THE DIGITAL babble broke out immediately. As soon as the Times Higher Education rankings of the world's top 200 universities were made public last week, the winners started tweeting.
"Congratulations!" Melbourne University messaged its 8594 followers, "The University of Melbourne is again Australia's highest-ranked university."
Monash University told its 7742 followers that it had, "Great news! The Times Higher Education rankings are out and we've jumped 61 places."
Australian universities also took to spruiking their world league table successes on their websites. Even the Australian National University, which has a no-comment policy on university rankings, mentions some of its wins on its website.
How things have changed. There was a time when institutions treated the results with a degree of disdain. But not any longer.
So why are universities now paying so much attention to the rankings? Part of the reason lies in the fact that the methodologies behind the rankings have improved and there is now more transparency in how the "big three" rankings systems calculate their tables.
The Times, the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, are the surveys that universities watch.
Universities have also come to realise that a good showing in the league tables can improve their standing with students, academics and philanthropists — basically anyone who has a stake in higher education.
Monash University vice-chancellor Ed Byrne says the university takes the rankings seriously, particularly in the area of research. "They tell us, I think, a lot about our international standing, a lot about our research outputs, where they're relatively quantitative," he says. But "they tell us less about our teaching performance, where local scales and local guides such as the various Australian university guides probably give more information".
Monash has been rising in the world league tables over the past few years. In the Times league table this year, Monash is Australia's fifth-ranked university, up two places from last year. It has also been winning a substantial number of national competitive research grants.
Professor Byrne says these results reflect the university's strategy of investing in outstanding research talent.
"The best period Monash University has ever had has been the last four or five years, except the next five years will be even better, because the university is improving itself more rapidly, I think, than any other institution in this modern world," he says.
And in the highly competitive international student market, a good result in world rankings can help universities snare students. The rankings, however, are less important for domestic students, who can rely on local networks for information.
Professor Byrne says when international students are choosing a university they will look at a range of factors, including visa conditions and exchange rates. But they also read information about rankings.
"The international students tend to stream into a family of universities related to their academic performance," he says, "in the same way that domestic students do."
Sue Elliott, deputy vice-chancellor of global engagement at Melbourne University, says market research shows rankings are a major factor when international students are considering which institution they should attend.
"Consequently, there is often an increase in inquiries following rankings successes, as well as a spike in social media engagement on the issue," she says.
Professor Elliott says this interest has carried through to enrolments, particularly at graduate level.
Despite a national downturn in international student numbers, Melbourne's commencing international enrolments are marginally higher than in 2010. In the Times table, Melbourne University is the 37th ranked institution in the world, one place down from last year, but still Australia's top-ranked university.
Glenn Withers, chief executive of Universities Australia, isn't surprised that universities are trumpeting good rankings results. He says as federal funding for universities has declined over the years, institutions have had to look for new revenue sources, such as full fees from international students.
"A key tool of marketing and recruitment is to tell the world how you're doing in the rankings," Dr Withers says.
Even universities not ranked among Australia's best take the league tables seriously. In an email to staff last month, RMIT vice-chancellor Margaret Gardner echoed the views of some academics who were asking if the university "should give any attention to rankings".
"We should pay attention — even if we are aware of their particular shortcomings," she answered. "The first reason for doing so relates to understanding how these rankings present our university to the world.
"As students become more globally mobile, they seek information sources to guide their decisions. Rankings form a reputational surrogate to assist students in their decisions."
Stephen Holmes is a managing partner of the Knowledge Partnership, a marketing and communication consultancy that works with Australian and overseas universities.
He says there is no doubt that rankings feed into a university's reputation. Dr Holmes is speaking at five conferences in Asia on the topic of university reputation between now and March.
"If you're talking to potential students in Singapore and Malaysia, at least half the reason they would consider a Western university is based on rankings," says Dr Holmes, who has just opened an office in Singapore. "They're very status-driven and prestige-driven."
He says prospective students want more than the "clever slogans" and "motherhood statements" in university marketing brochures. They want evidence that a university performs well.
Asian universities, which have been improving in the rankings, are also starting to compete with the rest of the world for international students. Dr Holmes says Malaysia now hosts about 75,000 international students, but wants 250,000 by 2020.
Rankings are also important in telling universities about how their competitors are performing, he says. And this is not just about attracting students. Research by his company indicates universities with consistent rank rises have an enhanced ability to attract international academics.
The research also shows that universities that move up the league tables attract interest from other leading institutions that are seeking research collaborations and other university partnerships.
Professor Gardner agrees. Her email says that rankings are often used as a "rough guide" to get an idea of a university's research performance, and "in turn can affect interest in research collaboration".
It is particularly important for a university to gain recognition as a research university by being included in the ARWU top 500, says Simon Marginson, a professor in higher education at Melbourne University. He is also an advisory board member for the ARWU and a member of the Times Higher Education editorial board.
The ARWU rankings are based on a university's research performance. In Victoria, Melbourne, Monash, La Trobe and Swinburne universities made it into this year's ARWU top 500.
Last week, Melbourne and Monash universities weren't the only institutions to tweet their good news. Queensland University also told its followers that it had advanced in the rankings. International universities sent out congratulatory messages, too.
But what is interesting is how the messages generated interest among academics and students. Some retweeted the university messages, while "Melistomato" asked, "Do lists like this help anyone?"
People do like their league tables.
Source: The Age
