Design of a Multidimensional Index of Classification of Rankings of IberoAmerican Universities

Abstract

The university is an essential institution for the progress and modernization of society. The higher education sector has seen growing demand in recent decades, as well as a progressive internationalization. This implies greater possibilities to choose between universities and greater competitiveness among these institutions. In recent years, we have observed growing interest in developing university quality rankings. Accordingly, the main objective of our research is to propose a model for obtaining rankings with optimal properties: a ranking of universities according to teaching output, research output and global output will be established, to classify all universities, regardless of their size or their public or private nature. The multi-strategic methodology is applied from a systemic approach combining quantitative elements from a global and specific perspective of Ibero-American universities. A database has been developed that includes indicators and ratios based on information from the MECD and the National Commission for the Evaluation of Research Activity (CNEAI): teaching productivity, research productivity and overall productivity for each university. This ranking provides some novel indicators that would favor the appearance of new universities absent in the current rankings, a series of indicators that do not take into account volume, but rather performance. The results indicate that the impact of the Teaching dimension is greater because this is the dimension in which universities that do not currently appear in the rankings could stand out.