Do university rankings and accreditation really matter? Manufacturing 'legitimacy' in Singapore's higher education sector

McKiernan, Peter and Waring, Peter (2015) Do university rankings and accreditation really matter? Manufacturing 'legitimacy' in Singapore's higher education sector. In: 2016 EFMD Higher Education Research Conference, 2016-10-10 - 2016-10-11.

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Abstract

In this paper, we examine the concept of ‘legitimacy’ in higher education in the context of the city-state of Singapore. We find that ‘legitimacy’ enhancing devices like rankings and accreditation are not necessary precursors for market success, reputation building or the provision of a quality education. This result is a direct challenge to the prevailing orthodoxy.