Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings: a new framework

Universities across Africa have been surging in the global university rankings.

Just five years ago, in the 2018 edition of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, only 27 African universities made it on to the list. That figure has more than tripled – to 97 universities – today.

In the most recent ranking, the five countries that made their debuts were all African: Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This took the total number of African nations represented to 17, up from just nine back in 2018. Overall, African universities’ scores across the world rankings’ range of 13 performance indicators have risen faster than the world average.

This is all wonderful news for Africa, and a vital ingredient of an exciting future for the continent.

The African Union’s Agenda 2063 master plan for transforming Africa into a global powerhouse calls for a “revitalisation” of “tertiary education, research and innovation to…promote global competitiveness”. As Max Price, former vice-chancellor of Africa’s number-one ranked university, the University of Cape Town, told Times Higher Education 10 years ago, Africa needs a strong group of universities in the higher echelons of the World University Rankings as a vital tool for development.

“There are good reasons why the production of new knowledge should not be the preserve of the rich and powerful countries in the world,” he said. “This is not about being merely consumers of others’ innovation and ideas, but about being explorers and shapers of the future.”

A strengthening cadre of top global universities in Africa will help African nations not only stem the brain drain but draw international talent from outside the continent. These institutions will attract investment and powerful international research collaborations; they will ensure that Africans are at the forefront of new knowledge creation and technological innovation for thriving, transformed knowledge-driven economies. They will help nurture Africa’s top talent, creating the next generation of productive, engaged citizens, supporting peace and strong democracies.

As John Kufuor, former president of Ghana and past president of the African Union has said: “education, particularly higher education, will take Africa into the mainstream of globalisation”.

But is their success in the World University Rankings enough?

As creator of those rankings, THE knows that despite the comprehensive and balanced range of metrics deployed, the global league tables will never be able to reflect the full depth and rich diversity of higher education and research across the African continent. The world rankings evaluate global, research-intensive universities, with metrics weighted towards research excellence and academic reputation that can favour the more wealthy nations and institutions in the Global North, and the research publishing ecosystems dominated by the Anglo-Saxon world and its priorities.

THE’s mission is to support excellence in all universities, with data, insights and analysis that properly reflect and celebrate the vast diversity of institutional types all across the world – understanding inequalities of resources, and often vastly different operating contexts, missions and priorities.

So THE, a trusted provider of data and insights to global higher education since 1971, is delighted to announce a pioneering new framework for supporting Africa’s universities in all their rich diversity – a world-first bespoke university ranking and performance analysis system developed specifically for Africa, in a project led by Africa.

The Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings, powered by Times Higher Education in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, will highlight the strongest universities in sub-Saharan Africa across a unique and comprehensive range of performance indicators that go beyond the traditional research-focused metrics of the global rankings to cover teaching and research but also societal impact.

The ranking will explore the impact of universities in sub-Saharan African in addressing some of the toughest challenges faced in the continent – embracing key Agenda 2063 and United Nations priorities. The areas covered in the comprehensive methodology include:

• Infrastructure, resources and finances
• Access and fairness
• Teaching skills, with a strong focus on graduate employability
• Student engagement (including involvement in leadership)
• Africa Impact, including research impact, with a focus on sustainable development.

The Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings methodology was developed by THE’s data team, in consultation with university leaders across sub-Saharan Africa, under a project initiated by a consortia of African and international higher education organisations and Ashesi University in Ghana. THE will independently manage all data collection and calculations.

The methodology draws on decades of experience from THE’s data team, and the creation in 2019 of the pioneering THE Impact Rankings, which judge universities’ social and economic impact through the lens of all 17 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Universities’ contribution to delivering on the sustainability agenda will be a key feature.

Another key component of the ranking will be a unique student survey enabling us to account for students’ experiences – with input directly from students themselves.

This new ranking will help African universities celebrate and showcase good practice, benchmark themselves against their peers, and identify areas where they can improve. It will provide pathways, with harmonised data and metrics, into the traditional World University Rankings for those institutions that seek them, but it will be an inclusive ranking that focuses on African priorities set by African stakeholders.

Times Higher Education is delighted to deliver this exciting and vital new resource – and to play our part in supporting a dynamic and diverse sub-Saharan African university community which will be vital to secure a thriving future for Africa.

Phil Baty is chief global affairs officer at Times Higher Education.

The inaugural Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings 2023 will be revealed on 26 June 2023 at the THE Sub-Saharan Africa Universities Forum in Accra, Ghana. Visit the event website here.