They'll be doing Gourmet Nights next

I have just received an invitation for the Dublin Young Universities Summit on the 29th of this month. It is remarkably restrained: 'prestigious' appears' only three times, 'exclusive' four times and 'distinguished" once.


"...EXCLUSIVE a prestigious networking dinner and world class speakers ... A Rankings masterclass with Phil Baty ..."

"We would be honoured if you would register to attend this prestigious event..."

"Distinguished speakers include..."

"In addition, the event will feature:

• Prestigious networking dinner 
• An exclusive rankings masterclass with Mr Phil Baty"

"Because of the summit’s exclusive nature, places are strictly limited..."

"Your ticket will include*:

• Prestigious welcome dinner
• An exclusive rankings masterclass with Mr Phil Baty, editor at large and rankings editor, THE
• World-class speakers
• 2 x Networking lunches
• Scheduled transfers between the official hotel and the university venues
• Closing networking drinks reception"

MENA universities and Google Scholar Results

For reference purposes only, here are the Google Scholar Results (all documents) taken on April 4th for all universities included in any of the Arab Region/MENA rankings produced by US News, QS or Times Higher Education. Time period was 2010-2014.

Rank	University	Country	Google Scholar  Results
1	Cairo University	Egypt	19,100
2	King Saud University	Saudi Arabia	17,200
3	King Abdulaziz University	Saudi Arabia	15,800
4	Ain Shams University	Egypt	15,500
5	American University of Beirut	Lebanon	12,700
6	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Saudi Arabia	11,000
7	Alexandria University	Egypt	10,500
8	University of Jordan	Jordan	9,700
9	Al Azhar University	Egypt	9,480
10	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Saudi Arabia	9,180
11	American University in Cairo	Egypt	9,080
12	Mansoura University	Egypt	8,790
13	Zagazig University	Egypt	8,410
14	Assiut University	Egypt	7,600
15	Sultan Qaboos University	Oman	7,410
16	Kuwait University	Kuwait	7,040
17	University of Baghdad	Iraq	6,960
18	University of Khartoum	Sudan	5,910
19	Qatar University	Qatar	5,430
20	Suez Canal University	Egypt	5,340
21	Tanta University	Egypt	5,030
22	University of Sharjah	UAE	5,020
23	United Arab Emirates University	UAE	4,690
24	Helwan University	Egypt	4,200
25	King Khalid University	Saudi Arabia	4,110
26	Yarmouk University	Jordan	4,100
27	Jordan University of Science and Technology	Jordan	4,040
28	Taif University	Saudi Arabia	3,530
29	Minia University	Egypt	3,500
30	Benha University	Egypt	3,400
31	American University of Sharjah	UAE	3,150
32	University of Tunis	Tunisia	3,130
33	King Faisal University	Saudi Arabia	3,090
34	University of Mosul	Iraq	2,820
35=	Qassim University	Saudi Arabia	2,770
35=	Taibah University	Saudi Arabia	2,770
37	Hashemite University	Jordan	2,650
38	Umm Al-Qura University	Saudi Arabia	2,610
39	Université Abou Bekr Belkaid Tlemcen	Algeria	2,370
