Higher Education in Asia: The Changing World Rankings of Asian Higher Education Institutions (2015-2025)

Abstract

This research aims to comparatively examine the changing appearance of world rankings of Asian HEIs among their global competitors from 2015 to 2025. The study group consists of the top five HEIs indexed in the 2024 Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings from the nine countries with the largest population in Asia and the top five HEIs indexed in the 2025 Times Higher Education World University Rankings from the Russian Federation. The study found that HEIs in China, Japan, and Russia were the most stable examples that performed positively regarding world rankings. Although there was no solid continuity, the rankings of Indian HEIs generally showed a positive momentum. HEIs in Vietnam and Bangladesh did not have ongoing success because they were in the ranking index only for the last couple of years. HEIs in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Pakistan either performed in a neutral direction with slight fluctuations or showed decreasing ranking trends. The results revealed that the global rankings of HEIs in most Asian countries, except Japan, China, and Russia, lag behind their international competitors. Therefore, HEIs in most Asian countries could not establish a stable profile against their international competitors in global rankings.

Keywords

• world rankings
• Asian HEIs
• higher education studies
• international education

Asya’da Yükseköğretim: Asya Yükseköğretim Kurumlarının Değişen Dünya Sıralamaları (2015-2025)

Abstract

Bu araştırma, 2015’ten 2025’e Asya yükseköğretim kurumlarının dünya sıralamalarının küresel rakipleri arasında değişen görünümünü karşılaştırmalı bir şekilde incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Çalışma grubu içerisinde Asya’da en fazla nüfusa sahip dokuz ülkenin 2024 Times Yükseköğretim Asya Üniversite Sıralamalarında indekslenen en iyi beş yükseköğretim kurumu ile Rusya Federasyonu’nun 2025 Times Yükseköğretim Dünya Sıralamalarında indekslenen en iyi beş yükseköğretim kurumu yer almaktadır. Çalışma; Çin, Japonya ve Rusya'daki yükseköğretim kurumlarının dünya sıralamalarında olumlu performans gösteren en istikrarlı örnekler olduğunu bulmuştur. Sağlam bir devamlılık olmamasına rağmen Hint yükseköğretim kurumlarının sıralamaları genel olarak olumlu bir ivme göstermiştir. Vietnam ve Bangladeş’teki yükseköğretim kurumları, yalnızca birkaç yıldır sıralama indeksinde yer aldıkları için devam eden bir başarıya sahip değildir. Filipinler, Endonezya, Tayland ve Pakistan'daki yükseköğretim kurumları, hafif dalgalanmalarla nötr veya azalan yönde sıralama eğilimleri göstermiştir. Sonuçlar; Japonya, Çin ve Rusya hariç çoğu Asya ülkesindeki yükseköğretim kurumlarının yükseköğretim sıralamaları bakımından uluslararası rakiplerinin gerisinde kaldığını ortaya koymuştur. Dolayısıyla Asya ülkelerinin çoğunda yükseköğretim kurumları, küresel sıralamalarda uluslararası rakipleri karşısında istikrarlı bir profil çizememiştir.

Keywords

• dünya sıralamaları
• Asya yükseköğretim kurumları
• yükseköğretim çalışmaları
• uluslararası eğitim

References

1. Aguillo, I. F., Bar-Ilan, J., Levene, M., & Ortega, J. L. (2010). Comparing university rankings. Scientometrics, 85(1), 243-256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-010-0190-z
2. Ahlers, A. L., & Christmann-Budian, S. (2023). The politics of university rankings in China. Higher Education, 86(4), 751-770. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01014-y
3. Allen, R. M. (2017). A comparison of China’s “Ivy League” to other peer groupings through global university rankings. Journal of Studies in International Education, 21(5), 395-411. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315317697539
4. Altbach, P. G. (2006). Tiny at the top. The Wilson Quarterly (1976-), 30(4), 49–51. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40261426
5. Altbach, P. G. (2012). The globalization of college and university rankings. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 44(1), 26–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2012.636001
6. Altbach, P. G., & Knight, J. (2007). The internationalization of higher education: Motivations and realities. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11(3-4), 290-305. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315307303542
7. Ambasz, D., Nikolaev, D., Malinovskiy, S., Olszak-Olszewski, A., Zavalina, P., & Botero Álvarez, J. (2023). Towards higher education excellence in Central Asia: A roadmap for improving the quality of education and research through regional integration. World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099101023140578441
8. Balatsky, E. V., & Ekimova, N. A. (2020). Global competition of universities in the mirror of international rankings. Herald of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 90(4), 417-427. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1019331620040073

