Top-down troubles: Education challenges reflected in International University rankings

The ongoing scrutiny of Australian education is no closer to abating after the latest results from the internationally-recognised Times Higher Education rankings showed that all Australian Universities had slid down the list, leaving just six Australian Unis in the global Top 100 and one in the Top 50.

Those who compile the results have said the Australian results should serve as a warning sign about the trajectory of education, but that they also reflect the impact of Covid on ability to take international students. Meanwhile the University sector has pointed to job cuts, teacher workloads and poor government policy as contributing factors in the decline.

With indexation bringing University fees to all-time highs in the midst of rampant inflation and cost of living issues and many younger Australians rethinking their future education, the news comes at a less-than-ideal time for the sector.

Despite the rankings, a number of other Universities are still marketing themselves as #1 under competing criteria.

Although they're ranked fourth in the nation and 67th in the world, Australian National University still advertises itself online as Australia's #1 University, based on the QS World Rankings of 2021.

Western Sydney University, which is ranked in the 300-350 bracket based on the previously mentioned rankings, still advertises itself as the #1 University in the World, having secured that ranking in the Times Higher Education Impact Ratings, a ranking that is based not on academic performance or comparable metrics, but against how Universities measure up to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

While it's a noteworthy achievement, it's only mentioned via an asterisk next to the frequent mentions of the facility being ranked #1 in the world, creating confusion and potentially misleading prospective students about the quality of education being received.

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