Strategic Manipulation of University Rankings, the Prestige Effect, and Student University Choice

Dearden, James A.; Grewal, Rajdeep; Lilien, Gary L.

doi:10.1177/0022243719831258

Cited by 40 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 42 publications

(46 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Therefore, they serve institutional prestige considered very significant for higher education institutions. This inclination follows an understanding that high prestige may increase universities' attractiveness to potential students (Dearden et al, 2019) and is one of the key drivers of students' university choice and attendance (Casidy and Wymer, 2018;Draelants, 2012). Studies also show that universities' reputations significantly affect employers' choice of their future employees (Torche, 2011;Triventi, 2013), and, therefore, seem to impact the future economic benefits of university graduates (Jung and Lee, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

International examiners’ participation of the Viva: a ritual or an actual indicator of research quality?

Nir

Bogler

2021

QAE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose Little is known about the impact external Viva examiners coming from the international community of scholars have on the quality of PhD research. This study aims to argue that the encounter between local and international examiners (IEs) is subject to various complexities, raising doubts about whether IEs’ participation and approval of the Viva may indicate for the quality of PhD research, and, therefore, serve to promote a university’s prestige. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with IEs who served as examiners in six European countries, two African countries, two South American countries and one in the Commonwealth of Australia. Findings Findings show that structural features, cultural qualities and personal contacts restrict IEs’ ability to introduce significant changes in students’ research, turning the Viva into a ritual with confined academic significance. Originality/value The findings reveal that the Viva is mostly a ritual confined by structural and cultural barriers. While rituals are considered significant due to their consolidating and socializing functions, it appears that a Viva is mostly a ceremonial event that has little impact on the quality of PhD research or on shaping the research culture of the hosting universities according to international standards. Implications are further discussed.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

International examiners’ participation of the Viva: a ritual or an actual indicator of research quality?

Nir

Bogler

2021

QAE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…More recent contributions have further extended the understanding of the perverse effects of traditional rankings and their metrics [23,31,32]. For example, Dearden, Grewal, and Lilien [31] highlighted that ranking publications, in addition to offering objective information, also affect the prestige of these schools, which in many cases acts against the preferences of students. They concluded that the research capabilities of business schools, which form a heavy component of ranking metrics, introduce the risk of problematic research practices.…”

Section: The Unintended Consequences Of Published Rankingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing the Positive Impact Rating: A New Business School Rating in Support of a Sustainable Future

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Business school rankings are “big business”, influencing donors and potential students alike, holding much sway over decanal and faculty priorities, particularly with respect to the curriculum as well as the focus and destination of research publications (i.e., in so-called “top” journals). Over the past several years, the perverse effects of these priorities have begun to be acknowledged, and new ratings and ranking systems have emerged. One promising newcomer is the Positive Impact Rating (PIR), which uniquely and exclusively focuses on student perceptions of their business school’s priorities and the learning experience. In addition, it organizes schools by tier, in an effort to foster collaboration and continuous improvement, as opposed to ranked competition. If this new approach is to achieve its stated objective and help shift the focus of business schools to developing future business leaders and research output in alignment with a more sustainable world (and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals), it is essential that the metrics used be and be perceived as both valid and reliable. The current research aims to make a contribution in this regard, analyzing the results at one business school in detail and making recommendations for strengthening these aims. Results show that the parametric properties of the survey are highly interrelated, suggesting that the predictive utility of the separate elements within the scale could be improved. Additionally, biases in scores may exist depending on where the responses are collected and who solicited them, as well as the students’ perception of their overall academic experience and on socio-cultural factors.

show abstract

“…More recent contributions have further extended understanding of the perverse effects of traditional rankings and their metrics [22,30,31]. For example, Dearden, Grewal and Lilien [30] highlighted that ranking publications, in addition to offering objective information, also affect the prestige of these schools which in many cases acts against the preferences of students. They concluded that research capability of business schools, which forms a heavy component of ranking metrics, introduces the risk of problematic research practices.…”

Section: Perverse Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing the Positive Impact Rating: A New Business School Rating in Support of a Sustainable Future

Rodenburg¹,

Rizwan²,

Liu³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Business School rankings are “big business”, influencing donors and potential students alike, holding much sway over decanal and faculty priorities, particularly with respect to the curriculum as well as the focus and destination of research publications (i.e., in so called “top” journals). Over the past several years, the perverse effects of these priorities have begun to be acknowledged and new ratings and ranking systems have emerged. One promising new comer is the Positive Impact Rating (PIR), which uniquely and exclusively focuses on student perceptions of their business school’s priorities and the learning experience. In addition, it organizes schools by tier, in an effort to foster collaboration and continuous improvement, as opposed to ranked competition. If this new approach is to achieve its stated objective and help shift the focus of business schools to developing future business leaders and research output in alignment with a more sustainable world (and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals), it is essential that the metrics used be – and perceived as - both valid and reliable. The current research aims to make a contribution in this regard, analyzing the results at one business school in detail and making recommendations for strengthening these aims. Results show that the parametric properties of the survey are highly interrelated suggesting that the predictive utility of the separate elements within scale could be improved. Additionally, biases in scores may exist dependent on where the responses are collected and who solicited them, as well as the students’ perception of their overall academic experience and on socio-cultural factors.

show abstract

Strategic Manipulation of University Rankings, the Prestige Effect, and Student University Choice

Cited by 40 publications

References 42 publications

International examiners’ participation of the Viva: a ritual or an actual indicator of research quality?

International examiners’ participation of the Viva: a ritual or an actual indicator of research quality?

Enhancing the Positive Impact Rating: A New Business School Rating in Support of a Sustainable Future

Enhancing the Positive Impact Rating: A New Business School Rating in Support of a Sustainable Future

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About