MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY JUDGED UNIVERSITY OF THE YEARMelbourne University has been judged University of the Year. But why? And how does it compare with the best universities in the world? Dean Ashenden and Sandra Milligan, compilers of the Good Universities Guides, explain.
MELBOURNE University is one of a group of equals, but the evidence clearly suggests that in a jostling race with established runners like the universities of NSW, Queensland, WA and Sydney, Australian National University and Monash University and the fast-rising outsider, Wollongong University Melbourne is currently first among equals.
These conclusions come from a year-long study of the international standing of Australian universities undertaken by the Good Universities Guides with Professor Leo West, a former pro vice-chancellor (international) at Monash University and adviser to the Federal Government.
The study researched the views of key stakeholders students, employers and academics on what confers ``international standing", then searched for data which revealed the extent to which universities have it.
It included any university in Britain, the United States and Australia which had significant research and international presence, thus covering almost all British and Australian institutions, but only a fraction of those in the US. The resulting league table correlated well with rankings undertaken by US News and World Report and The Times (London).
The study looked in more detail at the highest-ranked Australian institutions, using Australian data to compare them in each of 10 areas that confer international standing: student demand, student retention rates, quality of student experience, numbers of international students, numbers of international students in research degrees, income per student, spending on learning resources, graduate employment and two ways of measuring research .
Melbourne scored highest in four areas and near the top in four others. Totalling the scores across the 10 areas, there was a significant gap between Melbourne and its nearest competitors. As a reality check, the study surveyed 650 students who had left their home country to study in Australia, the US and Britain. Again, Melbourne emerged with a significant edge in prestige and awareness the numbers of students listing the university without prompting.
The University of Melbourne recites a long list of wins to prove it is Australia's leading university. Research funding, publication output, attracting top students, recruiting top staff (including two Nobel Prize winners), offering most scholarships, leading a global consortium of major universities. Melbourne also believes it is one of a ``small number" of Australian universities able to ``realistically aspire to becoming internationally competitive at the highest level".
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald "First Among Equals" 31/08/01 
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