Survey - The State of Global University Rankings: Usage & Sentiment

Help us understand how Higher Education professionals perceive the value, methodology, and impact of major world university rankings.

Which rankings does your institution actively monitor or prioritise?

QS World University Rankings

Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings

Academic Ranking of World Universitie (ARWU/Shanghai)

US News Best Global Universities

CWTS Leiden Ranking

None / We do not track rankings

How significantly do rankings influence your institution's strategic planning?

Critical: They are a primary KPI for our strategy

High: They heavily influence specific areas (marketing partnerships)

Moderate: We monitor them but they don't drive strategy

Low: We rarely consider them

None: We actively ignore them

In your professional opinion, which ranking methodology is the most robust/credible?

QS (reputation heavy)

THE (balanced mix)

ARWU (research heavy)

Leiden (bibliometric only)

None of them are credible

To what extent do you agree with this statement: "Global rankings accurately reflect the quality of an institution."

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

What is the primary motivation for your institution's interest in rankings?

International Student Recruitment

Research Partnerships & Collaboration

Alumni Relations & Philanthropy

Senior Management / Board Prestige

Benchmarking against competitors

What are your biggest criticism of current major rankings?

Reputation Surveys: Too subjective and biased.

Methodology Changes: Too volatile year-on-year.

Anglophone Bias: Favors English-speaking nations.

One-size-fits-all: Ignores specific institutional missions.

Transparency: Black-box calculations.

(Optional) Any other thoughts on the current state of HE rankings?

Telll us a bit about yourself. Which region is your institution primarily based in?

United Kingdom

Europe (excluding UK)

North America (USA/Canada)

Asia

Oceania

Middle East & North Africa

Latin America

Africa (Sub-Sahara)

Other / Not Applicable

What best describes your primary role?

Senior Leadership (e.g. VC / PVC / Dean / Director)

Strategic Planning / Institutional Research / Data Analyst

Marketing / Communications / Recruitment

Academic / Faculty / Researcher

Administrative / Professional Services

Student

Other (e.g. Consultant

Journalist)

How many years have you worked in the Higher Education sector?

Less than 2 years

2 - 5 years

6 - 10 years

11 - 20 years

More than 20 years

Not applicable

(Optional) May we contact you for follow-up questions or to share the final report? If yes, please provide your email.