Webinar: Can we rank universities based on principles of fairness and equity? And if so, should we?
Higher education ranking systems are ubiquitous and are used, increasingly, to measure and hold universities accountable for a range of issues, such as quality and performance. However to date, very few ranks incorporate measurements of equity and fairness, let alone prioritise them. Even rarer still is evidence of a theoretically informed framework for equity measurement, underpinning such a ranking system. This presentation sets out the findings of a research project undertaken in Australia to construct just such a ranking system. It outlines the rationale/motivation for creating the ranking system, the systematic approach taken in its construction, its strengths and weaknesses and concludes with a discussion on whether ranking universities in such a way promotes positive action or good policy.
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Associate Professor Tim Pitman is a researcher of higher education policy at Curtin University, Australia. His research has a focus on widening access and participation for groups of students historically under-represented in higher education. Tim’s recent research explored the use of ranking systems to measure higher education equity performance. He is currently undertaking a fellowship exploring how people with disability are supported in their higher education studies.