Health & Science Correspondent
Almost all South African universities participate in international rankings, despite well-aired criticism of the underlying methodology.
While many institutions acknowledge flaws in the assessments run by commercial enterprises, their marketing departments nevertheless position the results as evidence of their stature.
Rhodes University is the only local institution that has walked away, arguing that the rankings may provide a decent measure of research output and institutional status but are ultimately a poor gauge of quality.
“Rankings are an unscientific way of comparing institutions and primarily serve as a means of extracting data. In an era of increasing science scepticism and anti-intellectualism, it is disappointing that so many universities are willing to play a game that is so at odds with basic notions of good science,” says Rhodes University professor of higher education research Sioux McKenna.
