What is Publication

The Higher Education sector has witnessed heightened interest in global rankings and rating systems, particularly since the 1990s, due to increased internationalisation. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the main rankings systems of world universities, and to respectively analyse the performance of Arab universities in the MENA region. The region's performance in global rankings clearly highlights the need for increasing commitment to research by MENA universities and academic authorities. It also illustrates regional disparities among different countries and institutions, as a result of increasing investment and awareness of international competitiveness. Further development for the region's universities would benefit from understanding the overall scenario presented by global rankings and from using such rankings and other policy tools to drive institutional and national development.