Rankings Watch: All Change in the Impact Rankings

THE’s latest Impact Rankings have seen big changes in the universities achieving the top spots, but W100 members continue to perform well in tackling the word’s great challenges. Five W100 institutions made the top 25 this year in the overall Impact Rankings.

Newcastle University leads the way in 8^th place, with last year’s table-topper the University of Manchester ranked 9^th this year. New W100 member the University of Indonesia ranks 18th, just ahead of Glasgow (19th), with King’s College London (24th) close behind.

A further eleven W100 members appear in the top 100, emphasising the close link between universities focused on building their global reputation and committed to demonstrating their impact on the wider world.

The THE Impact Ranking assesses universities’ contributions to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and does not specifically aim to measure reputation.

However, many universities have used their performance in the Impact Rankings as a key plank in their reputation strategies, and this year’s results will have cause a number of institutions to change tack.

Newcastle University is showcasing its top 10 global performances. Other W100 members are adjusting their messaging, although the University of Manchester continues to promote its impact, despite losing the ranking top spot.

The turbulence at the top of the THE Impact Rankings – only 3 of the top 10 featured in both 2021 and 2022 – partly reflects an increase in the number of universities taking part, as well as some changes to the methodology. For example, a new metric focuses on the provision of dedicated education programmes addressing sustainability.

The method used to calculate the overall ranking – which combines scores for performance against SDG 17 with a university’s three highest scores in other SDGs – also creates the potential for bigger changes year-on-year.

THE’s Duncan Ross will join us at the World 100 Reputation Network annual conference in Montreal, 13-14 October for a discussion about rankings, impact, and reputation.