World-class Universities Research Articles

Conceptualizing and comparing world-class universities’ contributions to global sustainability: Pathways, priorities and potential indicators

Sustainability is a goal for today, with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) acting as a guiding framework in a world characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. As research universities with distinctive global orientations, world-class universities (WCUs) are key players in promoting global sustainability, though there may be wide variation across WCUs in how, and to what degree, they are promoting global sustainability. By collecting and coding vast amounts of official textual data from 60 WCUs, this study indicates that WCUs’ contributions to global sustainability can be seen in the following five dimensions: education and research, outreach and engagement, campus operation and transportation, landscapes and ecosystems, and global leadership and impact evaluation. Additionally, the results reveal different priorities of WCUs in promoting global sustainability, identifying four distinctive clusters of WCUs based on their focus areas, designated as generally-balanced, academically-dominated, externally-associated, and internally-reformed. This study also attempts to construct a framework to measure WCUs’ contributions to global sustainability, which is useful to characterize WCUs’ contributions as expressive, constructive, projective, and evaluative.

Neglected Students’ Subjective Well-Being in World-Class Universities: A Qualitative Study

Many universities striving for world-class university (WCU) status have increasingly prioritized academic advancement, research, and policy development, often at the expense of students’ subjective well-being. While most studies on the transformation of tertiary institutions into WCUs focus on conceptualization, management challenges, and global impacts, few have considered the well-being of university students. This research aimed to examine the neglect of students’ subjective well-being in universities aspiring to achieve WCU status and to explore the underlying reasons for this oversight. The researchers employed a qualitative approach, collecting data through in-depth interviews with students, lecturers, and university administrators, as well as through observations and document analysis, to investigate the marginalization of students’ well-being. These findings reveal that universities targeting world-class status often overlook students’ well-being in their policies, infrastructure, and institutional culture. The study calls for increased awareness of students’ subjective well-being in the academic community and the provision of structural support for students’ mental health.

PLANNING FOR INCREASING LECTURER RESEARCH PRODUCTIVITY

The World Class University trend in higher education has an impact on the need for planning in the research aspect because the quantity and quality of research are very influential in global university rankings. This research explores planning strategies as well as challenges and obstacles in efforts to increase the research productivity of lecturers in the Building Engineering Education Study Program, Universitas Negeri Jakarta based on the perspective of the study program coordinator. This research uses a qualitative descriptive approach using data collection techniques in the form of documentation complete with interviews with the study program coordinator. The research productivity increases in some years, such 2021 and 2023, but there are inconsistent research trends from 2017 to 2024. Some of the plans carried out by the study program to increase lecturer research productivity include the 1 lecturer 1 publication per year program, expanding cooperation and collaboration with national and international universities in research and scientific publications, holding international scientific article publication workshops, initiating collaboration with industry in the field of research and forming a research team of lecturers. The obstacles and challenges faced by the study program include lecturer workload, resources, funding, and research administration burden

The Performance and Qualitative Evaluation of Scientific Work at Research Universities: A Focus on the Types of University and Research

The successful implementation of scientific research is one of the key factors for sustainable development, including the development of tertiary education. A leading or “world-class university”, today, transfers knowledge to innovation, bearing the concept of “academic excellence”, and features of “research” and “entrepreneurial” universities highly match the SDGs. This article presents an analysis for scientific quality-assessing indicators at research universities. It also studies university science models in different countries, the features of university types—engineering (technical or technological) and comprehensive (multidisciplinary)—and the arising problems with their possible solutions for university science on the whole. The authors suggested a composition of indicators for assessing the quality of the fundamental scientific research and engineering project results and the performances of universities’ specialized scientific units. The respondents of the survey weighed the significance of the indicators. The research used methods of analysis, brainstorming, Ishikawa diagram building, and a survey of specialists. The results obtained can be useful for the improvement of quality management systems (QMSs) at research universities. Some implications of this study could be extended to improve QMS and management processes of specialized scientific organizations that belong to the state, business, and non-profit sectors of science.

