Three IREG Member to work on the European U-Multirank

The European Commission is promoting transparency in the international higher education system. After a feasibility study successfully completed in 2011, the Commission is now funding a two-year project to implement U-Multirank, a multi-dimensional and user-driven international ranking of higher education institutions. An international consortium of partners from nine countries will run the project together with international stakeholder organisations. The consortium includes three organizations, members of IREG Observatory: CHE Centre for Higher Education (Germany) the lead of the of the project together with Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS), Observatoire des Sciences et des Techniques - OST (France) and Perspektywy Education Foundation (Poland).
The Commissioner for Higher Education and Culture, Androulla Vassiliou, said: U-Multirank "will be useful to each participating higher education institution, as a planning and self-mapping exercise; and more should join as it proves its utility, and to respond to calls from students and others for greater transparency in European higher education. By providing students with clearer information to guide their study choices, this is a fresh tool for more quality, relevance and transparency in European higher education."
The basic characteristics of U-Multirank, which has been developed in close consultation with stakeholders, differ substantially from existing international rankings:
An initial pilot ranking covering at least 500 higher education institutions, both inside and outside Europe, and four fields of study (mechanical and electrical engineering, business – the fields included in the feasibility study – and physics) will be published in early 2014. U-Multirank will then be expanded regularly to include more institutions and fields of study. More information.