9. Bamberger, A., & Morris, P. (2024). Critical perspectives on internationalization in higher education: Commercialization, global citizenship, or postcolonial imperialism? Critical Studies in Education, 65(2), 128-146. https://doi.org/10.1080/17508487.2023.2233572
10. Basu, A. (2013). World university rankings. SRELS Journal of Information Management, 50(5), 679-690. https://doi.org/10.17821/srels/2013/v50i5/43805
11. Baxter, P., & Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13(4), 544-559. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2008.1573
12. Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27-40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027
13. Broecke, S. (2015). University rankings: Do they matter in the UK? Education Economics, 23(2), 137–161. https://doi.org/10.1080/09645292.2012.729328
14. Castro, D., & Tomàs-Folch, M. (2015). Trends of higher education rankings. The International Journal of Learning in Higher Education, 21(3-4), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.18848/2327-7955/cgp/v21i3-4/48724
15. Chaemchoy, S., Puthpongsiriporn, T. S., & Fry, G. W. (2021). Higher education in Thailand. Oxford research encyclopedia of education. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.1510
16. Chen, K.-h, & Liao, P.-y. (2012). A comparative study on world university rankings: A bibliometric survey. Scientometrics, 92(1), 89-103. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-012-0724-7
17. Chowdhury, A. R., & Rahman, Z. (2021). Global ranking framework & indicators of higher educational institutions: A comparative study. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). 5268. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/5268
18. CIA. (2024). The World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/population/country-comparison/
19. de Wit, H. (2019). Internationalization in higher education, a critical review. SFU Educational Review, 12(3), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.21810/sfuer.v12i3.1036
20. de Wit, H., & Deca, L. (2020). Internationalization of higher education, challenges and opportunities for the next decade. In A. Curaj, L. Deca, & R. Pricopie (Eds.). European higher education area: Challenges for a new decade (pp. 3–11). Springer International Publishing.
21. Eisenhardt, K. M., & Graebner, M. E. (2007). Theory building from cases: Opportunities and challenges. The Academy of Management Journal, 50(1), 25–32. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20159839
22. Erkkilä, T. (2014). Global university rankings, transnational policy discourse and higher education in Europe. European Journal of Education, 49(1), 91-101. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12063
23. Fauzi, M. A., Tan, C. N. L., Daud, M., & Awalludin, M. M. N. (2020). University rankings: A review of methodological flaws. Issues in Educational Research, 30(1), 79-96. http://www.iier.org.au/iier30/fauzi.pdf
24. Fernandes, J. O., & Singh, B. (2022). Accreditation and ranking of higher education institutions (HEIs): Review, observations and recommendations for the Indian higher education system. The TQM Journal, 34(5), 1013–1038. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-04-2021-0115
25. Gaus, N. (2024). Indonesian higher education: Issues in institutional and individual capacities. In L. Pe Symaco (Ed.), Higher education in southeast Asia (Vol. 49, pp. 19-33). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-367920240000049003
26. Guo, C., Hao, X., Wu, J., & Hu, T. (2023). The effect of national higher education initiatives on university rankings. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(1), 527. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02034-w
27. Harvey, L. (2008). Rankings of higher education institutions: A critical review. Quality in Higher Education, 14(3), 187-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/13538320802507711
28. Hazelkorn, E. (2008). Globalization, internationalization and rankings. International Higher Education, (53). https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2008.53.8053
29. Hazelkorn, E., & Gibson, A. (2017). Global science, national research, and the question of university rankings. Palgrave Communications, 3(1), 21. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-017-0011-6
30. Hemthong, N., Thanasatchawat, N., & Savatsomboon, G. (2023). Higher education quality assurance in Thailand: A help or hindrance in improving quality? Higher Education Politics & Economics, 9(2), 86-90. http://doi.org/10.32674/hepe.v9i2.5404
31. Huang, M.-H. (2012). Opening the black box of QS World University Rankings. Research Evaluation, 21(1), 71-78. https://doi.org/10.1093/reseval/rvr003
