Unisa enters top ten list in URAP rankings

The University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP) has ranked Unisa as one of the top ten universities in South Africa.  The ranking focuses on academic quality gathered data from about 3 000 higher education institutions (HEIs) in an effort to rank the institutions by their academic performance. URAP covers approximately 15% of all HEIs globally, making it one of the most comprehensive university ranking systems in the world. The overall score of each HEI is based upon its performance over several indicators, including current scientific productivity, research impact, research quality, and international acceptance.

Since URAP is an academic performance-based ranking, publications constitute the basis of the ranking methodology. Both quality and quantity of publications and international research collaboration performance are used as indicators. In local rankings, Unisa moved up to occupy 10^th place. The ranking is a move in the right direction as it aligns with the vision of Unisa’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Puleng LenkaBula, to ensure that the institution does not only become a centre of excellence, success and opportunities for the marginalised, but also a lever of optimum participation in the global knowledge arena with impact. “This impact,” she says, “should spread to the local context and the continent, allowing the country and Africa to, without hesitation, become competitive in the global landscape.”

LenkaBula continues to position Unisa in the global landscape by identifying and projecting its areas of excellence.

University Ranking by Perfomance

*Compiled by Tshimangadzo Mphaphuli, Senior Journalist, Department of Institutional Advancement