Pondering on the ways to enhance university reputation

In the context of globalization of the educational services market, competition between universities is becoming more intense. This manifests itself, among other things, in the struggle for positions in international university rankings. Given that universities are evaluated according to many criteria in such rankings, it becomes necessary to identify the most significant factors in determining their positions.This study aims to identify the key factors determining the world’s leading universities’ leadership in international university rankings. The numerical values of the criteria for compiling the QS World University Rankings (QS) and Times Higher Education (THE) rankings were an empirical basis for the study. The analysis covered the Top 50 universities (according to the QS ranking) and was conducted based on reports for 2020 and 2021.At first, clustering was carried out (method – k-means); the data set was the combination of numerical values of QS and THE criteria (six and five criteria, respectively). The universities were divided into three clusters in 2020 (23, 19, 8 universities) and 2021 (23, 17, 10 universities). This showed the universities’ leadership relative to each other for each year.At the second stage, classification processing was performed (method – decision trees). As a result, criteria combinations that give an absolute separation of all clusters (2020 – five combinations; 2021 – eight combinations) were identified. The obtained combinations largely determine universities’ affiliation to clusters; their criteria are recognized as key factors of their leadership in the rankings. This study’s results can serve as guidelines for improving universities’ positions in the rankings.

Theoretical and methodological approaches to the evaluation of the quality of higher education WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF the world's higher education institutions rating S А. V. Kaydalovа, О. V. Posylkina National pharmaceutical University,Kharkov Summary : In the article we have reviewed the world rankings of the higher education institutions; principles and methodology of ratings, their key indicators, the indices of ranking the higher education institutions and their role in assessing the quality of education. Keywords : quality of education, world rankings of the higher education institutions, indicating indices in determining ratings, criteria for evaluation of the quality level. Іntroduction. The question of the participation of local educational institutions, including medical and pharmaceutical ones, in the world rankings is regarded as a serious problem during the recent years, which is widely discussed inUkraine. At the present stage of development of the higher education the ratings of HEI turn to be seen not only as a means of competitiveness, but also as instruments of assurance of the higher educational quality. To form the national system of ranking of the universities, including medical and pharmaceutical profile, it is important to analyze the international experience of building different ratings. In the system of providing and evaluating the quality of education, the internal and external monitoring of the university plays an important role. If the internal monitoring - is an assessment by the university of its own activity, the external monitoring - is an assessment of the quality of education by the state, society and the educational environment. The aim of this publication is to analyze the methodology of forming global university rankings of the universities, formulation of guidelines and indicators of ranking, the study of the specificity of the external evaluation of the quality of education to strengthen the international domestic medical and pharmaceutical universities that train future specialists in the pharmaceutical field. Results and discussion. Analysis of foreign experience has highlighted that the processes of formation, development and improvement of the world educational systems have been developing in different ways at the international level. In scientific sources it is noted that the European system of the quality of education is based on the standards and recommendations, the principles of which are: the interest of students and employers in the quality of education, autonomy of institutions, internal and external quality of assurance of educational services [3, 5, 11]. It should be noted that the history of the world university ranking was absent up to the eighties. This was due to the lack of competition, both in domestic and foreign educational space. The first step in conducting the external evaluation of the university was the publication by the magazine US News & World Report in 1983 the first in the world ranking of universities, which launched the process of globalization of the higher education. The main purpose of this rating was to provide applicants with information. In aspects of the studing problem it has been found out that for the time being there are more than 50 national and over 10 international ratings for the evaluation of universities [1, 8]. The aim of international ratings is to determine the best universities in the world and evaluation of their activities, but each rating involves the use of its own indices to determine the competitive potential in the universities. During our research we have analyzed the most famous and internationally recognized the global systems of monitoring and ranking of universities and compiled a chronology of the world rankings and summarized their main quantitative characteristics. According to the analysis of the official sources [12-25] it has been found out that the world university rankings have both general trends and significant differences. Common principles of ratings are the following ones: consideration of different indicators with their further grouping due to the validity coefficients, which are determined in each rating individually and also principles of ranking of universities without taking into account their scientific and educational activities. Сonclusions The results of the research methodology and the formation of the international ratings of higher educational institutions showed, first of all, the multiplicity of approaches to assessing the quality of education, variety of criteria for assessing the quality of education, lack of scientifically validated studies of indicators ranking. To ensure quality at the national level and the University level, including pharmaceutical and medical profile, the formation of certain ratings to assess the activities of domestic universities, which requires further research methodology of domestic and national rankings of various countries based on the experience of the world rankings and the use of the most important indicators in the construction of the system of internal monitoring of the activities of the university.

