Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/58910
Rankings Game The To gain a competitive edge in the high- stakes rankings game, European academic leaders must understand how diverse European markets and subjective methodologies skew the playing field. by Andrea E. Gasparri Especially in the U.S., media rankings of business schools have been a contentious issue almost since they first hit the newsstands in the late 1980s. While adminis- trators acknowledge that the rankings may have had some positive impact on business schools, most argue that the rankings are often based on flawed data and arbitrary measures that don't accurately reflect the quality of business school programs. For better or worse, however, the number of media rankings continues to escalate. The rankings have become a truly international issue. In Europe, where the popularity and influence of rankings have soared, deans and other business school leaders wrestle with many of the same concerns and frustrations expressed by their counterparts in other parts of the world. The perspectives, influences, and rationales that influence Europe's business schools add to the complexity of the ranking issue. To start, Europe's social, cultural, and historical diversity is extraordinary. Fis- cal systems, welfare programs, and the purchasing power of currencies vary widely. These differences do not establish a smooth playing field for the rankings game. Moreover, the rules of the rankings game can seem murky and abstruse, even for schools with extensive resources. Schools may achieve remarkable success in fulfilling their missions, invest heavily in physical resources, recruit better professors, and successfully launch graduates into the corporate world—but they cannot be certain that their rankings will improve. Even so, academic leaders in Europe agree that high rankings can improve visibility, strengthen brand recognition, and attract applicants, faculty, recruiters, and donors. To gain that advantage, European business schools must better understand the perspectives, influences, and rationales that influence them, so that they can develop more effective strategies and philosophies concerning the ever-present rankings. Such exploration may be helpful, not only to business school leaders in Europe, but to schools across the globe. The Bologna Declaration Europe's ranking race became even more complex after June 1999, with the establishment of the Bologna Declaration. Now undersigned by 45 countries, the Bologna Declaration marks a transformation of higher edu- cation in Europe. The Declaration's main objectives are twofold: It aims to promote cooperation among its signatories to pursue quality assurance and to unite the university systems of its signatories into one "interchange- able system." Many of the signatory countries already have implemented the principles of the Bologna Declaration, signing agreements for the exchange of credits, students, and professors. 40 BizEd NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006