Article is devoted to the new conditions for the development of society characterized by the reconstruction of the course of higher education by increasing the competitiveness of Russian universities in the world scientific and educational space and the global university rankings as indicators of the implementation of the integration process and competitive tool in the context of globalization of higher education. A characteristic feature of modern development is the transition to a new stage of the formation of an innovative society, to build an economy based on the generation, distribution, transfer and use of knowledge. Ability to adapt capacity to the constantly changing environment is becoming the leading trend, the main source of material prosperity of civil society. And university rankings as indicators and tools of the competitiveness of universities certainly play an increasingly important role in the interaction of universities, businesses and states in the global educational space.