Russian educational policy in the recent years has been directed towards realization of institutional and infrastructure transformation of universities. This brought about governmental programmes aimed for development of leading Russian universities and for their competitive growth in the Russian and world markets. Russian universities began competing among themselves to achieve the key performance indicators (KPIs: publication activity, citation ratio, the share of income resulting from scientific activities in the university budget, the number of foreign students, the percentage of foreign teachers, the number of joint international educational programs etc.). It is quite obvious that science-related KPIs are generally more relevant and objective than education-related ones. Therefore, there appears the key question, whether the Russian universities are capable to fulfil their main mission - to provide highly skilled globally completive specialists, who would be able to work in conditions of the innovative knowledge-driven economy and all-world competition. The subject of our research is the profile relevance of employability of the graduates of the leading Russian universities - participants of Project 5-100. This KPI is not formally among the key indicators of Project 5-100, but believably belongs to the most important ones in evaluating the educational quality of any university. In this paper, we address this issue by using the new quantitative data from the biggest Russian social network «Vkontakte». By our research, we are bringing this new source of information to this research domain, and by doing so, we are getting access to data which are generated directly from the graduates themselves without any mediators or filters. On the basis of this information we conclude that more than 50 % of the Russian graduates are not employed according to their specialization after they leave university. This obviously reflects weak correlation between the content of their education and the demands of the employers, and also dissatisfaction of the latter with the quality of education provided by the universities. This means that even the leading Russian universities do not provide the necessary level of links with employers, despite the high demand for the skilled workforce at the labour market. According to the results of the analysis, we can state that the problem of non-educational employment of Russian university graduates concerns all areas of training and all regions of the country, and, therefore, is systemic in its nature. In general, the situation in the country looks approximately the same. There is a difference only in the effectiveness of employment between the various subject areas. The employed in the best way are graduates-physicians and IT-specialists, in the worst way - specialists in social and human sciences and jurisprudence. The novelty of the research is in the fact that the social network «Vkontakte» has never been used before to analyze this topic on the country-wide level. The research results appeared to be quite close in qualitative and quantitative sense to the previously studies, undertaken by the portal of Superjob.ru and by Petrozavodsk State University. Having addressed the same subject, but using different data, we came to comparable conclusions with them, but each time 5 years one after another (Superjob.ru - 2007, Petrozavodsk State University - 2012, ITMO University - 2017). The profile relevance of employability of the graduates of the leading Russian universities keeps being at the same level of 45-50 %. Our version is 46 %. Unfortunately, the visible progress in this area is still absent. The key conclusion of the study is the following: the Russian system of university graduate's employment is unbalanced and not effective. More than 50 % of graduates leave Russian universities «for nowhere». An integrated approach to the organization of labour force planning is required, in particular, to the development of foresights of specialists in the main areas of the future economy.

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The employment of college graduates has always been the focus issue of the whole society. Affected by the COVID-19, college graduates are facing a severe employment situation. In the present study, we explore the impacts of the COVID-19 on the employment of college graduates. We explore the employment promotion measures introduced by Chinese government and colleges and universities through a quick review and illustrate the difficulties that college graduates face. Furthermore, the present study explores the impacts of the COVID-19 on five aspects of the employment of college graduates: recruitment demand reduce, employment competition rise, employment channels change, psychological anxiety increase and employment structural contradiction intensify. In addition, we conclude that the employment promotion measures introduced by Chinese government and colleges and universities in respond to the impacts of the COVID-19 on the employment of college graduates have significantly promoted the employment of college graduates to a large extent and we provide implications based on the application of the study. The findings of the present study are of great significance for all countries worldwide to better cope with various similar emergency events, to alleviate employment pressure and to promote better and fuller employment of college graduates.

In the various world university ranking schemes, the Overall is a sum of the weighted indicator scores. As the indicators are of a different nature from each other, Overall conceals important differences. Factor analysis of the data from three prominent ranking schemes reveals that there are two factors in each of the ranking systems. For Academic Rankings of World University, the two factors are both academic in nature with a time element and are negatively correlated. For the QS World University Ranking (QSWUR) and Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THEWUR), there are two factors each, one for academic excellence and one for managerial excellence. The two factors in QSWUR have a low negative correlation, but the two factors in THEWUR are not correlated. These findings do not support the assumption that the indicators are mutually supporting and additive as conceptualised by the ranking providers. To avoid misinterpretation of the Overall, it is suggested that world university ranking needs be re-conceptualised to have a higher-order institutional excellence, comprising two lower-order measures based on academic excellence and managerial excellence. Possible future development is discussed.

