The Methodology
Welcome back to our journey into the world of higher education excellence! In our previous post, we delved into the intrigue of what makes a university truly world-class. Now, as promised, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and tackle the methodological approach to selecting the academic institutions worthy of our exploration.
Choosing which universities to review is no small task. With thousands of institutions around the globe, each with its own unique strengths and areas of expertise, how do we narrow down our selection to those that truly exemplify excellence? Let’s break it down step by step. First we will Define the Criteria, then we will Conduct Research and then we will Finalize Selections.
Define Criteria:
Before delving into our methodology for selecting world-class academic institutions, it’s essential to acknowledge the three oldest and most widely recognized university ranking bodies: QS World University Rankings, Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), also known as the Shanghai Rankings.
Each of these ranking bodies employs its own set of criteria to assess and evaluate universities around the world. Here’s a brief overview of the Evaluation metrics used by each in Table 1:
Table 1: Evaluation Metric used by University Ranking Bodies
| QS World University Rankings [1] | Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings [2] | Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) [3] |
| Academic Reputation | Teaching | Quality of Education |
| Employer Reputation | Research Environment | Quality of Faculty |
| Faculty/Student Ratio | Research Quality | Research Output |
| Citations Per Faculty | Industry | Per Capita Performance |
| International Faculty Ratio | International Outlook | |
| International Student Ratio | ||
| International Research Network | ||
| Employment Outcomes | ||
| Sustainability |
These criteria, while not exhaustive, provide a comprehensive framework for assessing universities’ performance and impact across various domains. In addition to these established metrics, our selection process will also consider the age of the institution. We prioritize universities with a rich history and enduring legacy, requiring them to have been in existence for at least 100 years. This criterion allows us to honor institutions with deep roots in the academic landscape, showcasing their longstanding contributions to knowledge and scholarship. We’ll integrate this criterion alongside the established methodologies of QS, THE, and ARWU rankings, ensuring a holistic and rigorous selection process.
Without further ado, let’s introduce the criteria that will shape our selection of world-class academic institutions:
Academic Reputation: Drawing from QS World University Rankings, this criterion reflects the perceptions of academics worldwide regarding the academic quality and research excellence of the institution.
Research Quality: Leveraging the criteria from THE World University Rankings, this metric assesses the volume, impact, and reputation of the institution’s research output, indicating its contributions to advancing knowledge and innovation.
Education Quality: Inspired by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), this criterion evaluates the quality of the institution’s education programs, considering factors such as the number of alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals.
Age of the University: Our unique criterion emphasizes the historical significance and enduring legacy of the institution. Universities must have been in existence for at least 100 years to demonstrate their longstanding commitment to academic excellence and scholarship.
Conduct Research:
Our next step involves conducting thorough research to identify potential candidates for each of the rankings previously established. We will focus on selecting the top 10 universities according to the 2024 university rankings for QS and THE, while referencing the 2023 rankings for ARWU, which provides the latest available data.
Using these rankings as our initial guide, we will delve deeper into each institution’s history to determine its age. This will involve researching the founding dates of the top 10 universities selected from each ranking.
This meticulous research process will enable us to identify a select group of universities that not only excel in the metrics established by QS, THE, and ARWU but also boast a rich heritage and enduring legacy in the academic landscape.
Table 2: Top 10 Universities in each metric
| s/n | Academic Reputation | Research Output | Education Quality |
| 1 | Harvard University (387 years) | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (163 years) | Harvard University (387 years) |
| 2 | University of Oxford (928 years) | Stanford University (138 years) | Stanford University (138 years) |
| 3 | University of Cambridge (815 years) | Harvard University (387 years) | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (163 years) |
| 4 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (163 years) | University of California, Berkeley (UCB) (156 years) | University of Cambridge (815 years) |
| 5 | Stanford University (138 years) | University of Oxford (928 years) | University of California, Berkeley (UCB) (156 years) |
| 6 | University of California, Berkeley (UCB) (156 years) | Carnegie Mellon University (124 years) | Princeton University (278 years) |
| 7 | University of Tokyo (146 years) | Princeton University (278 years) | University of Oxford (928 years) |
| 8 | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (143 years) | Imperial College London (117 years) | Columbia University (269 years) |
| 9 | Yale University (322 years) | UCL (198 years) | California Institute of Technology (132 years) |
| 10 | Princeton University (278 years) | Vita-Salute San Raffaele University(28 years) | University of Chicago (134 years) |
Finalize Selections:
After meticulous research and analysis, we have reached the crucial stage of finalizing our selections for world-class academic institutions. Initially, our criterion dictated that universities must be at least 100 years old. Remarkably, all but one of our top contenders meet this requirement, underscoring the rich historical legacy of these institutions.
The oldest university on our list is the venerable University of Oxford, founded in 928 AD, boasting centuries of academic excellence and tradition. On the other end of the spectrum, the youngest university on our list is Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, with a founding date of just 28 years ago, showcasing its rapid rise to prominence in the academic arena.
Our list comprises a diverse array of institutions spanning continents and cultures. Alongside Oxford and Vita-Salute San Raffaele, we’ll also review Harvard, MIT, Princeton, UCB, Stanford, and the University of Tokyo. Tokyo is an intriguing addition, representing a different continent and offering unique insights into academic excellence from an Eastern perspective.
By including this select group of universities, we ensure a comprehensive exploration of world-class academic institutions, encompassing a wide range of histories, cultures, and academic traditions.
Join me in the next post as we delve into the stories behind these prestigious institutions and uncover the secrets to their enduring success.
Till then, O dabo!
References
[1] QS World University Rankings – QS Quacquarelli Symonds. (2023, November 23). QS Quacquarelli Symonds. Retrieved April 11, 2024, from https://support.qs.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4405955370898-QS-World-University-Rankings
[2] Ross, D. (2023, September 20). World University Rankings 2024: changes to our methodology. Times Higher Education (THE). Retrieved April 11, 2024, from https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/world-university-rankings-2024-changes-our-methodology
[3] Shanghai Ranking’s Academic Ranking of World Universities Methodology 2023. (2023). Shanghai Ranking. Retrieved April 11, 2024, from https://www.shanghairanking.com/methodology/arwu/2023
T.M. Kayode 
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