International university rankings and the experience of the three state universities of São Paulo, Brazil
Soares de Oliveira Colus, Flávia (2021)
Soares de Oliveira Colus, Flávia
2021
Master's Programme in Research and Innovation in Higher Education
Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta - Faculty of Management and Business
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2021-05-14
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202103312776
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202103312776
Tiivistelmä
In the early 2000s, the release of the Shanghai Jiao tong Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) was the beginning of the global phenomenon of international university rankings. They influence the decisions of students, researchers, public opinion, and the broader society (Leal et al., 2018) as well as policies in HE and investment decisions and institutional management (Santos e Noronha, 2016; Righetti, 2016).
University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo State University (UNESP), and University of Campinas (UNICAMP) are three of the most important universities in Brazil, being responsible for around a third of the scientific production in the country (Marques, 2019). Given the relevance of university rankings and those three institutions, this research seeks to understand, through the discourse and perceptions of university managers how international university rankings affect the three state universities of São Paulo. It uses stakeholder theory (Freeman, 1984) to frame the analysis, with a focus on how managers perceive the effects of rankings on stakeholder relationships, and what actions universities might take to manage the impact of rankings in their relationship with key stakeholders.
To answer the proposed research questions, this study follows a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews with managers at the selected universities. The managers included in the interviewee groups were mostly top and mid-level managers, including the rectors of each of the chosen universities, as well as the directors of the planning units and the coordinators of the units that monitor rankings and control indicators as those three key managers should be the most directly involved in using university rankings. This study showed that rankings are not yet important to the financial security of those universities, but they do affect how politicians perceive the quality and legitimacy of those universities. They also have an important effect on university international partnerships and are widely used by other HEIs. However, rankings have a limited impact on universities' relationship with the broader society, mainly because they remain mostly detached from indicators of social relevance. Within the universities, managers recognize that rankings have several methodological issues, but they still influence some university activities such as how institutional data is collected and organized. They also see rankings being used internally to inform decisions on matters that are in line with their missions and goals.
University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo State University (UNESP), and University of Campinas (UNICAMP) are three of the most important universities in Brazil, being responsible for around a third of the scientific production in the country (Marques, 2019). Given the relevance of university rankings and those three institutions, this research seeks to understand, through the discourse and perceptions of university managers how international university rankings affect the three state universities of São Paulo. It uses stakeholder theory (Freeman, 1984) to frame the analysis, with a focus on how managers perceive the effects of rankings on stakeholder relationships, and what actions universities might take to manage the impact of rankings in their relationship with key stakeholders.
To answer the proposed research questions, this study follows a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews with managers at the selected universities. The managers included in the interviewee groups were mostly top and mid-level managers, including the rectors of each of the chosen universities, as well as the directors of the planning units and the coordinators of the units that monitor rankings and control indicators as those three key managers should be the most directly involved in using university rankings. This study showed that rankings are not yet important to the financial security of those universities, but they do affect how politicians perceive the quality and legitimacy of those universities. They also have an important effect on university international partnerships and are widely used by other HEIs. However, rankings have a limited impact on universities' relationship with the broader society, mainly because they remain mostly detached from indicators of social relevance. Within the universities, managers recognize that rankings have several methodological issues, but they still influence some university activities such as how institutional data is collected and organized. They also see rankings being used internally to inform decisions on matters that are in line with their missions and goals.