University ranking has become a major obsession in the academic world, with universities striving to improve their ranks by any means possible, often using unethical methods. While rankings do offer some benefits, they can be misleading if the criteria used are not transparent and well-defined. In addition, the commercialization of university rankings has distorted their objectivity and validity.
Many university ranking factors are based on data that is influenced by institutional context, including size and research focus. As a result, the results may be unfair and incomparable. In addition, the methodologies used are not always transparent and can lead to biased results. University ranking organizations have also become increasingly commercialized, charging universities for inclusion on their lists or offering paid consulting services to help them improve their rankings. This has created an implicit conflict of interest and raised concerns about the reliability of the rankings.
Other ranking factors are influenced by institutional biases, such as those towards certain disciplines, institutions, languages, or journals. For example, papers published in journals with high impact factors are more likely to be cited than those published in less influential journals. This is a problem because it is important to publish quality research regardless of the journal in which it is published.
Furthermore, ranking indicators tend to favour older and established universities from rich countries, which skews the results. Additionally, the ranking system only covers a small fraction of the global university population, so the results may not be representative of the overall academic quality.