Do Global Excellence Initiatives Lead to an Increase in Research Productivity: The Case of Kazakhstan’s World-Class University

Global excellence initiatives have been widely implemented across various regions to elevate the quality and standing of higher education institutions. The establishment of world-class universities have been one of the most frequent approaches within the global excellence initiatives. A notable example of the successful establishment of a novel world-class university is Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, which is expected to transform Kazakhstani society by training high-qualified cadre, stimulating research and innovative activity in the country, and serving the larger society in terms of intellectual leadership and global citizenship initiatives. Despite the great promise, the university has been greatly scrutinized for the financial burden associated with its creation and maintenance. The public attention, however, has not resulted in a sufficient number of studies evaluating the various impacts of the university on Kazakhstani society and the Central Asian region at large. This study attempts to fill the gap by analyzing bibliometric data from the Web of Science to estimate the effect of the creation of Nazarbayev University on research productivity measures in Kazakhstan. More specifically, interrupted time series is applied to the data panel from 2000 to 2010 to determine whether trends in research productivity measured in terms of the number of publications, number of citations, and the size of the scholarly community (as a proxy for research capacity strengthening effect) have been affected by the establishment of the world-class university in the country. The study fills the existing gap in prior research on global academic excellence initiatives and world-class universities by suggesting quantitative insights on the research productivity effects of the initiatives.

The Influence of University Social Responsibility on Accounting Disclosure Environment with Entrepreneur Value as a Moderating Variable in College High in Asean

This study analyzes the effect of university social responsibility on environmental accounting disclosure with entrepreneur value as a moderating variable in Asean universities with the population in this study are all universities that are categorized as having a top 10 ranking based on World Class University and publish their reports with the period 2018-2021. The analysis technique used is quantitative with panel data regression analysis tools. The results of the research are (1) Enviromental Awarenes and Enterprenuer Value have a positive and significant effect on Environmental Accounting Disclosures (2) Enviromental Involvement and Enviromental Reporting have a negative and significant effect on Environmental Accounting Disclosures (3) Enterprenuer Value is proven to significantly moderate the effect of university social responsibility on environmental accounting disclosures.

The Construction Model and Experience Inspiration of World-Class University Academy System

The Construction Model and Experience Inspiration of World-Class University Academy System

Are the best higher education institutions also more sustainable?

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze the integration of sustainable practices in the strategies and operations of world-class higher education institutions (HEIs) under the theoretical guidance of Max Weber's instrumental and value rationalities. Design/methodology/approach The results of the Quacquarelli-Symonds World University Ranking, Times Higher Education World University Rankings, THE Impact Rankings and GreenMetric World University Ranking rankings from 2019 to 2022 were paired, and the correlation between them was verified. Institutions with simultaneous occurrence in the four rankings in at least one of the years were also classified. A quantitative and qualitative methodology was used to explore how elite HEIs integrate sustainable practices into their operations and strategies, under the theoretical guidance of Max Weber's instrumental and value rationalities. Furthermore, multivariate regression models with supervised data mining techniques were applied, using the SMOReg algorithm on 368 instances with multiple attributes, to predict the numerical value of sustainability in the rankings. Coefficients were assigned to variables to determine their relative importance in predicting rankings. Findings The results of this study suggest that although many HEIs demonstrate a commitment to sustainability, this rarely translates into improvements in traditional rankings, indicating a disconnect between sustainable practices and global academic recognition. Research limitations/implications The research has limitations, including the analysis being restricted to data from specific rankings between 2019 and 2022, which may limit generalization to future editions or rankings. The predictive models used selected data and, therefore, cannot cover the full complexity of metrics from other rankings. Furthermore, internal factors of HEIs were not considered, and the correlations identified do not imply direct causality. The limited sample and potential methodological biases, together with the heterogeneity of the rankings, restrict the generalization of the results. These limitations should be considered in future studies. Practical implications The theoretical contributions of this study include an in-depth understanding of the intersection between academic excellence and environmental and social responsibility. From a management perspective, guidance is provided on integrating sustainability into HEI strategies to enhance visibility and classification in global rankings, while maintaining academic integrity and commitment to sustainability. Social implications This highlights the importance of reassessing academic rankings criteria to include sustainability assessments, thereby encouraging institutions to adopt practices that genuinely contribute to global sustainable development. Originality/value The originality lies in the predictive analysis between these rankings, examining the link between the level of sustainability of an HEI and its classification as a World Class University. Furthermore, it combines theories of rationality with the analysis of sustainability integration in elite HEIs, introducing new analytical perspectives that can influence future educational policies and institutional practices.

