Job Discussion Forums

[Bet]

2005 Chinese University Rankings


"The 21st Century Business Herald, the first authoritative financial and economic newspaper published after the Chinese New Year, showed the appraisal of Wu Shulianl, Lv Jia and Guo Shilin, who work for the Science Institute of the China Management Sciences Institute, regarding the 2005 Chinese University Ranking.


Beijing University is among the most prestigious universities of China. [baidu/file]Tsinghua University ranked first with a 270.74 score, and Beijing University and Zhejiang University took second and third places respectively.

Other universities rounding out the top ten are Fudan University, Nanjing University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Wuhan University, Jilin University and Zhongshan University, in descending order.

Compared with the ranking of the top ten universities in the previous year, Shanhai Jiaotong University climbed from ninth place to seventh place.

Nanjing University went up from sixth to fifth; Zhongshan University climbed to the tenth spot from the eleventh; Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan University and Jilin University dropped one rank respectively, while Sichuan University fell below the top ten."

From: chinanews.cn

[Old Dog]

These Chinese attempts to rank-order Chinese tertiary institutions from 1 to 1,000 or whatever seem like so much hocus-pocus to me. What is the scientific base that would allow of the precision that they seem to suggest they have? My guess is it's probably pretty weak - probably as weak as the "stats" supplied by various institutions to the rank orderers.

Why forum members should be concerned with such "overall" rank orderings I do not know. Maybe of more importance to us would be a valid rank-ordering of English Departments. For all I know Shanghai Jiao Tong English Department is ratsh*it whereas its scientific Departments may be excellent. Were this to be the case, so what if Shanghai Jiao Tong has risen or fallen overall?

This Chinese passion for rank-ordering always seems a little silly to me.

[Bet]

Agreed, Old Dog.

More a matter of "cultural" interest, I suppose...

However, not all of us teach in or for the English Dept's - perhaps not even most ?

[amandabarrick]

Doesn't every country rank their Universities? I believe the U.S. ranks the Universities on the average income of the graduates from various Universities in the States, Yale usually being #1. Another reason forum members would be interested in such rankings is to build your resume, I suppose if you have taught English at one of the top Universities in China looks better than teaching at a school no one has ever heard of.
AB

[goman72]

"I suppose if you have taught English at one of the top Universities in China looks better than teaching at a school no one has ever heard of".


Quite true amandabarrick, it probably doesn't even matter if it isn't a top university either (if you go elsewhere overseas) as just the name "university" on the reference or contact details from previous employment would be enough to "wow" a majority of employers...
What do you think?

Chris

[joe greene]