Quality Assurance and Excellence in Taiwan Higher Education-An Analysis of Three Major Taiwan College Rankings

Abstract

The trend of globalization in higher education has led to increasingly intense and international competition between universities. Hence, universities and colleges are no longer satisfied with just achieving a high reputation in national rankings, but rather are now actively competing for the best academic status in global rankings as a validation of their performances over other institutions. Besides, outstanding students also hope to choose a world-class university based on more transparent information. Seemingly, global college rankings have drawn international attention worldwide, including many interested academics, students and politicians in Taiwan. Nowadays, a variety of agencies in Taiwan, including the mass media, universities, government agencies, are involved in the development of rankings. Under the ”University Law” revised in 2005, all Taiwan universities and colleges are obligated for assessments regularly with regard to standards and procedures by accrediting agencies chartered by the Ministry of Education. On the other hand, as the result of being pressured by severe international competition, however, rankings began to receive more attention than accreditation. By 2008 several rankings had been developed in Taiwan. The main purpose of the paper is to explore type, methodology and future developments of three major college ranking in Taiwan, including ”Academic Ranking of Universities in Taiwan” by Tamkang University, ”Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities” and ”College Navigator in Taiwan” by Higher Education Evaluation & Accreditation Council of Taiwan, and their impact on Taiwan higher education.