University rankings sell a lot of newspapers and magazines. But how seriously should teachers, students and, importantly, policy makers take them? While there are many national rankings of higher education institutions, it is the small number of international rankings that attract the greatest media attention. Of these, the annual Academic Ranking of World Universities (known as the "Shanghai ranking") is arguably the best known, although the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the QS World University Rankings also create a stir when they are published each year.
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