Global University Rankings

Global University Rankings explores the novel topic of global university rankings and their effects on higher education in Europe. The contributions in this volume outline different discourses on global university rankings and explore the related changes concerning European higher education policies, disciplinary traditions and higher education institutions. The first global university rankings were published less than a decade ago, but these policy instruments have become highly influential in shaping the approaches and institutional realities of higher education. The rankings have portrayed European academic institutions in a varying light. There is intense reflexivity over the figures, leading to ideational changes and institutional adaptation that take surprisingly similar forms in different European countries. The contributions in this book critically assess global university rankings as a policy discourse that would seem to be instrumental to higher education reform throughout Europe.

PrefacePART I: GLOBAL UNIVERSITY RANKINGS: HISTORY, CONCEPTS AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS1. Introduction; Tero Erkkila2. The Impact of Rankings on the European Higher Education Landscape; Barbara M. Kehm3. Global, Asian and European Backgrounds of Global University Rankings; Bob ReinaldaPART II: UNIVERSITY RANKINGS AND INSTITUTIONAL COMPETITION: COMMODIFICATION, STRATIFICATION AND UNIFORMITY4. Convergence and Divergence in Research, Higher Education and InnovationPolicies; Antti Pelkonen and Tuula Teravainen5. Buffer, Filter or Channel? A se Gornitzka6. The Drift to Conformity; Jon Nixon7. Polish Higher Education and the Global Academic Competition; Dorota Dakowska8. Reforming Higher Education Institutions in Finland; Tero Erkkila and Ossi PiironePART III: UNIVERSITY RANKINGS AND DISCIPLINARITY: CHALLENGES FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES9. Measuring Excellence in Social Sciences and Humanities; Arto Mustajoki10. Ranking European Social Science and Stratifying Global Knowledge; Niilo Kauppi11. Global Disciplinary Rankings and Images of Quality; Erkki Berndtson12. The Colonization of the Academic Field by Rankings; Richard MunchPART IV: CONCLUSIONS13. Global Rankings as a Marker of Revaluing the University; James H. Mittelman14. Conclusions; Tero ErkkilaIndex"

Erkki Berndtson, University of Helsinki, FinlandDorota Dakowska, University of Strasbourg, FranceTero Erkkilä, University of Helsinki, FinlandÅse Gornitzka, University of Oslo, NorwayNiilo Kauppi, University of Lausanne, France; the University of LuxembourgBarbara M. Kehm, University of Kassel, GermanyJames H. Mittelman, American University, USA Arto Mustajoki is Professor of Russian at the University of Helsinki, Finland Richard Münch, Otto-Friedrich-University, Germany Jon Nixon, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong KongAntti Pelkonen, VTT Technical Research Centre of FinlandOssi Piironen, University of Helsinki, FinlandBob Reinalda, Radboud University, the NetherlandsTuula Teräväinen, University of Helsinki, Finland