Introduction

Objectives of Our Survey

Methodology

Methodology

    NetBig.com's "Chinese University Ranking 2000" was generated using a 3 phase process:

Phase I:Parameter Selection for Evaluating the Universities

    Before conducting our university survey, it was necessary to determine which parameters were important to measure. NetBig.com sent questionnaires to our prospective sample to find out what factors they thought were most important in measuring a University's performance. A total of 115 surveys were sent out. 55 (48%) people responded and 52 (42%) people agreed to participate in our final ranking survey. Most of the respondents were either members of the Research Committee of Chinese Higher Education or University Principals (51). A small number (4) of managers and administrators of different education departments also responded.

    Each participant submitted his/her list of the 20 most important parameters for ranking universities. (Respondents answered multiple choice questions and were also allowed to submit additional parameters that were not explicitly listed.) From this list of parameters, the 17 most frequently listed parameters were selected. These parameters were divided into six major categories: Academic Reputation, Academic Status, Academic Results, Student Conditions, Teacher Resources, and Operational Resources. (Table 1 lists the major categories and the parameters used in each category.)

(Table 1) Chinese University Ranking 2000 - Evaluation Parameters

	Academic Reputation	Academic Status	Academic Archievements	Student Score	Faculty Resource	Facility Resource
Parameters	-Academic Reputation	- Professor Ratio - Master Ratio - Number of Major Subjects - Number of Major Laboratories	- Number of Scientific Achievements - Number of Teaching Contributions and Achievements - Number of R&D Staff Average Number of Thesis Contributed.	- Academic Results of Entry Students - Research Students Ratio - Graduates' Employment Ratio - Graduates' Continuing Education Ratio	- Teaching Professor Ratio	- Average Expenditure on Student - Average Income of R & D Staff -Library Book Ratio

Phase II:Determine Parameter Weights for Each Category

    After determining the most important categories and parameters, the next step was to determine the proper weighting for each of the six categories. The 52 people who agreed to participate in our survey were asked to develop their own weighting system for each category. (i.e. they were asked to decide a percentage weighting system for the categories). The participants were asked to develop separate weighting systems for the Major Universities and the Other Universities (Table 2 summarizes the aggregated results from our respondents.)

(Table 2) Chinese University Ranking 2000 - Evaluation Rating

	Key Universities	Other Universities
Academic Reputation	15	14
Academic Status	20	16
Academic Results	22	19
Student Conditions	11	15
Teacher Resources	20	21
Operational Resources	12	15
Total	100	100

Respondents were invited to review and comment on the overall results.

 

Phase III:Data Collection and Analysis

    Once the weightings were determined, NetBig.com gathered the relevant data necessary to complete the rankings. Data were collected from the following sources.

- Primary Data - Statistics received from education administration reports
- Secondary Data - University Survey Results
- "Subjective" Reputation Data - Academic Reputation Surveys were sent to 304 university principals, scholars and post-graduates from 130 universities and independent entrepreneurs.