32. Ishikawa, M. (2021). Between local distinction and global reputation: University rankings and changing employment in Japan. In M. Stack (Ed.), Global university rankings and the politics of knowledge (pp. 153-171). University of Toronto Press. https://doi.org/doi:10.3138/9781487545154-010
33. Joseph, M., Mullen, E. W., & Spake, D. (2012). University branding: Understanding students’ choice of an educational institution. Journal of Brand Management, 20(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2012.13
34. Kaba, A. J. (2012). Analyzing the Anglo-American hegemony in the Times Higher Education Rankings. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 20, 21. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v20n21.2012
35. Katsumoto, S., Bowman, N. A., & Tennessen, N. F. (2024). The role of rankings in shaping the institutional enrollment of international students. Higher Education, 88(6), 2145–2164. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-024-01208-y
36. Khosrowjerdi, M., & Kashani, Z. S. (2013). Asian top universities in six world university ranking systems. Webology, 10(2), 1-9. https://www.webology.org/2013/v10n2/a114.pdf
37. Knight, J., & de Wit, H. (2018). Internationalization of higher education: Past and future. International Higher Education, (95), 2–4. https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2018.95.10715
38. Koenings, F., Di Meo, G., & Uebelmesser, S. (2020). University rankings as information source: Do they play a different role for domestic and international students? Applied Economics, 52(59), 6432–6447. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2020.1795075
39. Lee, J., Liu, K., & Wu, Y. (2020). Does the Asian catch-up model of world-class universities work? Revisiting the zero-sum game of global university rankings and government policies. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 19(3), 319-343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10671-020-09261-x
40. Lim, M. A., & Williams Øerberg, J. (2017). Active instruments: On the use of university rankings in developing national systems of higher education. Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 1(1), 91–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322969.2016.1236351
41. Liu, N. C. (2016). Academic ranking of world universities and the performance of East Asian universities. RIHE International Seminar Reports, 24, 1-16. https://ir.lib.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/00040821
42. Liu, N. C., & Cheng, Y. (2005). The academic ranking of world universities. Higher Education in Europe, 30(2), 127–136. https://doi.org/10.1080/03797720500260116
43. Meyer, A. G., Hanson, A. R., & Hickman, D. C. (2017). Perceptions of institutional quality: Evidence of limited attention to higher education rankings. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 142, 241-258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2017.07.036
44. Ordorika, I., & Lloyd, M. (2015). International rankings and the contest for university hegemony. Journal of Education Policy, 30(3), 385–405. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2014.979247
45. Pandiella-Dominique, A., Moreno-Lorente, L., García-Zorita, C., & Sanz-Casado, E. (2018). Model for estimating Academic Ranking of World Universities (Shanghai Ranking) scores. Revista Española De Documentación Científica, 41(2), e204. https://doi.org/10.3989/redc.2018.2.1462
46. Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
47. Pfeffer, J., & Salancik, G. R. (2003). The external control of organizations: A resource dependence perspective. Stanford University Press.
48. Poelmans, H., Sacchetti, L., Vancauwenbergh, S., & Piazza, S. (2024). Fuzzy data definitions distort fair comparability of universities in university rankings: Results from Italy and Belgium on the Times Higher Education Ranking. Quality in Higher Education, 30(1), 75-96. https://doi.org/10.1080/13538322.2023.2173967
49. Postiglione, G. A., & Arimoto, A. (2015). Building research universities in East Asia. Higher Education, 70(2), 151-153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-015-9873-y
50. Pramana, C., Chamidah, D., Suyatno, S., Renadi, F., & Syaharuddin, S. (2021). Strategies to improved education quality in Indonesia: A review. Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, 12(3), 1977-1994. https://www.tojqi.net/journal/article/view/1615/1447
51. Puzatykh, A. (2023). Russian institutions of higher education in international rankings: The problem social and environmental sustainability. E3S Web of Conf., 458. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202345806003
52. Reddy, K. S., Xie, E., & Tang, Q. (2016). Higher education, high-impact research, and world university rankings: A case of India and comparison with China. Pacific Science Review B: Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psrb.2016.09.004
