LIBYA
Ministry launches national university rankings
In an effort to boost quality and enhance competitiveness among national universities, Libya has launched a new national ranking system for public and private Libyan universities (CSLU), using the criteria of research and education performance as well as scientific and societal impact.The ranking system was launched on 10 September by the National Center for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Educational and Training Institutions (NCQAA) in Libya after its approval by the acting minister of education, Mohammed Ammari Zayed, a member of the Presidential Council of the United Nations-backed Libyan Government of National Accord led by Fayez al-Sarraj .
Libya is the second country after Egypt in the 10 Arab North African states to produce a university ranking system.
The CSLU will see public and private Libyan universities compete across a range of key performance indicators developed by a national committee.
The indicators include teaching and learning (eight sub-indicators totalling 700 points which constitute 35% of institutional scores); knowledge productivity (eight sub-indicators totalling 600 points which constitute 30%); community service and the environment (six sub-indicators totalling 300 points which constitute 15%); international cooperation (two sub-indicators totalling 140 points which constitute 7%); and university website (two sub-indicators totalling 260 points which constitute 13%).
The CSLU performance sub-indicators will include administration efficiency, teaching and exams regulations, academic and social students support, institutional and academic programme accreditation, teaching staff, graduates, and quality of e-learning.
Other performance sub-indicators include journals, books, research publications and citations, patents, intellectual property rights, innovation capacity, consultancy, local and international scientific forums, symposium and conferences, expenditure on scientific research and funds, as well as postgraduate studies and programmes, international cooperation, and the university position in global university ranking systems along with e-libraries, digital platforms and educational websites.
There are also specific sub-indicators based on Libya’s needs, including the socio-economic and developmental impact of universities and their partnership with local organisations.
Besides evaluating and classifying the performance and effectiveness of Libyan universities and motivating their continuous improvement and development, CSLU aims to enhance the competitiveness of Libyan universities at national, regional and international levels.
CSLU also aims to offer knowledge and information of importance to decision-makers and higher education institutional leaders to help them in the formulation of higher education policies.
According to the NCQAA, Libya has 24 public universities, 29 technological higher learning institutions and one academy, along with seven accredited private Libyan universities and two accredited higher education institutions.
Libya does not currently have any universities in the most recent lists of top-100 world-class universities.
Ahmed Atia, head of department of advisory and research at the faculty of medical technology of the University of Tripoli in Libya, said the CSLU was “an important step” towards evaluating Libyan universities based on local factors and towards the setting up of a digital information hub about Libyan universities.
“This CSLU-based digital information hub will help universities in enhancing transparency and collaboration as well as helping prospective students to make informed choices on the best accredited higher learning institutions and study programmes as well as helping university staff to make career choices,” Atia said.
“The hub also helps in establishing a transparent and objective mechanism for identifying higher learning centres of excellence that could benefit from preferential funding to improve learning, teaching and research facilities as well as transferring its best education and research practices to other higher education institutions.”
Atia said the CSLU should include only those universities that have quality assurance approval.
Aisha Shahlol, research director and assistant professor in the faculty of engineering and technology at the Brak campus of Sabha University, told University World News Libyan universities should focus on attaining the quality standards and measures that subsequent rankings are based on.
Shahlol called for a programme which facilitated the continuous improvement and assessment of ranked universities.