De-westernising competition: ‘Harmony of competition’ in Chinese higher education

ABSTRACT The discourse regarding globalisation and particularly ‘global competition’ has appeared in a range of socio-economic areas and higher education is no exception. Global competition has been the policy context in which a range of national excellence initiatives have been developed. These have often involved competitive processes with significant funding as a core incentive for universities to participate. Several countries have implemented these to build ‘World Class Universities’ (WCU) but often this concept is linked to global rankings and a western model of what world class is. The aim of this study is to critically examine the characteristics of China’s WCU policies, particularly as a competition discourse. It aims to go beyond Western-centric paradigms to capture a more inclusive and diverse understanding of competitive dynamics across various cultural and regional contexts. The article first draws upon critical globalisation studies, then it reviews ‘indigenous’ Chinese policy concepts of ‘world class-ness’ in HE, next it examines the construction of higher education (HE) competition in the Chinese national and institutional contexts, and finally it conducts a thematic review of the main Chinese WCU policies and the strategy and implementation documents of the ‘core’ WCU institutions with respect to the indigenous concepts. Our study’s findings will contribute to a nuanced understanding of competition in HE settings – it examines and challenges the tendency of the competition discourse to reduce distinctions between national contexts.

Transforming Islamic higher education institutions in Indonesia from “institutes/colleges” into “universities”: Globalization or glocalization?

Transforming “institutes” and “colleges” into “universities” has become a trend in the effort to develop state Islamic higher education institutions in Indonesia. The transformation idea was examined in this study, whether it was a globalization phenomenon or a glocalization phenomenon. Using a case study, this qualitative research found that globalization and glocalization played a role in institutional transformation. Through internationalization, globalization became the initial motive for transformation. However, under limited autonomy and funding, efforts to internationalize and implement globalization behaviors were hampered. In turn, glocalization appeared stronger through the political and moral literacies of the leaders of the universities. The resistance that started the controversy over the idea of transformation can, in principle, be accommodated and suppressed by the facts of glocalization. Without ignoring locality, accommodation for globalization can be optimized by accelerating these Islamic universities toward world-class universities and changing them into universities with greater autonomy.

Africa must create centres of educational excellence for innovation and development.

This paper explores the following development questions that perplex most Africans: "Why do African countries rely on foreign companies and foreign experts for almost all our development projects? Why can't we build our own roads, process our own food, and mine our own minerals, oil, and gas? Why don't we have world-class hospitals and industries? How can we have so much natural wealth and yet be so poor? Why do we invent so little?" The answer lies in our failure to implement idea number two. There are two major ideas in educational policy. Idea number one is the obligation to educate all children because it is their fundamental human right as enshrined in the 1948 United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Idea number two is the strategy of establishing and sustaining world class schools and universities for the education of the most highly gifted and highly talented citizens. Developed countries deploy both ideas aggressively. Underdeveloped countries in Africa have not implemented idea number two. Countries that have deployed idea number two have at least one university ranked among the top 200 in the world. The presence of great universities (top 200) in a country is a 21st century indicator of the presence of high levels of innovation, technology, development and wealth in that country. According to the three major rankings of world universities (Shanghai-ARWU, THE, and QS-topuniversities.com), none of the world's top 100 great universities is in Africa. Although Africa was a pioneer among the continents in innovations such as human language, domestication of fire, making of tools, invention of agriculture, development of writing, and creation of great centers of learning in ancient times, it has fallen behind other continents over the last 500 years and it has been disrupted by enslavement and colonization, and the structural adjustment programs (SAPs) of the IMF and the World Bank. Ancient African centers of innovation included the Ancient City of Benin and Timbuktu in Western Africa, the Kingdom of Kush and ancient Egypt in northern Africa, Axum in Eastern Africa, Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe in Southern Africa, and the Kingdom of Kongo in central-Africa. An African renaissance will only occur when we implement idea number two by establishing world class schools and at least one great university per African country.

Challenges and opportunities in higher education diplomacy of World Class Universities in Indonesia: analysing the network environment of public diplomacy

Challenges and opportunities in higher education diplomacy of World Class Universities in Indonesia: analysing the network environment of public diplomacy

The measurement, level, and influence of resource allocation efficiency in universities: empirical evidence from 13 “double first class” universities in China

