International and national university rankings are having a growing influence on the choices of different actors in higher education: students, future employers, policy makers etc.

International rankings distinguish with a relatively high degree of confidence between universities at the top of the rankings. They are the completely visible universities, each with a specific ranking every year. As we move away from the highly ranked universities which have their own rank per institution, it becomes harder to explain and understand the difference between universities, so they are placed in larger and larger ranges. Most universities in the Central European region are in the range under 1000 range, and in many cases the exact position is difficult to identify.  The objective of V4 University Visibility project is to examine the excellence of these universities. The Central European University Visibility, Excellence and Ranking Forum aims to provide insights into region-specific challenges and opportunities through the collaboration of project partners and international experts from Times Higher Education and Elsevier.

V4 University Visibility Project

The increasing impact of rankings is putting pressure on higher education providers, the universities. Rankings provide an objective approach of assessing and comparing the performance of institutions. However, these methods are limited in their ability to take account of country and region-specific challenges. Universities in the Visegrad Four countries, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia perform similarly in the rankings, with most of them at the position in the rankings where it is more difficult to distinguish between universities and are therefore placed in larger ranges.

The objective of V4 University Visibility project is to examine the excellence and potentials of these universities in 3 work packages (WPs): Literature review WP, Provider survey WP, Stakeholder survey WP. The aim of each working group is to look at a specific issue in order to understand the situation of academic excellence in the region.

The aim of the Literature review WP is twofold, on the one hand to describe the institutional and legal context of higher education, which is not homogeneous within the region, and on the other hand to summarise all the articles on excellence in higher education in the region.

The Provider Survey WP aims to give an insight on university culture in the region, and in doing so, to map the level of understanding and application of the concept of excellence in rankings in individual universities. This will be achieved through a questionnaire to be completed by universities in the region

Stakeholder Survey WP aims to get the views of those who are most concerned with the issue of excellence in higher education. The questionnaire targets adults aged 30 or younger with at least a BSc degree. They already have experience of the value of a degree and the employability of the skills they have acquired, but also have vivid memories of their time in higher education. The work of this working group is supported by a data survey company, which collects data on a nationally representative sample.

Program is available at the link bellow:

https://uni-obuda.hu/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Central_European_Univ_Ranking_Forum_4_November_Obuda_Univ_BUD_10_13__003.pdf