53. Rust, V. D., & Kim, S. (2015). Globalization and global university rankings. In J. Zajda (Ed.), Second international handbook on globalisation, education and policy research (pp. 167–180). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9493-0_11
54. Sayed, O. H. (2019). Critical treatise on university ranking systems. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 7(12), 39-51. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2019.712004
55. Selten, F., Neylon, C., Huang, C.-K., & Groth, P. (2020). A longitudinal analysis of university rankings. Quantitative Science Studies, 1(3), 1109-1135. https://doi.org/10.1162/qss_a_00052
56. Shehatta, I., & Mahmood, K. (2016). Correlation among top 100 universities in the major six global rankings: Policy implications. Scientometrics, 109(2), 1231-1254. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-016-2065-4
57. Soh, K. (2012). World university rankings: What is in for top ten East Asian universities? New Horizons in Education, 60(2), 36–50.
58. Soh, K. (2017). The seven deadly sins of world university ranking: A summary from several papers. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 39(1), 104–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2016.1254431
59. Souto-Otero, M., & Enders, J. (2017). International students’ and employers’ use of rankings: A cross-national analysis. Studies in Higher Education, 42(4), 783–810. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1074672
60. Taylor, P., & Braddock, R. (2007). International university ranking systems and the idea of university excellence. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 29(3), 245–260. https://doi.org/10.1080/13600800701457855
61. Thakur, M. (2007). The impact of ranking systems on higher education and its stakeholders. Journal of Institutional Research, 13(1), 83–96.
62. Tilak, J. B. G. (2016). Global rankings, world-class universities and dilemma in higher education policy in India. Higher Education for the Future, 3(2), 126-143. https://doi.org/10.1177/2347631116648515
63. Times Higher Education. (n.d.). DataPoints. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/our-solutions/data-and-insights/reputation-dashboard
64. Times Higher Education. (2024). World University Rankings 2025. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/latest/world-ranking
65. Times Higher Education. (2023). World University Rankings 2024. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2024/world-ranking
66. Times Higher Education. (2022). World University Rankings 2023. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2023/world-ranking
67. Times Higher Education. (2021). World University Rankings 2022. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2022/world-ranking
68. Times Higher Education. (2020). World University Rankings 2021. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2021/world-ranking
69. Times Higher Education. (2019). World University Rankings 2020. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2020/world-ranking
70. Times Higher Education. (2018). World University Rankings 2019. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2019/world-ranking
71. Times Higher Education. (2017). World University Rankings 2018. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2018/world-ranking
72. Times Higher Education. (2016). World University Rankings 2016-2017. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2017/world-ranking
73. Times Higher Education. (2015). World University Rankings 2015-2016. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2016/world-ranking/detailed
74. Times Higher Education. (2015a). World University Rankings 2014-15. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2015/world-ranking/commentary
75. UNESCO. (2022). Higher education global data report (Summary). A contribution to the World Higher Education Conference, 18-20 May 2022. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000389859
76. UNESCO. (2021). Policy brief: Higher education in Central Asia. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000377911
77. van der Wende, M. (2008). Rankings and classifications in higher education: A European perspective. In J. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 23, pp. 49-71). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6959-8_2
78. Ying, Y., & Jingao, Z. (2009). An empirical study on credibility of China’s university rankings: A case study of three rankings. Chinese Education & Society, 42(1), 70–80. https://doi.org/10.2753/CED1061-1932420106
79. Yonezawa, A. (2010). Much ado about ranking: Why can't Japanese universities internationalize? Japan Forum, 22(1-2), 121-137. https://doi.org/10.1080/09555803.2010.488948