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Dodo Bird Verdict vs. Ranking in Higher Education: Who Stands for Competitiveness? Professor, Ph.D., Daniel DAVID Babeş-Bolyai University http://www.clinicalpsychology.ro The Problem • There are (too) many actors in education and research • Education/research resources are limited • Strategies to access resources: – Access resources by competition • Dodo Bird Strategy vs. Rigorous Rankings – Access resources by (more or less) “equal” distribution • Rarely today (in some former communist countries) About Dodo Bird... • In L. Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865), at a certain point of the story some characters become wet - Problem • In order to dry themselves, the Dodo Bird decided to start a competition - Aim • Everyone was to run around a lake until they were dry. However, nobody cared to measure how far, in what direction, and from where each person had run, nor how long etc. - Rules • When they asked the Dodo who had won, he thought long and hard and then said wisely: "Everybody has won and all must have prizes“ - Results About Academic Rankings • International vs. Local Rankings – International • QS Word University Ranking (Times) • Academic Word University Ranking (Shanghai) • Taiwanese Word Academic ranking – Local • US News and World Report Ranking • RAE – UK • Various criteria and indicators – Global vs. Specific – Research vs. Education/Research About Academic Rankings • Attitudes to Academic Rankings – Mixed • Positive – Used to marketing the university • Negative – US (Stanford University vs. US News and World Report), Canada, EU debates • Neutral – Behave as the ranking does not... About Academic Rankings • The first Romanian ranking of universities (David & Ad-Astra, 2005) – Based on Web of Science – Thomson/ISI and the number of faculty • Follow-up investigation – Quantitative analysis (N=150 professionals; survey type) • Negative attitude: 70% • Neutral – 20% • Positive – 10% – Qualitative analyses – content analyses based on newspapers, articles, papers • Negative framing and gross distortions of the Web of Science system! Evolutionary Concepts • A dominance hierarchy is the organization of individuals in a group that occurs when competition for resources is strong (e.g., lack of resources, many actors etc. – such social structures lead to more stable system, with reduced tension among individuals. • Natural tendency! Evolutionary Concept • Social ranking – Stability • Each member knows his/her position • Each member is important for the system (even the “omega” position) • Based on that position each member will access appropriate resources Academic Ranking • Instability • Members do not know or do not publically assume their real position in the system (if they are not in the top) • Most of the members are not important for the system • Access to the resources can be influenced by other means (e.g., lobby, power) than competitiveness Implications • A Rigorous and Influential Academic Ranking must have the following profile in order to get accepted: – Clear objectives + (almost all rankings) • Ranking - a mean to reach an aim (e.g., better education/research) not an aim! - (few of the rankings) • Diagnostic/assessment (where/how we are – where/how we want to be) • Developmental strategies – Criteria and indicators – Clear rules (methodology) + (almost all rankings, but see the “peer/review” debate) – Criteria and indicators – • Clear role prescriptions for each position in the ranking • Each position is publically available + (almost all rankings but see the “peer/review” debate) • Each position is important for the system (minimum standards) – (almost none of the rankings) • Each position allow access to some resources - (almost none of the rankings) Romanian case: – New law which ask for ranking in the national system! – Research and education strategy (where/how we are – where/how we want to be) – Each position is important for the system (minimum standards) • ARACIS / minimum standards to enter into national system – Each position allow access to some resources • Advanced research universities vs. Research and education universities vs. Education universities • Global vs. Specific (domain) rankings DODO VERDICT Versus RIGOROUS RANKINGS