Rankings - does teaching matter?

The quality of teaching in international higher education is included in two of the most prominent ranking systems but the question is the relative priority accorded to teaching in contrast to other issues such as research productivity and reputation. Inside Higher Education's blog post from the Center for International Higher Education indicates that the two major rankings (SJT and THE) place 20% and 30% weight respectively on teaching effectiveness. This post recognizes that assessment of teaching is difficult which may lead to even less impact of the teaching effectiveness measures but it notes that the new UK Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) offers a way to enhance the importance placed on teaching throughout UK institutions. The only problem with the TEF is that some believe that the TEF measurement will actually show that institutions with lesser reputations do a better job in teaching, a finding which the blog post indicates should not be a surprise.

The challenge of assessing outcome and impact is difficult but it is essential if quality in higher education is to be broadly achieved. Understanding what is ultimately valued in students' learning and then finding effective ways measure it is addressed in general in Enhancing Student Learning and Development in Cross-Border Higher Education in the chapter on Assessment, Evaluation and Research.