Ranking of Top Universities in Greater China

Abstract

Ranking of Top Universities in Greater China was the first attempt to compare top research universities in four regions of Greater China, namely Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. The background of the ranking was that improving the competitiveness of top research universities became a shared goal of these regions and the cross-border flow of higher education students among these regions stepped into a completely new stage. The ranking considered universities that can meet two criteria. One criterion is that the candidate universities should be research-oriented ones and are among the best in their respective regions so that they are seen to have stronger competence or potential to compete with non-local peers, the other is that the candidate universities should be approved to recruit students from other regions in Greater China. Universities are ranked by 13 internationally comparable and objective indicators under 4 broad categories, naming Education, Research, Faculty and Resources. The weights of different indicators are based on simple rules. Each of 7 output indicators has a weight of 10% while each of 6 input or process indicators has a weight of 5%. The result of the ranking was released in June 2011. The features and relative advantages of top universities in each region were discussed.