[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-597276-105":59,"doc-detail-597276-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","world-class-or-the-curse-of-comparison","“World Class” or The Curse of Comparison?","","The article examines whether universities claiming to be “world-class” can truly meet that standard and whether such claims support desirable public policy. It argues that the term “world” is often defined locally, making “world-class” functionally contradictory. The paper analyzes institutional quality, how quality is formed and measured through comparison, and distinguishes quality from reputation. It concludes that comparisons of research quality and productivity may be feasible, but broader “world-class” judgments risk becoming futile or misleading.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/world-class-or-the-curse-of-comparison/597276/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/world-class-or-the-curse-of-comparison/597276.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Blue Pony","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":24},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is the central question about “world-class” universities?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The article asks whether universities that claim to be “world-class” can actually live up to that claim and whether pursuing it is beneficial public policy.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Why does the article say “world-class” can function as an oxymoron?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It argues that the definition of “world” is set locally in practice, even though it should be defined internationally in conceptual terms.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How does the paper distinguish quality from reputation?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"It notes that research on college choice treats reputation and quality as separate factors in surveys and interviews, rather than as synonyms.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},597276,1792335104,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":24,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962090760266,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","The Canadian Journal of Higher Education La revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur Volume XXXV, No. 3, 2005 pages 27-55  \n“World Class” or The Curse of Comparison?  \nDANIEL W. LANG  \nUniversity of Toronto  \nABSTRACT  \nCan all the universities that claim to be “world-class” actually live up to the claim? If they could be, would that be desirable public policy? It could be that there are so many different meanings of “world-class” that the term in practical effect is an oxymoron: the definition of “world” is determined locally when conceptually it should be defined internationally. This paper discusses different kinds of institutional quality, how quality is formed and how it can be measured, particularly by comparison. It also discusses the subtle but fundamental differences between quality and reputation. The paper concludes with the suggestion that world-class comparisons of research quality and productivity are possible, but that any broader application to the “world-class” quality of universities will be at best futile and at worst misleading.  \nRESUMÉ  \nToutes les universités qui se disent de « classe mondiale » peuventelles vraiment se montrer à la hauteur de cette revendication ? Si elles le pouvaient, est-ce que ce serait dans l’intérêt public ? En fait, l’expression « classe mondiale » peutprendre tant de sens qu’il s’agit dans lapratique d’unoxymore : la définition de « mondiale » est établie à l’échelle locale alors qu’en fait elle devrait l’être au plan conceptuel à l’échelle internationale.  \n| 02 Lang 27-55 FINAL.indd 27 | | 2/8/2006 10:44:16 AM |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n\n28 D. W. Lang  \nCet article traite des différentes sortes de qualités caractérisant les établissements, de la manière dont ces qualités en viennent à exister et de la façon de les évaluer, particulièrement en faisant des comparaisons. Il analyse également les différences subtiles, mais fondamentales, entrequalité et réputation. En conclusion, l’article suggère qu’il est possible de comparer le niveau de la qualité et de l’efficience des recherches des universités à l’échelle mondiale, mais qu’une application plus vaste deleur qualité de « classe mondiale » serait futile, voire trompeuse.  \nINTRODUCTION  \nAtthe end of each installment of his popular Prairie Home Companion radio stories about the fictional American town of Lake Wobegon, Garrison Keillor describes the town as being a place where “all the children are above average.” If one were to take into account all the claims made by universities about being “world-class” the impression would be similar: they are all world-class. But, just as not all children can be above average, not all universities can be world-class. Even if they could be, perhaps they should not be.  \nThis is more than a matter of puckish humour. It begs some important questions. What does “world-class” mean in higher education? Will aheadlong rush to be world-class – whatever it might be mean – defeat diversity and compromise accessibility and possibly even quality? What are the costs and benefits of what amounts to “look alike competition”which instead of stimulating innovation encourages conformity? Who should be the arbiter of eligibility for membership in the club of world-class universities? Although the question may seen counter-intuitive, is it possible, given the costs of being world-class, that world-class status is not infinitely valuable, affordable, or manageable? Can there be too many world-class universities just as there can be too few?  \nThese are difficult questions. They become even more difficult when one asks whether world-class is a system concept or an institutional concept. At first that may seem to be a question with only one answer: world-class is only an institutional concept. But a pause for reflection will reveal that the question is not that simple. For example, although public universities have different degrees of autonomy, they all depend  \nThe Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXV, No. 3, 20","cbCaimpqqgdYiIvS","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimpqqgdYiIvS","pdf",320300,29,"English","# Introduction\n## Defining “world-class” in higher education\n## Diversity, equity, and system dimensions\n## Reputation and quality as separate factors","[{\"question\":\"What is the central question about “world-class” universities?\",\"answer\":\"The article asks whether universities that claim to be “world-class” can actually live up to that claim and whether pursuing it is beneficial public policy.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the article say “world-class” can function as an oxymoron?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that the definition of “world” is set locally in practice, even though it should be defined internationally in conceptual terms.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the paper distinguish quality from reputation?\",\"answer\":\"It notes that research on college choice treats reputation and quality as separate factors in surveys and interviews, rather than as synonyms.\"}]","“World Class” or The Curse of Comparison? | PDF",1792084726,73]