College rankings can’t be ignored

Ireland’s universities have fallen down the international league table again. Should we be concerned, asks Kyran Fitzgerald.

According to the QS league table, Trinity College Dublin, in 71st place, remains the only Irish university in the top 100. It has dropped 10 places while University College Cork tumbled even more precipitously to 230th, down from 210th.

The university marketeers will fret a bit. Such slippage does not help in the hunt for the lucrative international student business, so vital if squeezed budgets are to be balanced.