China’s higher education system is shifting from quantitative expansion to connotative development to advance its quality. Since 2015, Chinese governments have been implementing a strategic policy for higher education called “double first-class”, which aims to promote a number of Chinese top universities to construct world-class universities or to establish world-class disciplines. “Double first-class” universities have received a large amount of educational resources through this policy. Taking advantage of resources efficiently is an important element in promoting the development of higher quality higher education. However, research on resource allocation in China’s “double first-class” universities is incomplete. Current research has not clarified the level of resource allocation efficiency or the factors affecting China’s “double first-class” universities. With the help of the superefficient data envelopment analysis (DEA)-Malmquist–Tobit model, this study actively explores the current status of the resource allocation efficiency of China’s “double first-class” universities to fill this gap in the field. Specifically, the development level and change trend of the resource allocation efficiency of 13 “double first-class” universities in China from 2015 to 2019 were measured with the help of the superefficient DEA-Malmquist model. The internal and external factors affecting the resource allocation efficiency of “double first-class” universities are also analysed with the help of the Tobit model. The overall level of resource allocation efficiency of “double first-class” universities is high, but the internal variability is large. From the perspective of efficiency decomposition, it is found that both technical efficiency change (EFch) and technical progress efficiency (TEch) play important roles in improving the total factor productivity (TFP) of resource allocation. Compared with TEch, EFch plays a more significant pulling role. This study confirms that the factors affecting resource allocation efficiency are complex. Among them, the regional economic environment, faculty title structure, and degree of international exchange have significant roles in promoting the resource allocation efficiency of “double first-class” universities, but local financial support and the time of policy implementation have certain negative effects.

Critical Policy Analysis of the Second Round of the Double First-Class Project in China

Purpose This critical policy analysis aims to comprehensively examine the second round of China's first-class discipline development project, commonly known as the “Double First-Class Project” (DFC Project or Shuang Yi Liu Project). Design/Approach/Methods We conducted desk research between May 2022 and December 2023 using relevant policy documents, academic literature, news sources, and commentaries that specifically focused on the second round of the DFC Project in China. Employing a critical policy analysis approach, we analyzed the gathered data from three key perspectives: policy as text, policy as discourse, and policy effects (including both first- and second-order effects). Findings The second round of the DFC Project was implemented within the context of strengthened state regulation, prevalent managerialism, and an emphasis on promoting education equality in China's higher education development. A notable shift in structural dynamics occurred between the first and second round. These include the possibility of universities being added to or removed from the official list, increased academic autonomy for selected universities, and the promotion of interdisciplinary research within specific institutions. The implementation of the second round of the DFC Project reflects China's commitment to developing an internationalization strategy with Chinese characteristics. This strategy aims to align with China's national strategic needs and position the country as a cooperative partner, promoter, competitor, and potential leader in global scholarship. Originality/Value By employing a critical policy analysis approach, this study offers a comprehensive examination of the second round of the DFC project in China, contributing to existing knowledge on the development of world-class university policies in the country.

Transformasi Dan Inovasi Perguruan Tinggi Islam Menjadi Universitas Kelas Dunia

Facing globalization and global competition, Islamic Religious Universities (PTKI) in Indonesia must continue innovating to achieve World Class University (WCU) status. This innovation effort covers several aspects, including improving academic quality, strengthening institutional capacity, and expanding general study programs. Additionally, it is anticipated that PTKI will play a pivotal role in promoting mutual understanding between the public and the Islamic community, serving as a hub for extensive Islamic studies, and actively participating in the Religious Moderation movement. To do this, PTKI must use creative approaches to education and study. This study employed a descriptive qualitative approach to library research. Books, scholarly publications, encyclopedias, and other relevant texts were among the many literary sources used to compile the data. To assess PTKI's progress towards WCU, the study offers a strategic review of the organization's role in national development. The history of PTKI's development in Indonesia, from its beginnings as an Islamic College (STI) to the establishment of the Indonesian Syekh Nurjati Cyber Islamic University (UISSI) in 2021, reflects the transformation carried out in response to the double disruption in 2020, namely technological innovation. PTKI must carry out its role as a responsive educational institution capable of producing quality graduates and contributing to community development. PTKI's development vision until 2045 involves strengthening internal capacity, expanding study programs, and contributing to national development.

