The Times Higher Education has released its annual list of the top 100 universities in the world based on reputation. Once again, Harvard University took the number one spot. This was the sixth year in a row for the Cambridge, Massachusetts based school.
The U.S. did very well on the rankings, having 43 universities make the top 100. Just in the top 10, the U.S. had Harvard, MIT, Stanford, University of California at Berkeley, Princeton, Yale, Columbia and the California Institute of Technology.
Although the U.S.’s triumph in higher education came as little surprise, many people pointed out that schools from the UK, including Cambridge and Oxford, slipped down on the list. The two aforementioned universities were ranked in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Even though the schools remain in the top five, they are down from the second and third spots they held last year, according to Telegraph UK.
Similarly, the UK dropped from 12 to 10 universities in the top 100 this year. “The UK’s diminishing performance occurs as institutions in Asia rapidly rise up the table—the continent has 17 representatives, up from 10 last year,” said Phil Baty, the editor of the rankings, to the BBC.
“The UK will have to ensure that it can still draw in talent and investment from across the world and it does not lose its position at the heart of higher education’s global elite,” Baty said.
The Telegraph also reported that experts think a focus on diversity is hurting UK institutions. Alan Smithers, the director of the Centre for Education and Employment research at Buckingham University, told the Telegraph, “[Government’s] current policies are causing universities to take their eye off the ball of recruiting the best to comply with [its] demands to increase the proportions entering and graduating from state schools, ethnic minorities and postcodes, from which, in the past, few students have come.”
Business Standard also noted that despite Asia’s performance, no Indian university made the Times’ top 100 list. India is one of the few larger nations to never make the cut.
Baty explained that reputation indeed matters. “Reputation is the global currency of higher education. It may be subjective, it may not always be fair, but it matters deeply.” I mean, besides all those other things that actually matter when choosing a school, like if it’s the right fit for you, school size, how well they do in the program of your choice, etc. Not just whether they are internationally recognized as an elite institution.