International University Rankings Research Articles

Рейтинги университетов мира: особенности и различия в методологии

This paper analyses world university rankings. Rankings remain a tool for assessing the effectiveness of edu-cational activities of both individual universities and national educational systems as a whole. The work consid-ers the methodologies of the QS World University Rankings, the Academic Ranking of World Universities (AR-WU), the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE), and the Moscow International University Ranking “Three Missions of the University”. Global rankings of leading universities can be based on various indicators and criteria, such as: academic reputation, quality of teaching and research activities, publication activity of faculties, international cooperation, university infrastructure and resources, as well as international influence and attractiveness for students. However, it is important to note that the methodology of university rankings has its own peculiarities and limitations. University rankings can be subjective, not taking into account all aspects of university activity and regional, political, and social peculiarities of higher education systems.

Компаративный анализ интернационализации университетов регионов мира в условиях смены глобального мирового лидера

Qualified personnel plays an important role in the competition between countries for economic leadership that enables the transition to a multipolar world. In this context, the higher education sphere is changing; universities worldwide are increasingly striving to attract the best students to their country. The study aims to identify factors causing changes in the position of universities in world regions and develop recommendations for Russian universities to strengthen their positions in the global education market. The methodology relies on the concept of different historical cycles leading to changes in world leaders. The article offers a contemporary interpretation of higher education internationalisation as a multidimensional process instead of fragmentation. The first section explores the issue of changing the world leader; the second identifies transformations in higher education internationalisation in key world regions; the third assesses university internationalisation as a basis for new rankings and self-assessment. A hypothesis about the correlation between the trend of changing global leaders and the place of national universities in international rankings is confirmed. To assess the trend dynamics, the article proposes authors’ multidimensional indices of higher education and university internationalisation for world countries. It is revealed that China, aspiring to be a world leader, has expanded its share in the education market and increased import volumes by more than 1.5 times, sending its students to high-ranking universities, while the USA has weakened its position. Russian universities occupy middle positions in rankings despite the growth of the country’s share in the global education market. Recommendations offered to Russian universities and the option of their self-assessment can be used by strategic development professionals.

Исследование инновационной активности университетов РФ через призму международных рейтингов

In the current geopolitical and economic situation, the innovative activity of universities is becoming one of the factors of the activation of the economy as a whole. Of research interest are Russian universities included in international rankings and their indicators, which have a strong correlation with the scores of universities in the rankings. The research methodology is formed on the basis of correlation analysis, clustering method, scientometric tools of research analytics. The study includes 3 international rankings, 48 Russian universities, analyzed indicators for the period from 2017 to 2022. The aim of the study is to study the indicators of Russian universities with significant correlation coefficients (more than 0.5) with scores in THE.Research, ARWA and QS international rankings. A significant relationship was recorded between the rating scores and the cohort of university indicators: the average USE scores of applicants who entered the budget, the number of “Olympiad applicants”, the volume of R&D, the number of PhD students with PhD degrees per 100 students, the number of scientific publications jointly with foreign organizations and the income of the university. In addition, the article presents the dynamics of the number of Russian universities in the rankings for the period from 2017 to 2022, the percentage increase/ decrease in the number of points of each university, and also shows the dynamics of the number of Russian universities in comparison with the dynamics of universities in Germany and China. The hypotheses put forward about a high correlation between the “quality” of incoming applicants, the percentage of settled employees, total income and the volume of R&D of the university with the number of points of Russian universities in international rankings are confirmed.

Models for university sustainable development: Overview of international practices

This study focuses on the components of university sustainable development in the way of achieving global competitiveness of the national higher education system. The coordinating role of the university in promoting the principles of sustainable development is due to both its transforming agency as a subject of economic relations and complex activities within the framework of the implementation of the “third mission” in the region. International experience in the development of sustainable development indicators is based on an integrative approach in which subsystems of indicators including economic, environmental, social and institutional ones are distinguished within the framework of a common system. These indicators form the basis of international university ranking systems. The purpose of this study is to analyze the models of sustainable development of participating universities out of the Top 500 global rankings by comparing and systematizing ESG components. The existing classification of sustainable development models is updated by the authors. The concept of “sustainability” is characterized, a description of typical models of sustainable development underlying the activities of Russian and foreign leading universities is presented

