Rankings not whole picture, say leading UAE universities

Bruised by slip in international position, UAE’s academics say volatility in ratings system colours picture of achievement.

Students at American University of Sharjah campus, where the school’s position in the Quacqarelli Symonds rankings slipped below 400 in latest survey. American University in Dubai was the only UAE schShow more

DUBAI // Some of the UAE’s leading universities have slipped down the listings in the latest world rankings.

UAE University (UAEU), the American University of Sharjah (AUS), the University of Sharjah and Khalifa University are among those which placed lower in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) rankings.

UAE University in Al Ain was the first UAE institution to make the world rankings when it reached the top 500 in 2009. This year, however, it dropped from 385 into the 421-to-430 bracket. Those lower than 400 are put into brackets.

Prof Rob Whelan, UAEU’s deputy provost, said there were many reasons for the drop, one of which was the importance given to academic reputation.

“It carries a 40 per cent weighting in the overall score, and therefore has an enormous impact on rank,” he said.

Only the American University in Dubai improved, rising from the 601-to-650 bracket to 551 to 600.

AUS fell from 390 to the 411-to-420 bracket, Khalifa University from 441 to 450 to 481 to 490 and the University of Sharjah from 551 to 600 to 601 to 650.

However, this year’s Times Higher Education’s rankings for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and Emerging Economies said UAEU improved from 76 to 71, while it dropped in the QS rankings.

“The volatility of the rankings from year to year certainly tells us that we should not place too much weight on one set of rankings,” said Prof Whelan.

Regionally, Saudi Arabia is performing best in the QS rankings, with three universities at 303 or below. Under 500, Bahrain and Qatar have one institution, Turkey five and the UAE three.

UAEU is in the process of being accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) in the US, something Prof Whelan said was “a better driver of quality than international ranking”.

Prof Bjorn Kjerfve, chancellor of AUS, now the top-ranked UAE institution on the QS system, said rankings, while useful, are only one piece of the puzzle.

“Every university wants to be top ranked but it is important to consider all university rankings with a pinch of salt. Fifty per cent of the QS rankings are based on a survey of academic reputation sent to some 78,000 individuals. With such a large weight based on non-objective criteria, significant fluctuations can be expected from year to year.

“I do not think any of these changes reflect actual changes in the quality at the institutions but rather the fact that more universities are now included in the surveys and natural fluctuations in the outcome should be expected,” Prof Kjerfve said. “One should also remember that in the US alone, there exist no less than 5,000 universities.”

Lessons, he said, can always be learned.

“Of course, there are some take-homes for AUS. Most important, we need to do a better job of marketing ourselves internationally, and those discussions are already ongoing.”

Abu Dhabi University (ADU) moved from the 651 to 700 bracket to 701-plus. It will soon complete accreditation with WASC.

Chancellor Dr Nabil Ibrahim said: “Many universities find it easier to appear in rankings than to get accreditation.”

He is unperturbed by this year’s rankings and it was simply that the rankings had increased the number of institutions involved.

“Nothing has changed in terms of the quality. QS itself is very new to rankings and it has been recruiting universities in the region and has attracted many well established institutions.”