ERIC Number: EJ1126281
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Dec
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0018-1560
EISSN: N/A
Global Rankings in the Nordic Region: Challenging the Identity of Research-Intensive Universities?
Elken, Mari; Hovdhaugen, Elisabeth; Stensaker, Bjørn
Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education Research, v72 n6 p781-795 Dec 2016
Global university rankings currently attract considerable attention, and it is often assumed that such rankings may cause universities to prioritize activities and outcomes that will have a positive effect in their ranking position. A possible consequence of this could be the spread of a particular model of an "ideal" university. This article tests this assumption through an analysis of a sample of research-intensive universities in the Nordic region. Through document analysis and interviews with institutional leaders and staff from central administration, the study explores whether high-ranked Nordic universities take strategic measures as a response to global rankings, and whether the traditional identities of the universities are changing, as they are influenced and affected by the rankings. The study shows that rankings have a relatively modest impact on decision-making and strategic actions in the Nordic universities studied, and that there are few signs of rankings challenging the existing identities of the universities in this region.
Descriptors: Reputation, Research Universities, Models, Interviews, Administrator Attitudes, Institutional Evaluation, Educational Quality, Institutional Characteristics, Decision Making, Strategic Planning, Foreign Countries, Organizational Change
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Denmark; Norway; Sweden
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A