Importance of Perception as a Parameter in University Rankings : A Critical Evaluation

Authors

  •   Shashi Singh Associate Professor, Department of Education, Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi - 835 205, Jharkhand
  •   Ajay Singh Professor & Director, BBS College of Engineering & Technology, Prayagraj - 211 003, Uttar Pradesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2021/v14i11/166979

Keywords:

India Rankings

, NIRF, HEIs, Higher Education System, Higher Education Ranking.

JEL Classification Codes

, I230, I280, I290, I200.

Paper Submission Date

, April 20, 2021, Paper Sent Back for Revision, September 26, Paper Acceptance Date, October 15, Paper Published Online, November 20, 2021.

Abstract

Assigning ranks and grades (or stars) has been a common practice for ages to describe the characteristics of a product with the intention that it will significantly influence customers’ buying behavior. What started as a marketing tool to compare and show supremacy over competitors’ products, ranking and grading have now become institutionalized, involving many commercials at stake. Nowadays, ranking evaluation has altogether become separate diligence with stiff competition among different players. Such types of rankings and accreditations have also influenced the education sector. Though there are various international rankings (QS World University Rankings, Shanghai Ranking, Academic Ranking of World Universities, etc.) for the education sector, the Indian government also administrates its ranking system to bring in a sense of competition and performance reviews among academic institutions of India. With this thought, the National Institution Ranking Framework (NIRF), also popularly known as ‘India Rankings,’ was started in 2015. The NIRF rankings of higher education institutions (HEIs) offering engineering education were considered for the study. Perception as an evaluation indicator has always been debated for its validity in the finalization of such rankings. This paper attempted to scientifically study the influence that the parameter ‘perception’ contributes to the overall ranking of HEIs.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Shashi Singh, Associate Professor, Department of Education, Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi - 835 205, Jharkhand

ORCID iD : https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8706-8590

Ajay Singh, Professor & Director, BBS College of Engineering & Technology, Prayagraj - 211 003, Uttar Pradesh

ORCID iD : https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6430-3543

Downloads

Published

2021-11-15

How to Cite

Singh, S., & Singh, A. (2021). Importance of Perception as a Parameter in University Rankings : A Critical Evaluation. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 14(11), 25–40. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2021/v14i11/166979

Issue

Volume 14, Issue 11, November 2021

Section

Articles
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

References

Altbach, P. (2011). Ranking season is here. International Higher Education, 62. https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2011.62.8531

Bagga, T. (2017). Accreditation compulsion or inducement: A perception study of various stakeholders. Prabandhan : Indian Journal of Management, 10(12), 7–19. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2017/v10i12/119977

Burlakanti, K., Kumar, J. N., & Srinivas, R. V. (2014). Parents’ perception about factors of quality education in private schools in Kakinada city, Andhra Pradesh. Prabandhan : Indian Journal of Management, 7(4), 5–16. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2014/v7i4/59304

Chugh, K. L., Alekhya, N., & Kishore, N. P. (2017). Quality research publications - A key differentiator in India Rankings 2017. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, 8(6), 117–124. http://www.iaeme.com/MasterAdmin/Journal_uploads/IJMET/VOLUME_8_ISSUE_6/IJMET_08_06_012.pdf

Clarke, M. (2002).Some guidelines for academic quality rankings. Higher Education in Europe, 27(4), 443–459. https://doi.org/10.1080/0379772022000071922

Davis, M. (2016). Can college ranking be believed? She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation, 2(3), 215–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sheji.2016.11.002

Gupta, B. M. (2010). Ranking and performance of Indian universities, based on publication and citation data. Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 3(7), 837–843. https://doi.org/10.17485/ijst/2010/v3i7.21

Hazelkorn, E. (2015). Rankings and the reshaping of higher education: The battle for world-class excellence (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137446671

IHEP. (2007). College and university ranking systems. http://www.ihep.org/sites/default/files/uploads/docs/pubs/collegerankingsystems.pdf

Khatri, P., & Raina, K. (2019). Education, state, and psychology : A study of students’ pre- and post-perceptions of training intervention. Prabandhan : Indian Journal of Management, 12(12), 38–48. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2019/v12i12/149271

National Institutional Ranking Framework. (2018). India Rankings 2018. Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India. https://www.nirfindia.org/2018/pdf/nirf_2018_final.pdf

National Institutional Ranking Framework. (2020). India Rankings 2020. Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India. https://www.nirfindia.org/nirfpdfcdn/2020/pdf/Report/IR2020_Report.pdf

Padalkar, M., & Gopinath, S. (2015). Do Indian management practices drive global research agenda ? An exploratory analysis of contemporary management literature. Journal of Indian Business Research, 7(2), 108 –139. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIBR-01-2015-0009

Prathap, G. (2014). The performance of research-intensive higher educational institutions in India. Current Science, 107(3), 389–396. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24103492

Ramanathan, V. (2018). Internalization of higher education in India : Existing realities and future outlook. Prabandhan : Indian Journal of Management, 11(6), 40–52. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2018/v11i6/128441

Reddy, K., Xie, E., & Tang, Q. (2016). Higher education, high-impact research, and world university rankings : A case of India and comparison with China. Pacific Science Review B: Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psrb.2016.09.004

Sahoo, B. K., Singh, R., Mishra, B., & Sankaran, K. (2017). Research productivity in management schools of India during 1968-2015: A directional benefit-of-doubt model analysis. Omega, 66 (Part A: January), 118–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omega.2016.02.004

Saisana, M., d’Hombres, B., & Saltelli, A. (2011). Rickety numbers: Volatility of university rankings and policy implications. Research Policy, 40(1), 165–177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2010.09.003

Saji, T. G. (2020). Undergraduate education in India: Dissecting the perception gaps in students’ expectations. Prabandhan : Indian Journal of Management, 13(8 –9), 28–41. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2020/v13i8-9/155231

Sidorenko, T., & Gorbatova, T. (2015). Efficiency of Russian education through the scale of World University Rankings. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 166, 464–467. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.12.555

Valcárcel, M. (2017). Usefulness of analytical research: Rethinking analytical R&D&T strategies. Analytical Chemistry, 89(21), 11167–11172. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.7b03935

Van Raan, A. F. (2005). Fatal attraction: Conceptual and methodological problems in the ranking of universities by bibliometric methods. Scientometrics, 62, 133 –143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-005-0008-6

Vernon, M. M., Balas, E. A., & Momani, S. (2018). Are university rankings useful to improve research? A systematic review. PLoS ONE, 13(3), e0193762. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0193762

Yeravdekar, V. R., & Tiwari, G. (2014). Global rankings of higher education institutions and India’s effective non-presence: Why have world-class universities eluded the Indian higher education system? And, how worthwhile is the Indian government’s captivation to launch world-class universities? Procedia –Social and Behavioral Sciences, 157, 63–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.11.010