NEWS
campusreview.com.au
Australia
steps up
The nation has reclaimed its rung
on the higher education ladder.
By Dallas Bastian
F
or the first time since 2012, Australia
has worked its way to eighth spot
on a ranking of national systems of
higher education.
Compiled by the Universitas 21 group
of universities and led by the University of
Melbourne's Professor Ross Williams, the
ranking evaluates 50 national systems of
education across four modules: resources,
policy environment, connectivity and
output.
In the overall ladder, Australia ranked
eighth, up from 10th – the spot it dropped
to back in 2015.
The US nabbed pole position, with
Switzerland and the UK rounding out the
top three.
The US’s position was helped by its
standing in the output module, which looks
at attributes like participation rates, research
performance, the existence of some world
class universities, and employability of
graduates. The US clearly outranked its
closest competitors: the UK, Switzerland
and Australia.
It was also deemed the country with the
most favourable environment, followed
by Australia and New Zealand. That
module included measures of institutional
autonomy, external monitoring of
performance and the degree of diversity.
The highest ranked countries for resources,
be they public or private, were Switzerland,
Sweden and Singapore. Switzerland was also
the top country for connectivity – which
focuses on relationships with business and
society – trailed by Austria and the UK.
For resources, Australia reached 12th and
was 13th for connectivity.
“The ranking for resources is pulled
down by the low ranking for government
expenditure on higher education,” the
report read, although it added official data
does not reflect the full cost of the student
loans scheme.
Williams said when it comes to higher
education, it’s important to look at the
combined contribution to national
development.
“That is what matters and this is why
we evaluate higher education systems as
a whole. Diversity of engagement is also
important. Research is cited much more if
it involves joint work with industry and with
international collaborators.” ■
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