NEW PUBLISHED RANKINGS REVEAL UFH’S ACADEMIC QUALITY ASCENSION IN JUST ONE YEAR

The University of Fort Hare’s (UFH) international academic quality ranking is on a rapid trajectory - this following the publication of the 2021-22 University Ranking by the Academic Performance (URAP) World Rankings programme.

According to the ranking body’s website “URAP covers approximately 12% of all HEIs in the world, which makes it one of the most comprehensive university ranking systems in the world.”

A project of the Middle East Technical University Graduate School, the URAP World Rankings programme aims to rank international higher education institutions (HEIs) for their academic performance.

In the latest published rankings for 2021-2022, UFH increased its position with 153 notches from its position in 2020 - 2021.   

Globally, UFH outranked several international universities including the University of San Diego, Missouri State University, University of Richmond and the University of Seattle in the USA; the London Business School and the London Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom; the University of Mumbai in India, and the Korea University of Technology & Education in the Far East, amongst other, according to the 2021-2022 URAP World Rankings.

Released in December 2021, UFH’s ranking is indicator of research and academic performance health, while also providing existing and prospective students with the assurance that teaching and learning, as well as curriculum development, is underpinned by research and new knowledge generation.  Importantly, the rankings also provide insights into UFH’s academic performance and quality standards on an international scale.

“The year-on-year rise in our URAP ranking is testimony of the energy and dedication of our academic and research staff, and the spirit to perform despite the disruption and hemorrhaging effect of Covid 19 on South African and international institutions in Higher Education,” said Professor Renuka Vithal, UFH Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Teaching and Learning. 

“Above all, the ranking methodology used by URAP confirms research productivity has risen exceptionally over just one year,” said Dr. Nthabi Taole-Mjimba, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Partnership and Innovation at UFH.

The Academic Performance (URAP) World Rankings programme methodology involves scoring universities against several key performance indicators.

Indicators include articles and documents to measure scientific productivity, citations to measure research impact, and article and citation impact totals to measure research quality, and international collaboration to measure international acceptance.

Commenting on the URAP World Rankings, UFH Vice-Chancellor Professor Sakhela Buhlungu, Vice-Chancellor of UFH said:

“We are confident that UFH will further scale the international academic quality rankings ladder over the next few years.  This year, we have created and filled Deputy Vice Chancellor post for Research, Partnerships and Innovation.  We will be able to respond more vigorously to some of indicators used by the URAP World Rankings programme,” he said.

The latest rankings will also bolster UFH’s appeal to attract international students.

URAP Coordinator Professor Ural Akbulut said: “For university candidates, world field rankings are critical in their university preferences to study abroad. All over the world, university administrators, academics, students and parents, and press and media organs monitor world rankings closely,”

The URAP ranking system is completely based on objective data obtained from reliable open sources. The system ranks the universities according to multiple criteria.