Algorithmic power and scientific knowledge

Abstract This paper critically revisits traditional perspectives on technology within academic and scientific writing studies. It aims to comprehend the intricate, emerging, and dynamic sociotechnical configurations that underlie contemporary scientific practices. These practices increasingly involve language, text, and literacy practices, seen as products of the collaboration between humans and machines. The paper draws on empirical research on influential institutional metadiscourses in high-impact scientific writing produced and/or disseminated by public universities and a research institute in the State of São Paulo (Brazil), whose local policies of globalization are driven by international university rankings. I use a qualitative content analysis approach grounded in socio-anthropological, socio-semiotic, and pragmatic studies of linguistic ideologies to shed light on how ideological and socio-semiotic processes support the metapragmatics of scientific writing in university policy documents. This metapragmatics is utterly alien to the role of performative sociotechnical infrastructures in the production, distribution, and hierarchization of scientific texts. Additionally, these documents do not account for the diverse conditions and restrictions that shape the production and circulation of academic knowledge in geopolitically marginal and equally diverse regions within the country, including those within São Paulo.

International, National and Intra-University Rankings as a Motivator of Quality and Success: The Experience of Sumy State University

Despite their shortcomings, university rankings have become one of the most important, popular, and practical tools for measuring the effectiveness of activities in the world’s educational and scientific space, a kind of external audit mechanism. They are also an effective tool for decision-making by stakeholders, a means of introducing a culture of competitiveness into the work of personnel, and, of course, a critical management factor that can help optimize existing and establish new internal business processes, that is, be a tool for self-analysis, benchmarking and strategic planning. Ranking methodologies are constantly updated, and higher education institutions aim to increase attention to one or another direction of educational and scientific activity, as well as the fulfilment of the “third” mission, in particular, the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
 International rankings of universities are diverse; they can be conventionally grouped into five categories: scientific and educational activity, research, Sustainable Development Goals achieving, ecological orientation, and assessment of webometric indicators. At the same time, the rankings of one category differ according to specific indicators, methodological aspects and have different regional appeal. The experience of Sumy State University proves the need to participate and consider the maximum possible number of ranking measurements in the current activity.
 Formulated priorities and conceptual principles of activity of Sumy State University in the 2000s are ambitious, as they provided for the development of a European-level university based on research and entrepreneurial model, and do not lose their relevance. The meaning of the rankings is determined, given their role in forming the general and functional strategies of the university’s development. The tool for implementing these strategies is the development of an intra-university ranking, which is aimed at the comprehensive evaluation of activities, development of a self-evaluation system, provoking multi-level competition, and adjustment of structural divisions for effective action in the global educational space. This intra-university ranking covers all critical areas of activity of the structural units of the university: scientific and pedagogical potential, formation of a contingent of education seekers, quality of educational and scientific and extracurricular work with students, quality of international activity, level of publication of results of scientific activity, quality of training of scientific and pedagogical personnel, quality of presentation of activity results on the Internet and media space, financial evaluation of innovative activity, as well as international and national levels of measurement of multidisciplinary activity.
 The article states that understanding the dependence of the country’s success on the quality of education and science necessitates the creation of national ratings and government programs to support the most successful universities. The national ranking, in particular and unlike the international ones, due to the increase in the number of sources of statistical information, has the opportunity to take into account a more significant number of various factors for all three missions of the university (research, educational activity, the level of socio-economic impact) and should be as transparent as possible. In the national rating, there is an opportunity to overcome one of the critical shortcomings of the international university ratings — the inconsistency of the international and domestic interpretation of statistical data and to simplify the data validation process significantly. The article contains several suggestions on the essence of what has been stated.

Development of University Campuses Under the Influence of City Authorities, Business, And Urban Community as An Important Factor in Achieving the Principles of Sustainable Development

Objective: This study aims to investigate the development of university campuses and their impact on urban communities in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Azerbaijan. The objective is to identify the types of influence that university campuses have on urban development, including economic growth, technology advancement, human capital creation, social problem resolution, civil society establishment, cultural development, and ecological improvement. Methods: The research employs a qualitative-quantitative approach, combining desk research with surveys. Universities from Kazakhstan, Russia, and Azerbaijan are included in the study. Various international university rankings, such as the Times Higher Education University Impact Ranking, UI GreenMetric World University Ranking, and U-Multirank Ranking, are considered. A total of 136 respondents from ten universities participate in the survey. Results: The findings indicate that university campuses have a significant impact on economic development, technology advancement, human capital creation, cultural development, and the urban environment's ecological improvement. However, their influence on social problem resolution and civil society establishment is comparatively lower. The study reveals that the existing level of influence of university campuses on urban development is relatively low but has the potential for growth. Conclusion: This research highlights the evolving role of universities in shaping urban communities and their sustainable development. University campuses are recognized as important agents of change, contributing to economic growth and technological progress. The practical significance of the study consists in the fact that the proposed conclusions can be utilized for the development of university campuses.

