I didn’t look at a single ranking when applying to university. I didn’t even know about the obscure industry of ranking tertiary educational institutions. Come to find out, it’s sprawling, and three in particular garner a lot of attention: Times Higher Education (THE), Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), and the Shanghai Ranking (ARWU). These organizations run global conferences, provide consulting services for recruitment, and evaluate universities worldwide.
Meanwhile, a postsecondary degree has become more accessible and prominent. Statistics Canada reports a recent increase (19.1 per cent) in bachelor’s degrees or higher, and Canada has the largest share of working-age people with a college or university credential amongst the G7 countries.
A degree no longer sets you apart the way it once did. I hypothesize that families and prospective students are now looking more at distinguishing factors to make their post-secondary degree stand out in a competitive job market. This makes sense for international and out-of-province students, who are paying much more for their degree.
Queen’s has quite a mixed bag when it comes to rankings.
We shine in the THE Impact Rankings, coming out in the top 10 for the fifth year in a row—and this year, we regained our position as first in Canada.
The Impact Rankings are the only global university rankings that measure universities against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs have become an international language for governments and institutions to speak about social impact. Ultimately, the purpose is to address poverty and other inequities to support people and the planet.
Yet, the elephant on campus is that, while we’ve consistently ranked number one in SDG 2: Zero Hunger, 39 per cent of our own students reported that they couldn’t afford to eat nutritious meals in the 2023 SHIFT survey.
This doesn’t detract from the very important research and innovation being done, but I’ve observed how it can rub students the wrong way when they themselves, or their peers, are facing the very experiences we’re supposedly the best in the world at addressing.
The Impact Rankings, however, aren’t the primary ranking THE is known for. They have a general ranking, where Queen’s is slotted 301-350, based on teaching, research, citations, international outlook, and industry income. We rank in the top 200 by QS). This is actually impressive for our small-city school, considering there are over 1,500 universities evaluated. ARWU places Queen’s in the wide range of 201-300 on the world stage. ARWU has a significant focus on research excellence, considering output, quality, and impact.
While these three ranking bodies are the most widely recognized global rankings, there is criticism when it comes to the integrity of their processes.
Firstly, with rankings like THE, there’s a strong influence of subjective survey-based data on judging reputation. This may be seen most prominently for prestigious universities that can continue to stay on top, which brings into question whether its rankings reward reputation over true educational quality.
QS is a private non-profit company that sells consulting, branding, and data analytics to universities, which calls into question the bias in their commercial interests by ranking and selling services to those ranked.
Unlike THE and QS, ARWU exclusively uses measurable data to reduce subjectivity, and it’s proven to be less volatile since it has seen very limited changes to its methodology for over two decades.
On the flip side, their emphasis on science underrepresents the humanities and the arts, as well as ignores teaching quality and student experience—something decades of students have come to Queen’s for.
All global rankings have limitations as they can’t be detangled from commercial interests and are weighted towards Western institutions. It’s important that families and prospective students are aware of this, and turn to program-specific reputation, research fit, and alumni outcomes.
While an undergraduate degree isn’t the ticket to ride like it used to be, I’d say the opportunity is about the experiences and relationships formed inside and outside of the classroom. The real test of a university is how it shows up for its current students.
If we’re going to be number one in anything, let it be making sure no one goes hungry here and that every student feels like they belong. That’s a ranking I’d put some weight on.
At your service,
Niki
Tags
Quacquarelli Symonds, rankings, Rector's Digest, Shanghai Ranking, Times Higher Education
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