Yesterday, December 10, The Times Higher Education (THE) issued the first-ever Online Learning Rankings 2024. THE has categorised the institutions into three groups: gold, silver, and bronze.
Eleven universities have achieved gold status: three from the United States (US), two from the United Kingdom (UK), two from India, and one each from Russia, Hungary, New Zealand, and Australia. Fourteen universities are in the silver category, while 31 are in bronze, reports The Indian Express.
‘Universities have different reasons for, and aims of, online learning and this makes it hard to provide precise ranks,’ THE explained the categorisation.
Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies in Faridabad, Delhi NCR and OP Jindal Global University in Sonipat, Haryana are India's two entries to the gold category. Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, Himachal Pradesh is the only Indian university to receive a 'silver' ranking.
Four Indian universities have been placed in the bronze category: Amity University (Noida), KL University, Lovely Professional University (LPU), and Manipal University (Jaipur). The 'reporter' category includes Dr DY Patil Vidyapeeth in Pune and GLA University.
A total of 64 universities are assigned 'reporter status' since they submitted data but did not meet all the entry requirements.
In this pilot edition, THE used 17 metrics divided into four key areas:
Resources, which measures the staff and resources devoted to online learning;
Engagement, which has six metrics, including student survey responses to compare the level of student engagement;
Outcomes, which measures student progression and whether they would recommend it to others;
Environment, which tracks inclusion, diversity, and support levels.
It should be noted that there is also no global agreement on the definition of online learning.