40	Al Balqa' Applied University	Jordan	2,330
41	University of Babylon	Iraq	2,250
42	South Valley University	Egypt	2,240
43	Lebanese American University	Lebanon	2,170
44	Menoufia University	Egypt	2,120
45	Damascus University	Syria	2,060
46	Fayoum University	Egypt	1,970
47	University of Bahrain	Bahrain	1,940
48=	Khalifa University	UAE	1,890
48=	Sohag University	Egypt	1,890
50	Beni-Suef University	Egypt	1,770
51	Jazan University	Saudi Arabia	1,750
52	Universite de Sfax	Tunis	1,740
53	Al Nahrain University	Iraq	1,710
54	Zayed University	UAE	1,690
55	University of Basrah	Iraq	1,560
56	King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences	Saudi Arabia	1,520
57	Masdar Institute of Science and Technology	UAE	1,470
58	Université Mohammed V Agdal	Morocco	1,450
59	Université d'Oran	Algeria	1,370
60	University of Damman	Saudi Arabia	1,300
61	Universite de Tunis El Manar	Tunisia	1,270
62	German University in Cairo	Egypt	1,210
63	Alfaisal University	Saudi Arabia	1,200
64	Universite des Sciences et da la Technologie Houari Boumediene	Algeria	1,160
65	Sanaa University	Yemen	1,140
66	Université Libanaise	Lebanon	1,100
67	Arabian Gulf University	Bahrain	1,030
68	Petroleum Institute Abu Dhabi	UAE	948
69	National Engineering School of Sfax	Tunisia	872
70	Mutah University	Jordan	826
71	Kafrelsheikh University	Egypt	825
72	Université de Batna	Algeria	818
73	Universite de Monastir	Tunisia	757
74	Université de Carthage (7 de Novembre)	Tunisia	754
75	Higher Colleges of Technology	UAE	726
76	University of Balamand	Lebanon	673
77	Beirut Arab University	Lebanon	662
78	Abu Dhabi University	UAE	627
79	Université Cadi Ayyad Marrakech	Morocco	588
80	Arab Academy of Science Technology and Maritime Transport	Egypt	585
81	Université Hassan II Mohammadia	Morocco	559
82	Universite de Sousse	Tunisia	531
83	Université Mentouri de Constantine	Algeria	527
84	Université Abdelmalek Essaadi	Morocco	509
85	University of Bejaia	Jordan	508
86=	Petra University	Jordan	506
86=	Université Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah	Morocco	506
88	Prince Sultan University	Saudi Arabia	469
89	Djillali Liabes University	Algeria	464
90	Université Ferhat Abbas Setif	Algeria	462
91	University of Dubai	UAE	437
92	Université Mouloud Mammeri de Tizi Ouzo	Algeria	427
93	Princess Sumaya University for Technology	Jordan	417
94	Université de la Manouba	Tunisia	412
95	Université Ibn Tofail Kénitra	Morocco	403
96	American University in Dubai	UAE	364
97	Al-Imam Mohamed Ibn Saud Islamic University	Saudi Arabia	257
98	Université Saint Joseph de Beyrouth	Lebanon	246
99	Université de Gabes	Tunisia	208
100	Université Mohammed Premier Oujda	Morocco	193
101	École Nationale Polytechnique d'Alger	Algeria	184
102	Ajman University of Science & Technology	UAE	142
103	Texas A&M Qatar	Qatar	111
104	UST  d'Oran Mohamed Boudiaf	Algeria	107
105	Université Saad Dahlab Blida	Algeria	70
106	Université Badji Mokhtar de Annaba	Algeria	54

