Becoming World Class : What It Means and What It Does

Summary, in English

On the basis of a critical survey of university strategies, it is argued that universities reify and objectify “world class” and turn it into absolute and precisely defined goals (location in ranking hierarchies, publication patterns, number of start-ups and licens-es, etc.) and that this in turn is based on a skewed reading of the ascendancy of some universities (notably leading US higher education institutions) to that level. The notion of a “world class university” may therefore be self-defeating as it entails even closer monitoring, adaptation and adoption of indicators and steering that is outlined accordingly.

• Author: Mats Benner
• Editor: Sharon Rider; Michael A. Peters; Mats Hyvönen; Tina Besley
• Department/s: Research Policy
• Publishing year: 2020
• Language: English
• Pages: 25-40
• Publication/Series: Evaluating Education: Normative Systems and Institutional Practices
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7598-3_3
• Document type: Book chapter
• Publisher: Springer
• Topic: Educational Sciences
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 2570-0251; ISSN: 2570-026X; ISBN: 978-981-15-7598-3; ISBN: 978-981-15-7597-6