Application of Performance and Efficiency Indicators in Measuring the Level of Success of Public Universities in Poland

Success can be interpreted and assessed in various ways. This article proposes evaluating university success through performance and efficiency indicators, inspired by the Positioning School of Strategy and New Public Management. This approach faces challenges, such as limited economic data for Polish public universities. The article aimed to identify factors and success levels for public universities in the higher education sector. The research question, “What are the measures and levels of success of public universities?”, was divided into three specific inquiries: key success factors, performance and efficiency indicators, and success levels for selected Polish public universities. The study involved analysing international and Polish university rankings, interviewing 53 public university experts in Poland, and examining efficiency indicators for 10 selected public universities. Critical success factors (research excellence, education excellence, international cooperation) and critical performance indicators were identified. Efficiency indicators demonstrated the good financial condition of selected institutions. Critical success factors and critical performance indicators were defined, and performance and efficiency measures were used to assess the success of Polish public higher education institutions. The authors acknowledge the need for parametric and non-parametric methods to fully evaluate success. The proposed performance-oriented measurement tool can assist public university leaders in making strategic decisions.

Proposed Mechanisms for Enhancing the Performance of Omani Universities in the Global Rankings

The study aimed to identify the reality of Omani universities in the international rankings of universities in three types of classifications: ARWU, QS, THE, and to identify the challenges facing universities in these classifications from the perspective of the participants and the proposed mechanisms to improve the reality of universities. The study used the descriptive approach through Describe the performance of universities through the ranking tables of the classification institutions and used the qualitative method through the semi-structured interview tool to identify the reasons for poor performance and suggest mechanisms to improve the reality of universities. The intended sample is from all the targeted universities. After the disclosure on the websites of the rankings institutions, the result shows that one university appeared in the rankings, which is Sultan Qaboos University. However, in the last report of the QS classification it fell from (368) to (384). The study revealed the factors behind the decline of the university as well as the reasons for the failure of other universities to emerge. The most important of which is the modernity of the universities and that all universities are still as a teaching universities, despite the fact that there is interest in scientific research, especially in Sultan Qaboos University, but it still has not reached the rates that contribute to raising global ranking, as well as aspects of funding, especially in private universities. The study suggested a number of improvement mechanisms, including addressing funding sources with the existence of an educational endowment, paying attention to the research infrastructure of universities, marketing research to diversify sources of income, and other proposals.

Sustainable development of Russian science: «institutional traps» of scientific journals and prospects for overcoming them

Introduction. The focus of the article is on the problems associated with the fact that in the new economic conditions, the old approach to the sustainable development of science in Russia has lost its relevance. In this regard, a new approach to the sustainable development of science in Russia is needed, which will involve following not foreign value guidelines, including the SDGs, but Russia's own traditions.Materials and Methods. Systematization of successes in the field of sustainable development of science in Russia is being carried out. A trend analysis of the materials of international university rankings is carried out, aimed at assessing the change in Russia's position in them based on materials: QS, Scimago and Times Higher Education (THE) rankings. "Institutional traps" are identified as barriers to the sustainable development of science in Russia and the prospects for overcoming them based on the materials of the rating of journals in economics in the electronic scientific library e-library. The time frame of the study covers the period from 2017 to 2022.Results. Three "institutional traps" of scientific journals were identified. First, due to subjective peer review, high-quality scientific articles are not allowed to be published. Second: almost 80% of the authors of Russian scientific journals are the same people throughout the year - and so every year. Third: due to the lack of “fresh” ideas, rating journals are limited to self-citations, the share of which reaches 10%, which is why journals, instead of setting science in motion, hinder its development.Discussion and Conclusions. The key conclusion of the study is that all the “institutional” traps of Russian scientific journals can and should be overcome, which will allow Russia to achieve import substitution of scientific publications, multiply the successes of scientific and technological progress, and strengthen strategic academic leadership.