Library promotion in the development of the Universitas Sumatera Utara towards a world-class university

This article analyzes library promotion in developing the Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) towards a World Class University (WCU). Indonesia is experiencing educational obstacles in achieving the WCU title. Several factors influence the difficulty of achieving the WCU predicate, but the most dominant is the library’s role in accommodating student literacy skills. As one of the higher education institutions, USU understands the vital role of the library in increasing the intensity of literacy to achieve the WCU predicate. The urgency of this research is to review the promotion of the USU library in achieving the WCU predicate through the library as an instrument. This article uses qualitative research with a case study approach. The data collection techniques used in this article are in-depth interviews, observation, and documentation. Primary data sources in this article are research informants, while secondary data used are books, articles, and reportage. The data collected by the author will then be analyzed using content analysis techniques. The results show that the library has various vital roles in literacy reform so that USU can achieve the WCU title. In this case, the library pursues promotional strategies including 1) Product, 2) Price, 3) Promotion, and 4) Distribution. The whole promotion model contributes to improving campus literacy in achieving WCU goals.

The Influence of Competency, Independence, and Objectivity on the Effectiveness of Internal Auditors in Realizing a World-Class University with Internal Auditor Integrity as a Moderating Variable in Higher Education in Medan

The Influence of Competency, Independence, and Objectivity on the Effectiveness of Internal Auditors in Realizing a World-Class University with Internal Auditor Integrity as a Moderating Variable in Higher Education in Medan

Kebijakan Peningkatan Kualitas Perguruan Tinggi Keagamaan Islam Menuju World Class University

Islamic religious universities play an important role in spreading religious values, promoting a deep understanding of Islam, and contributing to the intellectual development of Muslims globally. This research aims to analyze the policies needed to improve the quality of Islamic religious universities towards world-class university status. This research uses a library method in which researchers collect various literature for analysis. Research findings show that there are challenges for Islamic religious universities as they move towards becoming world-class universities. This research provides an in-depth view of concrete steps that can be taken by educational institutions and governments to encourage the growth and development of Islamic religious universities globally.

Innovations, Best Practices, and Distinctiveness in Higher Education Administration – A Case of Srinivas University

Purpose: Research in "Innovations, Best Practices, and Distinctiveness in Higher Education Administration" through case studies of universities aims to identify novel approaches, successful strategies, and unique initiatives implemented by higher education institutions. By analyzing these case studies, researchers can uncover innovative practices that contribute to institutional excellence and effectiveness in administration. Ultimately, the research seeks to disseminate valuable insights and lessons learned to improve higher education administration and foster continuous improvement across universities. Methodology: Exploratory research methodology is used where required information are collected through keyword-based search using Srinivas University website, Google search engine, Google scholar search engine, and AI-driven GPT MLM search engines. Analysis & Interpretation: Ther information collected from relevant sources are analysed, compared, evaluated, and interpreted using various frameworks. This includes innovations and best practices in infrastructure administration, Innovations and best practices in Library Administration, Innovations and best practices in Maintenance of Campus Infrastructure, Innovations and best practices in Alumni Engagement, Innovations in Vison and Leadership, Innovations in the development of Institutional Strategic Plan, Innovations in Effectiveness of Administration, Innovations in Faculty Empowerment Strategies, Innovations in Financial Management and Resource Mobilization, and Innovations, best practices, and institutional distinctiveness in Internal Quality Assurance System. Originality/Value addition: Based on the analysis some Suggestions on Innovations, Best Practices and Distinctiveness in Administrative related Activities are provided. By implementing the suggestions systematically, the university can realise its dream to become one among many world-class universities. Type of Paper: Case study based scholarly research analysis

Operationalising University Excellence in Doctoral Education: The Case of Top-Ranked Russian Universities

AbstractNumerous countries have implemented excellence initiatives designed to establish world-class universities, boost research productivity, build up staff capacity, and thereby reform doctoral education systems as part of this agenda. To date, the relationship between excellence-driven initiatives and leading universities’ doctoral education enhancement remains understudied in Russia. This study seeks to examine how seven top-ranked Russian universities responded to the Excellence Initiatives (5-100 Project and Priority 2030) at the institutional strategy level from 2012 till 24 February 2022. To explore this relationship and change in research education, documentary research was applied to a corpus of institutional strategies for excellence accompanied with governmental texts. Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) was adopted and complemented with analytical lenses to understand and examine how university excellence is recontextualised and operationalised in doctoral education structures across these strategies. This CDA was enhanced with theoretical lenses to research how multiple forces behind governmental policies for globalisation, innovation, and international competitiveness shape this change in Russian doctoral education in relation to global trends, national priorities, and local needs. The paper presents and discusses emergent processes (with mechanisms and practices) and the universities’ meaning-making behind the normative and performative ‘enhancement’ in doctoral education constructed with the state’s dominant understandings of university excellence.