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The manipulative game of comparison and quantification turns institutions into players, writes Sean Muller. How should we assess the quality and development of higher education ­institutions in South Africa? What is it that these institutions do that is socially valuable enough to justify receiving large sums of public money?
Is it the economic contribution of graduates, the societal importance of the research, other forms of contribution to society – providing a home for "public intellectuals" – or some particular combination of these?
With such considerations in mind, it is interesting to interrogate the increasing popularity of international university rankings as a means of either assessing university progress ("university x has done fantastically well in the past few years, climbing 20 places in the rankings") or setting a milestone for achievement ("our university mission is to be a top 50-ranked institution").
Although seductive in their ability to summarise institutional achievement in a single number, the many flaws of this approach suggest that it should, at best, be consigned a peripheral role in our determinations of institutional success.
To illustrate some of the problems, consider the Times Higher Education rankings, perhaps the most prominent of the growing number of published rankings. Read more...

Compiled by Thu Uyen. VietNamNet Bridge – Official statistics show that Vietnamese spend billions of US dollars a year to fund overseas training courses for their children. Nguyen Truong Giang, a senior official of the Ministry of Finance has confirmed that every year, Vietnamese remit billions of US dollars abroad to pay for their children’s training courses.
Thoi bao Kinh te Vietnam has cited a report showing that the number of Vietnamese going abroad to study has been increasing steadily year after year. In 2010-2011, Vietnam had 98,536 overseas students while the figure jumped to 106,104 in the 2011-2012 academic year. The latest report by the Ministry of Education and Training showed that about 60,000 Vietnamese are studying at overseas training establishments. More and more Vietnamese apply for studying at the schools in the US, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Singapore and China.
The movement of going to study abroad started in 1997-1998, when most Vietnamese enrolled in the schools in the UK, France and the US. However, the list of the destination countries for Vietnamese students has been expanded. Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Switzerland have also become the popular names for the students who plan to go studying abroad.
Nguyen Truong Giang, a senior official of the Ministry of Finance has confirmed that every year, Vietnamese remit billions of US dollars abroad to pay for their children’s training courses. Thoi bao Kinh te Vietnam has cited a report showing that the number of Vietnamese going abroad to study has been increasing steadily year after year. In 2010-2011, Vietnam had 98,536 overseas students while the figure jumped to 106,104 in the 2011-2012 academic year.
The latest report by the Ministry of Education and Training showed that about 60,000 Vietnamese are studying at overseas training establishments. More and more Vietnamese apply for studying at the schools in the US, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Singapore and China.
The movement of going to study abroad started in 1997-1998, when most Vietnamese enrolled in the schools in the UK, France and the US. However, the list of the destination countries for Vietnamese students has been expanded. Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Switzerland have also become the popular names for the students who plan to go studying abroad. Read more...