Global Rankings of Universities as a New Phenomenon in Russian Higher Education
How to Cite
Arefiev A.L. 2015. Global Rankings of Universities as a New Phenomenon in Russian Higher Education — Sociologicheskaja nauka i social’naja praktika. No. 3. P. 5-24.
Abstract
The article describes a project that was launched in 2013 that stated that by 2012, at least 5 Russian universities must be included in the following top world university ratings: the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE), QS World University Rankings (QS) and Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). The article examines the characteristics of the method of ranking educational institutions, analyses the obligations of the 15 national universities that became the winners of this project (referred to as ‘5 — 100’) by obtaining prize-winning places in the global rankings, and presents the first results on this topic. The article specifies the preponderance of Anglo-American universities in the World University Rankings and the complexity involved in Russian universities replacing them The article also addresses the ranking of the national universities in the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities (which estimates the universities’ volume of representation on the Internet rather than educational and scientific research activity) and evaluates the scientific achievements of Russian universities and scientific and research institutes in the authoritative world rating of SCImago (covering institutions that provide more than 80% of the world’s scientific production). The article finds that in the SCImago Institutions Rankings in Russia, the top two places were taken by universities that are located in regional centres that have the most powerful branches of The Russian Academy of Sciences, which have good interaction. Taking into the account that academic institutions provide the main volume of important scientific research today, the author posits that the mutual integration of the scientific resources of The Russian Academy of Sciences and national higher education is the most effective measure of enhancing the international competitiveness of Russian universities’ scientific achievements.
Keywords:
project 5/100, global rankings, the best universities of the world, indexes
References
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Osipov G. V., Klimovickij S. V. Indikatory nauki i tehnologii: istorija, metodolo-gija, stand- arty izmerenija. [Indicators of science and technology: history, methodology, measurement standards]. M.: Centr social’nogo prognozirovanija i marketinga, 2014. — 180 s. (In Russ.).
At the heart of the higher education debate [Electronic resource]. THE URL: http://www. timeshighereducation. co. uk (date of reference: 21.07.2014).
Worldwide university rankings, guides and events [Electronic resource]. Topuniversities URL: http://www. topuniversities. com (date of reference: 21.07.2014).
ARWU [Electronic resource] Academic ranking of world universities URL: http://www. shanghairanking. com (date of reference: 21.07.2014).
Ranking Web of Universities [Electronic resource]. URL: http://www. webo¬metrics. info (date of reference: 21.07.2014).
Scimago institutions rankings [Electronic resource]. SIR URL: http://www. scimagoir. com (date of reference: 21.07.2014
Citation Formats
Other cite formats:
Harvard
Arefiev, A. L. (2015) ’Global Rankings of Universities as a New Phenomenon in Russian Higher Education’, Sociologicheskaja nauka i social’naja praktika, (3), pp. 5-24. Available at: https://www.jour.fnisc.ru/index.php/socnp/article/view/3073 (Accessed: 5December2025).
Section
UNTITLED
Publisher: Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FCTAS RAS)