GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF UNIVERSITY RATINGS AND THEIR POTENTIAL FOR ASSESSING THE HIGHER EDUCATION QUALITY

Abstract

The research of rating issues in the higher education system is conditioned, on the one hand, by the need to findan objective source of information on the level of positioning of domestic higher education institutions in theinternational market of educational services, on the other hand, the request of entities of public administration overdevelopment of the higher education system on formation of indicators of achievement of the priority goals set in theStrategy of higher Education Development in Ukraine for 2022–2032 years. Besides, within the framework of modernuniversity management and system of public administration over the higher education development, internationalacademic ratings are increasingly considered at the level of the source of impartial information about the quality ofeducational activities of the Higher Education Institution and higher education quality .This context of perception ofthe relevant problematics requires scientific evidence of international ratings’ potential for informational support ofmonitoring of higher education quality. The complexity of such justification arises from the diversity of methods forevaluation of university indicators, as well as inaccuracy of focus of expert attention within the framework of the basicranking procedures. The authors of the article, intending to join the justification of the relevant problematics, analyzedthe content of international university ratings, as well as determined their potential to assess the quality of educationalactivity and quality of higher education. Fourteen international ratings were selected as the focus of direct attention(international catalogue «UniRank: World University Rankings & Reviews»; ranting of national higher educationsystems «U21 Ranking of National Higher Education Systems»; rating«U-Multirank»; Shanghai rating «AcademicRanking of World Universities»; rating «QS World University Rankings»; rating «Times Higher Education» andothers). Criteria for evaluating the results of universities’ performance were determined for each of the ratings weconsidered. The following conclusions were made based on the results of the analysis: the possibility of usinginternational university ratings to characterize the levels of quality of educational activity of higher educationinstitutions and the quality of higher education; dynamics of improving the methodology of creating some of theratings; level of objectivity and subjectivity of assessments; criteria for the evaluation of the results of scientific andresearch work in the final result of the rating, etc.