What happens when a university leaves a global ranking? Opinion

As universities like Rhodes University and the University of Zurich appear to be considering boycotting the World University Rankings, Richard Holmes has penned an article about what happens to schools that depart from the rankings. Holmes discusses the claims of a recent article by Times Higher Education data analysts, who found that institutions that drop out from the World University Rankings see a significant decline in their reputation ranking. Holmes suggests a few alternative explanations for this ranking dropping—including administration discouraging faculty from participating in academic surveys or the decision to withdraw being preceded by the start of a reputation drop.