count
Most responsive
sector
Manufacturing
22
Very Large
SIZE
Large
Medium
Small
GREECE
GLOBAL
FOCUS
Fully Comprehensive
Comprehensive
Focused
Specialist
GREECE
GLOBAL
Very High
RESEARCH INTENSITY
High
Moderate
Limited or None
GREECE
GLOBAL
Historic
AGE BAND
Mature
Established
Young
New
GREECE
GLOBAL
Public
STATUS
Private not for profit
Private for profit
GREECE
GLOBAL
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Institutions in Range
Average Rank
Range
2012
2011
Change
1-100
0
0
0
101-200
0
0
0
201-300
0
0
0
301-400
0
1
-1
401-500
2
2
0
475
483
8
0
501-600
2
2
0
532
572
40
0
601-700
2
1
1
654
636
-18
0
Overall
6
6
0
554
522
-32
-1
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2012
2011
Change
387
-1
24
Year on year indicator
performance:
Greece
40
Average indicator performance:
Greece vs. Global
AR
50
40
30
IS
ER
20
IS
30
ER
20
10
10
0
0
IF
FS
CF
2012
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AR
IF
FS
CF
2011
Greece
Global
25
2010
Aspect
SYSTEM
ACCESS
FLAGSHIP
ECONOMIC
OVERALL
SYSTEM
2011
Score
Rank
Score
Rank
Score
Rank
29.5
91.8
44.4
19.2
46.2
37
7
36
40
31
28.6
86.2
25.8
17.2
39.5
38
8
43
44
37
29.3
58.0
20.1
20.9
32.1
39
25
49
44
42
ACCESS
2010
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FLAGSHIP
2011
ECONOMIC
2012
26
Institution
2012
2011
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
451-500
451-500
University of Crete
451-500
451-500
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
501-550
387
National Technical University of Athens
551-600
551-600
University of Patras
601+
551-600
Athens University of Economics and Business
601+
601+
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Year on year faculty area performance:
Greece
Average faculty area performance:
Greece vs. Global
AH
AH
10
20
8
15
6
10
4
SS
ET
2
SS
0
0
NS
LS
2012
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ET
5
2011
NS
LS
Greece
Global
28
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FEBRUARY
MAY
JUNE
SEPTEMBER

1,500 following live launch
 Over one million direct visitors in week one
 Results online at www.topuniversities.com
 Detailed methodologies and survey response
analysis at www.iu.qs.com
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The list is the origin of culture…
How does one attempt to grasp the
incomprehensible?
Through lists.
Umberto Eco
Essayist, Philosopher & Novelist
31
Results: www.topuniversities.com
Methodology & Comment: www.iu.qs.com
Twitter: @bensowter, @worlduniranking
Facebook: www.facebook.com/universityrankings
Email: ben@qs.com; intelligenceunit@qs.com
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