INDICATORI PER IL RANKING DELLE UNIVERSITÀ ONLINE: LA PROSPETTIVA DEGLI STUDENTI

Abstract

University ranking systems are frequently used to assess and compare universities, and are of particular interest to prospective students. Current ranking systems, however, do not assess the currently growing online dimension of universities. To overcome this limitation, the European Project Creating an Online Dimension for University Rankings (CODUR) engaged online teaching experts to identify criteria and indicators for assessing this online dimension. This paper compares these evaluations with those provided by 55 university students attending courses online. The comparison shows that the expert and student perspectives are largely similar, although with some important differences. Specifically, compared to the experts, the students regard quality of student support as more important, and quality of the learning experience as less important. These results represent a first step towards integrating students’ perspective in the online dimension of university rankings.