A Novel Strategic Approach to Evaluating Higher Education Quality Standards in University Colleges Using Multi-Criteria Decision-Making

Universities worldwide strive to achieve excellence in research, learning, teaching, and community services, which are the pillars of their strategic plans. However, satisfying international ranking criteria might not directly result in achieving their strategic objectives. This paper proposes a new approach to rank university colleges by evaluating their educational quality. Standard sets of criteria from multiple international university ranking systems and a university’s strategic plan’s Balanced Scorecard perspectives were cross-mapped for the evaluation. A new multi-criteria decision-making-based framework was applied to six colleges of a non-profit university in the Middle East. It revealed their performance rankings and contributions to the university’s educational quality objectives. This paper offers a novel approach for universities to develop strategies that satisfy multiple international ranking systems while achieving their strategic goals concurrently and as per their priorities. Implications include informing university leaders on the most contributing colleges and assisting in pinpointing quality shortcomings and their causes. This helps universities design better performance indicators and allocate resources to achieve educational excellence. This paper puts forward a new approach for universities to unify their efforts in satisfying the requirements of multiple international ranking systems while achieving their strategic goals.

Networkization of higher educational institutions as a factor in increasing the innovative development of the region

Transformation of the Russian system of higher education resulting from an escalation in international relations, and as a result, an unreasonable severance of scientific and educational ties with many European universities and research centers (for example, the termination of support for domestic scientists by the German academic exchange service DAAD), exit and from the Bologna system of education, have become a kind of bifurcation point for the further development of the national higher education. At present, it is necessary to concentrate on the use of the country's internal scientific resources, as well as the search for new and promising solutions. This issue is currently one of the most pressing and requires special attention from the state. The purpose of the article is to analyze the level of development of Russian universities and propose directions for networking higher education institutions in accordance with the requests of various subjects. The analysis of the competitiveness of Russian universities in international rankings was carried out and the ranking of regions with the best universities was given. Data on the integration of universities are presented on the example of clusters as one of the forms of networking with various subjects of the ecosystem. The research methodology is based on the analysis of theoretical and practical work in the field of university management in order to identify the most promising areas for the development of network links. The scientific novelty consists in consolidating the developed and proposed areas for practical application by universities in order to intensify the processes of interaction through the development of network links. The proposed areas of cooperation between universities are practically applicable regardless of the place in the rankings in order to increase both the prestige of the educational institution and the innovative attractiveness of the region.

From rejection to acceptance: the institutionalization of adopting university ranking outcomes as policy and strategic tools in China since the 1980s

ABSTRACT China is an important player in global university ranking exercise. Nevertheless, existing studies have not adequately explored how the legitimacy of adopting university ranking outcomes has been chronologically established on Chinese soil. This paper attempts to fill this knowledge gap drawing on interviews with 37 stakeholders between 2003-2021 and an analysis of 2086 articles and reports published between 1984–2022 concerning university rankings. It first analyses the process of institutionalization of adopting university ranking outcomes in China, and discusses how the policy initiatives such as the ‘985 Project' in 1998 and the ‘Double First-Class' Project in 2016 intertwined with university rankings over the time and provide opportunities for establishing such legitimacy. Secondly, it analyses the mechanisms through which university ranking outcomes gain legitimacy, and suggests that interactions among the stakeholders are one of the key mechanisms, whereby the central government plays a pivotal role in legitimizing adoption of international university ranking results. Furthermore, we argue that the universities have responded actively to adopting the ranking outcomes and use them as strategic tools to achieve their own goals. As such, this paper sheds a new light on the impact of university rankings in China and beyond.

Kazakhstan’s young flagship university: A sequential explanatory mixed-methods study

Literature on the modern university suggest that top-ranked world-class universities are the ideal, and emerging nation-states should establish such institutions. Appearing at the top in international university rankings has become the aim as it guarantees attraction and retention of top talent. This study investigated the status of a university that was established to be world-class. To contribute to research and literature on the flagship university in emerging nations, the views of 321 professional administrative staff on whether Nazarbayev University (NU) is a top university were captured. First, a survey questionnaire was administered to 321 respondents. The second stage of the study involved 16 semi-structured interviews. Quantitative and qualitative data indicated positive experiences and perspectives among the respondents. These findings demonstrate that a university should be relevant to its society and not necessarily appear at the top in international rankings to be considered good and valuable by its people.

