Just one Australian institution remains in the top 50 of Times Higher Education's 2024 global rankings and almost all of Australia's top 10 universities dropped places.
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The rankings rate nearly two thousand universities on indicators including research, teaching, international outlook and industry.
Melbourne University dropped three places from last year to 37, while Monash University, the second-highest ranked in Australia, dropped out of the top 50 altogether, falling 10 places on last year to 54.
Elite unis falter after the pandemic
Times Higher Education's chief global affairs officer Phil Baty said the pandemic and subdued investment and competition from China had dented Australia's elite institutions' status.
"While Australia is one of the world's leading university sectors for attracting international talent and collaboration, the relative isolation of the country during the pandemic is showing up in the data, to detrimental effect on universities' ranking positions," he said.
Times' Higher Education data demonstrating Australia's investment in research is at a 17-year low also sent a "clear red-light warning" about its ability to maintain its "historically very high levels of research quality" according to Mr Baty.
The University of Adelaide experienced the most dramatic drop of any Australian institution, falling 23 places to joint 111th place.
While Australia generally excelled in research productivity and excellence, it recorded the sharpest decline in its average international student metric score due to a reduction in overseas students.
Baty said "real attention" was needed to ensure Australia continued to be open and attractive to international talent.
But while prestige institutions fell in the rankings, 10 Australian unis climbed the ladder.
Swinburne University leapfrogged 12 local competitors to enter the top 250 for the first time. RMIT University and the University of Tasmania entered the top 300, Murdoch University into the top 400 and Victoria University into the top 500.
Central Queensland, Southern Cross, Sunshine Coast and Charles Sturt universities also improved their standings.
Australia's top ten from Times Higher Education 2024 rankings were:
- University of Melbourne (37th)
- Monash University (54th)
- University of Sydney (60th)
- Australian National University (67th)
- University of Queensland (70th)
- University of New South Wales, Sydney (84th)
- University of Adelaide (111th)
- The University of Western Australia (143rd)
- University of Technology Sydney (148th)
- Macquarie University (180th)
Student satisfaction low at Aussie institutions
Times' is not the only higher education rankings globally. According to the 2023 QS World Universities rankings Australian National University is the top ranked Australian university, coming it at number 30 globally, with University of Melbourne a close second at number 33 globally.
While prestigious Australian universities consistently rank highly in global scores, but these institutions score poorly on student satisfaction ratings.
The Good Universities Guide Undergraduate Overall Experience ratings found that only 57.5 per cent of University of Melbourne students were satisfied with their educational experience, despite it being one of the top ranked universities in Australia.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Globally, the University of Oxford leads the Times World University Rankings 2024, its eighth consecutive year.
It was followed by Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and University of Cambridge.
China is edging closer to the top 10 and now has two institutions in the top 15 for the first time.
