Two German researchers, Julian Hamann and Leopold Ringel, have published an exploratory study in Higher Education regarding the critiques commonly leveled against rankings and how rankers respond to these challenges. Hamann and Ringel discuss the growing presence of university rankings and related criticisms in global education and review common criticisms and ranker responses. The authors tentatively conclude that while the ongoing conversation between rankers and critics can appear hostile, this back-and-forth results in a “discursive resilience” of university rankings that contributes to their longevity.
Higher Education