Повышение конкурентоспособности образования России на международном уровне

This article provides an analysis of the factors affecting the competitiveness of domestic higher education: the positioning of Russian universities in international rankings, the degree of digitalization of education and science in the Russian Federation, as well as the export potential of Russian education. The first part presents the data of the analysis of higher educational institutions of the Russian Federation by the most popular international rating agencies, shows the methods and principles for calculating key indicators for each of the ratings. The higher places in international rankings show popularity and prestige of not only a particular university, but also the market of educational services in the country in general. The export of education is an important factor contributing to the increase of global competitiveness. The second part of the work describes government programs that help increase the export of domestic education by promoting Russian universities among foreign applicants, and also presents an action plan to increase the export of higher education in Russia. The degree of digitalization of higher education is shown as a determining factor, the importance of the digital transformation of domestic education, as well as the benefits of distance learning, is established. The federal program "Strategy for the Digital Transformation of Science and Higher Education", developed in 2021 by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation with the aim of achieving "digital maturity" in the field of education, is analyzed. A consistent review of projects developed in the field of education, as well as data from rating agencies, made it possible to determine the main directions for increasing the competitiveness of domestic higher education, to describe strategies and activities that contribute to the prompt achievement of all goals.

OVERVIEW OF THE METHODOLOGY OF UNIVERSITIES` INTERNATIONAL RANKINGS FOR MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF OPEN SCIENCE

International rankings directly affect the development of universities around the world, especially in the context of Open Science.The purpose of the article is a comparative analysis of the methodology for calculating the main international university rankings and establishing the readiness of their transformation to meet the requirements of open science. The methodological basis of the study was the methodology of the main international universities presented on their websites. The article analyzes the methodologies of the main international university rankings and highlights the main criteria by which the rankings are calculated. According to the results of the conducted research, the main sources of information necessary for determining international ratings were systematized, namely: Information from official sources external to the university, which is publicly available; Results of a survey of the academic community; University survey results; Student survey results; The results of the survey of employers; Information from the university website; Information on scientific profiles of the university; Information on scientific profiles of university employees; Information from the websites of scientific journals; Information from university repositories. The main features that universities should take into account in order to achieve higher positions in international rankings, which will become possible if they comply with the requirements of Plan S regarding Open Science, have been clarified.

Comment on “Transforming Malaysia's Higher Education: Policies and Progress”

