University ranking and global competitiveness: Exploring convergence and divergence in the politics and policy environment in higher education reform

Session Submission Type: Group Panel

Description of Session

The panel examines the growing trend towards an emphasis on the university ranking as indicative of the status of national higher education systems. It explores the pathways through which reform in higher education tier has been shaped in response to the goal for ranking competitiveness. Case studies from Kenya, China, USA, Jamaica and Russia are provided to offer elements of convergence and divergence in the characteristics of the reforms that inform the standing of the higher education institutions. The role of the State as agent and agency in the dynamics that define the position of the higher education standing is also debated. The analysis employs a qualitative and quantitative comparative document analysis and personal accounts of authors and researchers to inform the discussion.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Chair

• Val Rust, UCLA

Individual Presentations

• University Ranking and Global Competitiveness: The Case of Kenya. - Edith Mukudi Omwami, UCLA

• University Ranking and Global Competitiveness: The Case of China Public University System. - Shen Xiaopeng, UCLA; Jiaying Song, UCLA

• University Ranking and Global Competitiveness: The Case of the Elite American University System. - Val Rust, UCLA

• University Ranking and Global Competitiveness: The Case of the Russian State University System. - Veronika Rozhenkova, UCLA

• University Ranking and Global Competitiveness: The Case of Jamaica and Other Small Island Caribbean Nations. - Hughlin Boyd, University of California Los Angeles

• University Ranking and Global Competitiveness: The Case of Mexico's University System in A Global Context - Abigail Thornton, UCLA