Shanghai ranking by subject opens a new battlefront in university rankings

By Brendan O'Malley – Managing Editor. In Commentary, Angel Calderon says the Shanghai ranking by subject has expanded significantly in the past year and has opened a new battlefront in an already saturated rankings space by ranking subjects based on research output, impact and prestige. The results suggest we will see an uplift in the overall standing of universities from China, Singapore and Malaysia over the next few years. Darren J McDermott highlights one noteworthy area where the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is making progress on Southeast Asian integration – the harmonisation of higher education, which he believes is ‘moving in the right direction‘. Eugene Sebastian says while new, less risky transnational education models are emerging, universities must continue to rely on a fundamental focus on the student experience as integral to any offshore strategy. And Jenni Case asks what higher education’s role is in the struggle for social justice in South Africa and how education researchers can broaden our understanding of contemporary problems.
   Also in Commentary, Caitríona Taylor encourages universities to make health and wellness a part of their institutional mission to deal with a growing global obesity crisis, particularly in the developing world where the younger generation is experiencing a growth in obesity rates. John Bassett believes now is the time to invite a dialogue with US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos about accreditation and quality oversight of higher education, while Mark Ashwill finds that Vietnamese students and their parents still view a US education favourably, despite poor ratings for US President Donald Trump.
   In World Blog this week, Ka Ho Mok says returning Chinese students get a competitive advantage from study abroad, but universities and governments need to be careful to ensure that the wider social benefits of international learning are understood and that those at home don’t miss out. More...