The Pros and Cons of U-MultiRank

Translated by Nina Fink, Marie-Anne Nourry Publié le
The Pros and Cons of U-MultiRank
U-Multirank 2015 - Le profil de l'Université de technologie de Troyes // ©  U-Multirank
For its second edition in 2015, U-Multirank compared 1,200 higher education institutions from 83 countries, up from 850 schools in 2014. This European Union-funded tool presents itself as an alternative to traditional rankings. U-Multirank faced heavy criticism in its first year. One year later, opinions are still mixed.

U-Multirank did not gain as much ground as hoped this year. Many schools feel overwhelmed by the data-intensive questionnaire and underwhelmed by the lack of respondents. Just half of the 1,200 schools and universities listed in 2015 returned the questionnaire. The "anti-Shanghai ranking" assessed the rest of them using bibliometric from international databases.

U-Multirank did make headway in France though. The number of French schools rose from 58 to 69 and several key players were added, including Pierre and Marie Curie University (UPMC), Paris-Sud University and the University of Strasbourg. Now U-Multirank and the Shanghai Ranking contain the same French schools, except for one. École Polytechnique did not return the questionnaire and U-Multirank did not gather the school's data by other means.

The Pros

The University of Technology of Troyes (UTT) has sent in data both years. For Timothée Toury, Director of Studies and Teaching, "We decided to participate because many criteria are adjusted for school size, which helps medium-sized schools like UTT. We use it in our international relations work to show that UTT is a well-respected institution."

The Cons

Alain Beretz, President of the University of Strasbourg and Chair of the League of European Research Universities, argues, "U-Multirank has all the same flaws as other rankings. The data is either unreliable, partial or insignificant so you have to take it with a grain of salt. Although U-Multirank doesn't sell itself as a ranking, it is one. You can't compare schools like soccer teams."

The Maybes

Frank Pacard, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research at École Polytechnique, says, "I liked the idea of multiple criteria. The same schools always lead the Shanghai, Times Higher Education and QS rankings because they are all similar in size and mission. We need a ranking adapted to the specificities of European schools. However, U-Multirank has so much data that it is impossible for the average person to use. We have decided to wait and see."

Read the article (in French)

Translated by Nina Fink, Marie-Anne Nourry | Publié le