Investment in education is right as regarded one of the most important strategies for social and economic development in the long term. Historically, the private and social returns to schooling are higher at the primary and secondary levels compared to the tertiary level. However, as countries become more developed and wealthier, the returns to tertiary education could exceed that of primary education (Psacharopoulos and Patrinos, 2018). As Malaysia heads towards graduating from middle-income status, human capital development is a key policy the country's Twelfth Malaysia Plan 2021–2025 (12MP, see Malaysia, 2021). For tertiary education, the goal is to improve the quality of universities. In this regard, Tham and Chong (2023) provide a timely assessment of the quality and policy challenges to improve the quality of higher education in Malaysia. A key policy challenge highlighted by Tham and Chong is how to measure the quality of higher education. As they rightly point out, the official performance indicators used such as use of selective international university rankings are clearly problematic given that the paradox of high rankings juxtaposed with under-employment of university graduates. Furthermore, they also opine that the implementation of quality assurance and accreditation systems have not ensured the quality of teaching in universities. In reflecting the challenges facing higher education in Malaysia, it is worth examining some of the key institutional and political factors as well as constraints that have shaped the trajectory of the sector in Malaysia. These include the impacts of affirmative action policies (the New Economic Policy [NEP], and its successor variants) in both student intake and faculty hiring in public universities. Ethnic (Bumiputra vs. non-Bumiputra and regional [Peninsular vs. Sabah and Sarawak]) dimensions continue to be emphasized in the 12MP. In addition, the effects of the use of Bahasa Malaysia (Malay language) as the medium of instruction at all levels of education continue to be debated. In the past, this language requirement in teaching had also limited opportunities for hiring foreign academics. The liberalization of higher education in the 1980s was partly undertaken in response to such policies. Furthermore, the subsequent internationalization of higher education created more space for the role of market forces which mitigate some of these policies. Although the emergence and development of private higher education have invigorated higher education in Malaysia, it has created a dualistic system that raises issues related in inequality. The issues of quality and inequality are intertwined. More studies are needed on the quality gap between public and private higher education in Malaysia and the extent to which it has exacerbated inequality. This has also implications of social cohesion. Needless to say, the quality of higher education in Malaysia greatly depends on the quality of primary and secondary students. The performance of Malaysian students (15 years old) in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests indicate that their performance is lower than expected given its income level (World Bank, 2019). Any assessment of the quality of higher education outputs will need to consider the quality of the student intake (ex-ante). Thus, the transformation of higher education will require reforms of primary and secondary education as a necessary pre-condition. Finally, any assessment of the quality of higher education needs to consider whether universities are producing graduates and research that meet industry needs. The phenomenon of unemployment and underemployment amongst domestic graduates suggests this is a serious problem. In upgrading the pool of skilled workers in Malaysia, the Malaysian government should also re-examine the potential benefit of facilitating the absorption of skilled foreign students educated in Malaysian universities. This would be part of a required re-orientation of the country's labor policies which are currently in favor of importing relatively low-skilled workers. Such policies also need to address the long-term structural changes in the Malaysian economy in terms of the rise of services, the relative decline of the manufacturing sector, global value chain participation, and the digital transformation. These and other issues need to be addressed for another reason—tackling the brain drain problem that involves the emigration of skilled Malaysian workers to more developed economies such as Singapore, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The path of universities to sustainability: Students perspectives during the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic baffled the traditional educational system and the face-to-face educational process, shifting to the online environment. Almost all university activities were carried out online for a period of time, which put pressure on university strategies, including sustainability. To maintain the international ranking of universities applying a sustainability strategy, the largest and most representative university in Romania continued to implement the principles of sustainability in its activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, thus fostering a positive, strong, and trustworthy image amongst its main group of stakeholders, namely students. Objective/AimThe aim of this paper is to determine to what extent students related to the university's sustainable strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic and to assess whether students could rely on their university to integrate sustainability-related strategies into the overall university strategy. Methods/InstrumentsThe authors propose a conceptual model to generate trust in the sustainable practices, which is analyzed with the help of structural equations in SmartPLS. ResultsThe results highlight the fact that the students continued to adopt sustainability principles during the pandemic, expressing their preference that the university continue to implement its sustainability strategy, although the focus was on the safety measures generated by the new context. This strategy focusses on sustainable practises, green mobility, and consumption, and, of course, on the sustainable initiatives that address them. Conclusions/implicationsThe article presents research based on stakeholder theory, emphasizing the numerous implications for higher education institutions, which can adopt different good practices with a view to improving stakeholder trust and satisfaction.

Vietnamese Higher Education Challenges: Quality Accreditation, Rankings and Ratings

A study analyzing data from an international university ranking system, a regional rating system, and quality accreditation processes revealed that challenges of Vietnamese higher education are identified in three levels: the national system, the institution level, and training programs. Analysis of the multiple datasets exposed 20 potential gaps at the educational institution and training program level assessments, which may be the reasons preventing the top five ASEAN Vietnamese higher education to further advance to higher levels. On that basis, the report proposes eight solutions to improve the quality and competitiveness of the university accreditation, ranking and rating systems.

ІНСТРУМЕНТИ ВИМІРЮВАННЯ ЯКОСТІ ОСВІТНЬОЇ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ У КОНТЕКСТІ ЗА БЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ ЇЇ ЕФЕКТИВНОСТІ В УМОВАХ ВОЄННОГО СТАНУ І ПІСЛЯВОЄННОГО ВІДНОВЛЕННЯ КРАЇНИ

Summary. This article the determined that there are various mechanisms for assessing the quality of educa-tional activity of higher education institutions: accredita-tion, framework and rating, but university ratings are the most optimal mechanism for measuring the quality of educational activity in the context of ensuring its effec-tiveness. The indicators for measuring the quality of edu-cational activity used in the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG), the European Teaching Rankings (THE Europe Teaching Rankings) were analyzed the Shanghai Aca-demic Ranking of World Universities (Shanghai Ranking, ARWU), the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the QS (Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd) World University Rankings, QS), national rating "TОР-200". According to the criteria of dominance of objective or subjective and result or reputation components, the main international university rankings can be ranked in the following order: (Shanghai Ranking) – objective, result; THE World University Rankings – objective-subjective, result-reputational; QS World University Rankings –sub-jective-objective, reputation-resultative; reputational andadvertising.The use of this approach to ensure the quality of edu-cational activity will improve the reputation of national universities in the world educational space, and in the modern conditions of war and in the period of post-war reconstruction, it will provide an opportunity to update and update educational programs, increase the im-portance of universities as a leading component of the socio-economic recovery of the country.