Abstract:
Ranking institutions on a league table style is used either explicitly or implicitly by
agencies to determine the excellence, performance and reputation of higher education
institutions (HEIs). However, there is a growing concern that this tool tends to encourage
the drift of missions, foci, purposes and specialisations of knowledge and skills produced
by different HEIs globally. This article takes issue with the widely accepted practice of
ranking institutions on a league table style. Drawing examples from South Africa, the
article begins by describing the inherent drawbacks of league table approaches and
proposes alternative forms of determining the performance of HEIs. This is followed by a
discussion on South Africa, highlighting the challenges of league table styles to rank HEIs
in systems where institutions are differentiated in terms of their purpose and mission,
and how these might subtly encourage mission drift. The third section is devoted to the
discussion and conclusion.
