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‘ Solid performance ’
Australian Institutions continue strong results in 2022 THE ranking .
By Anand Kulkarni
The recent Times Higher Education world rankings ( THE ) 2022 marks the final of the main three rankings for the year , the other two being QS and Academic Ranking of World Universities . What does the THE 2022 tell us ?
At the outset , it is to be noted that more than 1660 institutions have been ranked globally . This is an increase of more than 135 on last year ’ s rankings , indicating heightened competition on the global stage .
We are seeing the growing role and influence of Asian nations in the rankings . This is driven in measure by China , which has 97 institutions ranked or close to 6 per cent of globally ranked institutions compared to 91 institutions last year at similar share . China has two institutions in the top 20 for the first time and is joint fifth in the world in terms of institutions in the top 200 ( 10 institutions ) compared to joint seventh last year . This is on the back of long-term major investments in education and training and the wooing of diasporic researchers back home , among other things .
Other Asian institutions have improved , including India significantly with 71 institutions compared to 63 last year , South Korea from 35 to 36 institutions , Malaysia with 18 institutions versus 15 last year , Indonesia with 14 this year compared to nine last year , and Vietnam from three to five . Overall though , by sheer number Japan leads in Asia with 118 institutions , up from 116 last year . According to THE , in 2016 Asian institutions occupied just over a quarter of ranked institutions to about a third in 2021 .
However , it is important to not overestimate the rise of Asian institutions . In total , the US and UK continue to dominate with 183 ( from 181 last year ) and 101 institutions ( same as last year ) respectively , accounting for 11 per cent and 6.1 per cent of globally ranked institutions . Moreover , the US and UK account for 85 institutions in the top 200 ( with the US having 57 ), generally regarded as a benchmark for being a leading institution . Even more significantly , the UK and US lead in numbers in the top 100 and top 10 , with combined ranked institutions of 48 in the top 100 and all of the top 10 . Like a great sporting team , it is difficult to displace incumbents .
For Australia , the situation remains strong . There are 37 institutions in the rankings , the same as last year , which is nearly all higher education providers . Australia ’ s broad based , well rounded higher education system has come to the fore with multiple strengths . Of the 37 ranked institutions this year 13 have improved their ranking , 17 have remained the same and seven have dropped . Amongst the biggest gains are University of Canberra , Swinburne , University of Southern Queensland , Uni Tasmania and Western Sydney .
There are six Australian Institutions in the top 100 and 12 in the top 200 , with the highest placed institution being the University of Melbourne at 33rd place . No Australian institution is in the top 10 . Given the size of the sector relative to a number of others abroad , this is a solid performance .
Strength areas for Australian institutions are in citations , research ( research productivity measured by papers , research income and research reputation as measured by global surveys ), international outlook ( staff , students , international collaborative papers ), and to a lesser extent industry income , the latter suggesting that issues about commercial engagement with business are pertinent .
Teaching scores generally tend to lag behind the other pillars . Teaching comprises teaching reputation ( survey instrument ), doctorate to bachelor ’ s ratio , doctorates to academic staff ratio , institutional income in total and student / staff ratios . These are largely input measures rather than teaching quality or student satisfaction with teaching , although the teaching reputation does act as a quality measure to some extent but is based on academics ’ perception of institutions rather than students views . A greater involvement of students in these and other rankings may be of benefit and something for rankings agencies to consider .
If we look at the average scores across the top five Australian institutions we find that compared to last year , international outlook has improved in score , along with industry income and teaching . Slight declines are noted for research and citations .
Across the board Australian Institutions perform well in international outlook , reflecting in part the reliance on international students . As the data relates to pre-COVID times , the impact of the pandemic is yet to be fully felt . Once pandemic data kicks in it will be of interest as to how Australia fares , especially in the international outlook pillar . It will also be of interest to see whether , and how , rankings agencies take into account the impact of COVID-19 in their methodologies . ■
Dr Anand Kulkarni is Associate Director , Planning , Performance and Risk at Victoria University .
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