Quinn: Colleges cannot be slaves to global ratings

COLLEGES must avoid being slaves to rankings despite their importance for attracting investment and top researchers, according to Education Minister Ruairí Quinn.

Although questions have been raised about the time and energy invested by some universities on improving their position in world rankings, the minister recognised their importance. “If we’re trying to attract research grants, if you’re trying to attract research fellows, the first thing you need if you’re going to a strange place, you look up the Lonely Planet and these things are just the academic equivalent of the Lonely Planet.”

But authorities on the subject, including Dublin Institute of Technology’s Professor Ellen Hazelkorn, who addressed the subject in the Irish Examiner in September, have posed questions about whether they measure quality or simply investment.