The study aimed to identify the availability degree of effective educational policies to improve the ranking of Palestinian universities in the QS World University Rankings and its relationship to some variables. The study sample consisted of (160) academic leaders. The results indicated that the availability degree of effective educational policies to improve the ranking of Palestinian universities in the QS World University Rankings was medium. Furthermore, the results showed that there were statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α= 0.05) between the means of the responses of the study sample subjects about their estimation of the availability degree of effective educational policies to improve the ranking of Palestinian universities in the world rankings of Palestinian universities attributed to the type of university (in favor of private universities), the educational experience, and the career position )in favor of the university president / vice-president(. The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences due to both academic rank and type of college, variables.

In the modern context of globalization and increasing competition among universities, a key factor for the successful development of higher education institutions (HEIs) is the ability to accurately assess their performance. This study provides a review of research related to global ranking assessments and performance management of HEIs using key performance indicators (KPIs), substantiating the relevance of this research. The aim of the study is to improve the system of key performance indicators (KPIs) at the National Technical University "Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute" (NTU "KhPI"), which will contribute to enhancing the quality of educational services and improving the university’s position in international rankings. The task of the study is to establish the relationship between the planned target indicators defined in the university rector’s contract and the QS World University Rankings (QS-WUR) indicator system, which influences the institution’s position in this global university ranking. Based on an analysis of NTU "KhPI" performance according to the QS-WUR methodology, an approach for formalizing the QS-WUR indicators that determine its ranking position is proposed. The developed model for forming QS-WUR ranking indicators for NTU "KhPI" explains who provides the information for calculating each indicator and illustrates the interconnections between these indicators in the university evaluation process. The study also formalizes the performance results of NTU "KhPI," which are annually published on the university's official website and calculated based on the performance indicators of its institutes, departments, and other units. This comprehensive approach to evaluating university performance allows for the identification of strengths and weaknesses in managing scientific and international activities and organizing the educational process. The implementation of the improved KPI system at NTU "KhPI" will facilitate the optimal allocation of resources, the introduction of innovative approaches in academic, research, and international activities, and, in turn, ensure high standards of education quality and international recognition of the university.

Diversity and Discrepancies in Water‐related University Rankings: Is There a Need for More Consistency or Is There Value in Breadth?

Global university rankings influence students’ choices and higher education policies throughout the world. When rankers not only evaluate universities but also provide them with consulting, analytics, or advertising services, rankers are vulnerable to conflicts of interest that may potentially distort their rankings. The paper assesses the impact of contracting with rankers on university ranking outcomes using a difference-in-difference research design. The study matches data on the positions of 28 Russian universities in QS World University Rankings between 2016 and 2021 with information on contracts these universities had for services from QS—the company that produces these rankings. The study compares the fluctuations in QS rankings with data obtained from the Times Higher Education rankings and data recorded by national statistics. The results suggest that the universities with frequent QS-related contracts had an increase of 0.75 standard deviations (~ 140 positions) in QS World University Rankings and an increase of 0.9 standard deviations in reported QS faculty-student ratio scores over 5 years, regardless of changes in the institutional characteristics. The observed distortions could be explained by university rankers’ self-serving bias that benefits both rankers and prestige-seeking universities and reinforces the persistence of rankings in higher education.

The article analyzes the place of Russian institutions of higher education in the world leading university rankings not only by educational indicators but also taking into account social and environmental impact. For the study two of the most authoritative rankings: Shanghai University ranking and «QS World University Rankings» were selected, as they are recognized by the majority of the global academic community and try to tackle the world’s greatest environmental, social and governance challenges. The appeal to the international research is due to the fact that recently the importance of the compliance of Russian higher education with leading world standards has been admitted not only at the highest level, but also in the professional circles. We have analyzed the results for the last several years, the basic criteria of the international rankings, the place of Russian universities, and identified positions in which Russian universities are inferior to leading universities World University Rankings.

