Abstract

Universities have an uneasy relationship with global university rankings. Whilst many accept they are problematic, their heavy use by students and funders has made it hard to completely avoid them. However we are now seeing universities from as far afield as the USA, China, South Africa, Korea and India choosing to boycott the university rankings. One of the four core commitments of the Coalition on Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) requires signatories to avoid the use of rankings in research assessment. The European University Association is developing guidelines on the use of rankings, and a Dutch Expert Group’s recommendations on more responsible engagement with the rankings were recently accepted by the Dutch University system.

One of the recommendations of the Dutch Expert Group was that individual universities should sign up to the INORMS More Than Our Rank initiative. This new initiative provides an opportunity for universities and other academic institutions to highlight in a narrative form the many and varied ways they serve the world that are not captured by the university rankings. Even the rankings themselves agree that every institution in the world is much more than their rank. This initiative is simply an opportunity to publicly say so and explain why. By participating in the More Than Our Rank initiative, universities are demonstrating a commitment to responsible assessment and a commitment to fellow institutions whose strengths may not be rewarded by the narrow view of 'excellence' taken by the rankings as currently constituted.

This presentation will outline the background to, and history of, this initiative, the response it has received, and where it plans to go next. It will also provide delegates with practical guidance as to how they can support their institutions to get involved. A Q&R session will follow the presentation.

Learning outcomes:
- An understanding of the limitations of global university rankings
- Knowledge of current moves to engage more responsibly with the rankings
- Insight into the More Than Our Rank initiative and how to sign up.