Frameworks and bodies

Ranking systems

What each one measures

Glossary

The acronyms, in plain terms

Rankings and accreditation are dense with shorthand. These are the ones that come up in almost every conversation.

AoL — Assurance of LearningAccreditation

A closed-loop process demonstrating that students actually learn what a programme claims to teach. Central to AACSB, and the single most common reason a first submission fails.

SER — Self-Evaluation ReportAccreditation

The formal document an institution submits at the start of a peer-review cycle, setting out how it meets each standard and with what evidence.

Triple CrownAccreditation

Informal term for a business school holding AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA simultaneously. Very few schools worldwide hold all three.

HiCi — Highly Cited ResearchersRankings

Clarivate's annual list of the most-cited researchers in their field. Counts directly in ARWU, which is why a single appointment can move position.

N&S PapersRankings

Articles published in Nature and Science. An ARWU indicator worth 20% of the total score.

PCP — Per Capita PerformanceRankings

An ARWU indicator dividing total score by full-time-equivalent academic staff, which favours smaller, research-dense institutions.

IR — Institutional ResearchProcess

The office responsible for data collection, analysis and reporting. In practice, the team that determines whether ranking submissions are accurate.

Web of Science and ScopusRankings

The two bibliographic databases ranking bodies draw citation data from — Clarivate's and Elsevier's respectively. Affiliation errors in either quietly suppress measured output.

SciValRankings

Elsevier's research analytics platform, built on Scopus. Commonly used to identify research strengths and benchmark against peers.

SDG — Sustainable Development GoalsRankings

The seventeen UN goals underpinning the THE Impact Rankings, which many institutions find a more attainable first target than the main table.

QA — Quality AssuranceProcess

The processes ensuring academic and institutional standards are maintained and evidenced — the machinery accreditors examine.

AACSBAccreditation

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Mission-driven rather than prescriptive, which is why two accredited schools can look very different.

EQUISAccreditation

European Quality Improvement System, run by EFMD. Weighs internationalisation and corporate connection more heavily than most.

ABETAccreditation

Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Programme-level rather than institutional, and often a licensure prerequisite for graduates.