Varsity rankings hit by job losses

More students and fewer staff have lowered New Zealand universities’ standing in the latest world rankings.

While all eight remained in the top 500 universities, six dropped down the QS World University Rankings for 2019, released yesterday.

The two smallest universities – Lincoln and Waikato – were the only ones to gain in the rankings, rising from 319th to 317th, and 292nd to 274th respectively.

Auckland University stayed on top among domestic universities at 85th place, albeit three places lower than the year prior. Otago University was second at 175th globally, and Victoria University of Wellington was third at home and 221st abroad.

Canterbury University and Massey University both dropped 16 places, to 214th and 33rd respectively.

Auckland University of Technology was ranked 464th.

Internationally, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was first place for the seventh year running, followed by Stanford and Harvard universities.

Oxford University overtook sixth-placed Cambridge University for the first time.

The annual rankings are considered influential in attracting international students.

Waikato University vicechancellor Professor Neil Quigley partly attributed the institution’s 18-place jump up the ranks to its strong international marketing programme, while Lincoln University placed among the top 60 world universities in QS’ international student ratio rankings.

Most universities’ lower scores this year were driven in part by ‘‘the increase in enrolments – and the decrease in faculty numbers – reported by the country’s universities’’, QS said.

Otago University is proposing to cut 162 fulltime equivalent jobs, and Auckland University was proposing to cut 23.4 from its faculty of education and social work last month.