Work on the preservation of historical and cultural heritage and historical memory is the main goal of the Miklouho-Maclay Foundation for the Preservation of Ethnocultural Heritage. The author, a great-grandson and full namesake of the famous scientist-traveler Nikolay N. Miklukho-Maklai is the founder and the head of the Fund. In the article, the author argues the goals of the foundation and talks about its main projects in the initial period of activity (2017-2020). The materials presented in the article demonstrate how the preservation of the scientific and ideological heritage of the Russian scientist Nikolay N. Miklukho-Maklai contributes to the development of scientific, cultural, and educational projects, including international ones. During his numerous voyages to Oceania, Australia, and Southeast Asia in 1870, Miklukho-Maclay carried out extensive expeditionary work and gathered unique factual material, which allowed him to rightfully enter the history of the world science as an outstanding ethnographer, anthropologist, and naturalist of broad profile. He made significant contributions to various scientific disciplines and developed and substantiated the doctrine of equality of races and peoples. The article also discusses field expedition activities in the South Pacific today, contemporary Russian researchers, and their influence on the development of scientific projects and international scientific relations. The author talks about the expeditions of scientists of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, who conducted research on the territory of Papua New Guinea in the 20th century and shares his experience about the expeditions in the 21st century, organized by the Miklukho-Maklai Foundation. He shares his experience of the expeditions of the 21st century organized by the Miklouho-Maclay Foundation and the use of their results in the projects of the Foundation. The author presents in the article his vision of the prospects and role of the Foundation, the main mission of which is to preserve traditions, raise respect for the values and cultures of the peoples of the world, implement educational, scientific, and cultural projects to protect the historical memory. In addition, the author analyzes the prospects of bilateral relations between the Russian Federation and the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.

Open access to scientific results and research data becomes an engine for the successful development of modern science. The article examines popular rankings of world universities: the CWTS Leiden Ranking, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE Rankings), the QS World University Rankings (QS), the SCImago Institutions Rankings (SIR) and the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). The objective of the research was to study the ranking methodologies in the ratings under consideration and to determine the place of the openness criteria in them. A comparative analysis of world’s and Russia’s top universities in rankings is provided. The author has made an assessment of the significance of openness indicators in the world rankings, on the basis of which it has been concluded that only two world rankings pay due attention to these ranking criteria. Of those considered, only the evaluation methodologies of the CWTS Leiden Ranking and the SCImago Institutions Rankings take into account a quantitative analysis of open access publications and altmetric impact indicators. The rest of the considered rankings focus mainly on standard bibliometric indicators from different blocks related to the assessment of education, research, academic impact and international cooperation. Thus, in 2019–2022, the University College London (UK) was the top university in the CWTS Leiden Ranking in terms of the share of open access publications (90.8%) and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology was ranked the first among Russian universities (66.6%).

Introduction. In the context of socio-economic changes in the world, reflecting significant transformations in the field of labor and youth employment, the demand for optimal employment of university graduates as a significant indicator of the quality of professional training of young specialists and replenishment of the labor market with a qualified labor force that ensures the implementation of progressive development goals of the world community is actualized. At the same time, universities pay insufficient attention to socio-pedagogical assistance to the employment of graduates and its strategies that increase the effectiveness of the first entry of young people into labor activity, their adaptation opportunities and competitive advantages in the labor market. Purpose of the article: the purpose of the article: to develop and experimentally test strategies for socio-pedagogical assistance to the employment of university graduates. Research methods. The experiment was attended by 448 senior students of Russian universities. A set of valid diagnostic methods was used to determine the level of formation of a culture of employment of students as a result of the implementation of strategies: a test conversation to identify complex knowledge about productive employment; survey in the field of professional plans and readiness for upcoming employment; self-monitoring questionnaire; methodology for studying the motivation of a professional career; self-efficacy scale; methodology for assessing career orientations; methodology for studying the need for self-development; methodology for assessing self-presentation skills. The validity of the obtained data was tested using Pearson χ2 criteria. Results. As a result of the development and implementation of a set of strategies for socio-pedagogical assistance to the employment of university graduates in the experimental group, a significant increase in the level of formation of the culture of employment of students was recorded (χ2 emp = 17.584) compared to students of the control group who did not show positive dynamics in the level of measured professional and personal characteristics (χ2 emp = 0.238) during experimental work. The data suggest a positive increase in high and medium levels of student employment culture. Discussion and conclusion. It was revealed that the use of strategies of social and pedagogical assistance to the employment of university graduates (updating the professional and personal potential of young specialists; sociopedagogical orientation of students to successful self-presentation; activating professional self-determination and the right to choose; scaffolding) determines the effectiveness of the formation of a culture of employment for students and sets a benchmark for increasing their competitiveness in the labor market.

Many universities have drawn attention to world university rankings, which reflect the international competition of universities and represent their relative statuses. This study does not radically contradict all types of global university rankings but calls for an examination of the effects of their indicators on the final ranking of universities. This study investigates the indicator contribution to the ranking of universities in world university ranking systems including the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), Times Higher Education (THE), and QS World University Rankings. Results showed that in the ARWU system, three indicators regarding faculty members who won Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals and papers published in Nature and Science and in the Science Citation Index and Social Science Citation Index journals predicted the ranking of universities. For the QS and THE systems, the more powerful contributors to the ranking of universities were expert-based reputation indicators.