IREG Ranking Audit Rules adopted

Paris, 17 May 2011. The Executive Committee of IREG Observatory on Ranking and Excellence adopted the IREG Ranking Audit Rules. The document describes in detail the criteria and procedure that will be used in assessing the quality of rankings.
The purpose of an audit, conducted by independent academic teams, will be to verify if a ranking under review was done professionally, and  observes good practices, providing students, their parents and employers with information allowing them to compare and assess programs offered by higher education institutions. In their proceedings the audit teams will be guided by the Berlin Principles on Ranking of Higher Education Institutions, adopted at the IREG-2 conference in 2006.
The Ranking Audit rules have been adopted following broad and open discussions and consultations conducted at the IREG-5 conference in Berlin in October 2010 and on the IREG website. The IREG Ranking Audit is expected to:
-   enhance the transparency of rankings;
-   give users of rankings a tool to identify trustworthy rankings;
-   improve the quality of rankings.
IREG Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence is a non-for-profit association of ranking organization, universities and other organization interested in the improvement of the quality of international and national rankings of higher education institutions. The association has close to 20 member organizations from Asia, Europe and America.
The IREG Ranking Audit will be conducted on a voluntary basis. Any international or national ranking can ask to be audited. Rankings that pass robust evaluation will be entitled to use quality label “IREG approved”. The results of the first ranking audits are expected in the Fall 2011.
The Audit Ranking Audit Rules were announced following the General Assembly of IREG Observatory that met in Paris, 17 March 2011. Berlin Principles of IREG.