QS Subject Rankings out on 29th

QS have redesigned their subject ranking methodology and will release the revised results on April 29th. The modifications are:

• reintroducing regional weightings in the academic and employer surveys

• ·counting articles in all the subjects to which they are assigned

• adjusting weightings usually to increase those for citations and h- index and reducing those     for the surveys

• increasing  the minimum number of papers required for inclusion in the rankings

• extending survey samples to 5 years.

Secrecy and Mystery: New Ranking Indicators

The South China Morning Post provides an explanation why some Chinese universities may not be doing well in the global rankings.

"If you are a student of science or engineering looking for a “thrilling” exchange programme in China, this may be the right place for you. The universities on the list below enjoy high reputations in China and they all accept overseas students, but they rarely publish papers in international journals due to the sensitivity of their research, so you may not easily find their names on most world university rankings. If you visit them, don’t be misled by the peaceful and friendly atmosphere on campus. The old professor riding a dusty bike with fatherly smile and silvery hair along your way to class could be chairing the development of China’s most deadly space weapons."

If you want to know the five most secret and mysterious universities in China, go here.

Ranking MENA Universities

Interest in the ranking of Arab and/or Middle Eastern and North African universities seems to be growing. There is definitely  a feeling  in many countries that higher education needs drastic reform and should open up to objective evaluation. Of course, there is also a realisation that rankings can be helpful for marketing and career advancement.

But there are problems. Most Arab universities do not have sufficient staff and organisation  to provide adequate data about  faculty and student numbers, let alone about things like employment of graduates or sources of income. Surveys are a possible source of information. for teaching quality but it is unlikely that at present they could produce reliable and accurate information.

The collection of data about research has probably reached the point where reasonable research rankings can be created for the Arab world and also for regions like South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa. Unfortunately, the majority of Arab or Middle Eastern universities  produce very little significant research so such research based rankings would probably be of relevance to about fifty institutions.

See Higher Education Strategy Associates for more discussion.

The US News has produced a variation on its new Best Global Universities rankings. This is based on research and citations data from the Scopus database. As a ranking of universities according to research output and impact, it looks quite plausible.

The top five universities are:

1. King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
2. King Abdulaziz University,Saudi Arabia
3. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia
4. Cairo University, Egypt
5. American University of Beirut, Lebanon.

QS has produced rankings that are "a pilot version of the ranking that has been developed to reflect priorities and challenges for universities in the region."

The top five are:

1. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia
2. American University of Beirut, Lebanon
3. King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
4. American University of Cairo, Egypt
5. King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia.

This is a bit different from the US News rankings but the QS table does include indicators like faculty student ration, web impact and international faculty and students.

Times Higher Education has produced what it calls a "snapshot", which is in fact only one indicator, citations per paper normalised by field and year. The top five are:

1.  Texas A&M University Qatar
2.  Lebanese American University
3.  King Abdulaziz University,Saudi Arabia
4.  Qatar University
5.  American University in Beirut.

Texas A&M Qatar is a single subject branch campus which does not have a doctoral programme. It is difficult to believe that it will actually be in the full rankings that are scheduled for next year. THE's top thirty does not include Cairo University or King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.

As a simple check on the validity of these three rankings I have calculated their correlation with the results from a search of Google Scholar on the 4th of April. I have also included the scores for "publications" provided by THE next to their "snapshot" indicator.

There is a very strong correlation between the Google Scholar and the THE publication scores, a somewhat smaller correlation with the US News scores, which combine publication and citation data and a moderate correlation with the QS scores, which include web impact, internationalisation and institutional data.

There is no significant correlation with the THE citation indicator. In fact, this "snapshot" correlates with nothing, not even THE's own publication data.


Correlations

	Google Scholar	USN	QS	THE "snapshot"	THE publications
Google Scholar		.757**       .000  87	.570**            .000  49	.075  .692  30	.852** .000 30
USN	.757** .000  87		.419* .017  32	.266 .170  28	.869** .000 28
QS	570** .000   49	.419* .017  32		.267 .337  15	.412 .128  15
THE snapshot	.075 .692   30	.266 .170  28	.267 .337  15		.109 .567 30
THE publications	.852** .000 30	.869** .000  28	.412 .128  15	.109 .567 30

A Fictional, but Honest, College Rejection Letter

By Mimi Evans

Posted at Timothy MacSweeney's Blog

"Dear Applicant,

The Admissions Committee has carefully considered your application and we regret to inform you that we will not be able to offer you admission in the entering class of 2015, or a position on one of our alternate lists. The applicant pool this year was particularly strong, and by that I mean the Admissions Committee once again sent candidates like you multiple enticing pamphlets encouraging you to apply, knowing full well we had no intention of accepting you.

However, you will be pleased to know that you have contributed to our declining admissions rate, which has helped our university appear exclusive. This allows us to attract our real candidates: upper-class kids and certified geniuses who will glean no new information from our courses or faculty, whose parents can incentivize us with a new swimming pool or lacrosse stadium."

Moscow Ranking seminar

A seminar, "Road to Academic Excellence: Russian Universities in Rankings by Subject" was held in Moscow on April 9th and 10th.