Researchers from University of Bari and INFN section of Bari propose an algorithm that combines information on the territorial gap and performance indicators, for a fairer evaluation of universities.
The presence of universities in the territories is universally recognized as a driver of socio-economic development.
At the same time, developed regions or metropolitan areas can offer potential students services, life standards and job opportunities that can make a territorial ecosystem attractive, but that have little to do with the intrinsic quality of education offered by universities.
Separating these two aspects is essential, especially to give the Fridays for Future generation a perspective of more equitable and sustainable development of society and territories.
However, university rankings, although increasingly widespread, do not properly consider these aspects, confusing the quality of education and research offered by a university with the wealth of the environment in which it is located.
In this way, rankings are misleading both for students who have to undertake an academic path, and for public decision-makers, who use ranked scores to reward universities through additional funding quotas.
Examining over one hundred indicators of socio-economic development of the last five years, researchers from the Applied Physics group of the University of Bari and the INFN, Loredana Bellantuono, Alfonso Monaco, Nicola Amoroso, Annamaria Demarinis Loiotile, Angela Lombardi and Sonia Tangaro, led by prof. Roberto Bellotti, in collaboration with Vincenzo Aquaro (Department for Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations) and Marco Bardoscia (Bank of England), propose a new perspective, which can make it possible to evaluate universities more equitably.
Using tools of the science of complex systems, the field of research in which Professor Giorgio Parisi was awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics, the Bari researchers have highlighted and removed from university rankings the dragging effects, positive or negative, linked to the socio-economic development of the territories.
The study was conducted worldwide, considering over 1000 universities, classified through one of the most accredited organizations, the British Times Higher Education, and at the Italian level, analyzing the ranking of universities drawn up annually by CENSIS.
The results of the research were published on March 23 in the article “Territorial bias in university rankings: a complex network approach” in the journal Scientific Reports of the Nature group.
But the interest of the editors does not end here: the researchers were invited to explain the reasons that led them to undertake this study, in the in-depth space “Behind the paper” of Nature Portfolio. In addition, the digital journal “Nature Italy” included this research among its highlights.
Extremely interesting and significant results emerge from the research. In the Italian case, 5 universities are rewarded as virtuous, improving their ranking by over 10 positions: the University of Foggia (+26 positions), followed by Teramo (+15), Cassino (+14), Milano San Raffaele (+13) and Napoli L’Orientale (+11).
Some universities, located in a favorable socio-economic context, worsen their position when the dragging effect of the territory is removed from the rankings: luav of Venezia (-26), Pisa (-14), Torino (-12), Aosta (-10) and Verona (-10).
Finally, the study reveals the stability of the scores achieved by some universities, such as Bocconi University, the University of Trento and the Polytechnic of Milano, which occupy top positions in the original CENSIS ranking and maintain them even after removing the effects due to their socio-economic context.
The researchers believe that the proposed tool for the elaboration of new rankings, mitigating the effects of territorial bias, can support development and cohesion policies that aim to reduce the gap between universities in the center-north and south of Italy, rather than increasing it.
Links to the three articles about this research