(Warsaw, 16 May 2013) The results of the first ranking audits were announced at the IREG Forum on University Rankings attended by over 130 participants from 32 countries. IREG Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence decided to grant the rights to use the “IREG Approved” label in relation to the national ranking: Perspektywy University Ranking (Poland), produced by the Perspektywy Education Foundation, and to the international and regional rankings QS World University Rankings, produced by the QS Intelligence Unit.

- National and international University rankings serve as effective and useful tools in providing information to the prospective students, contributing to improvement of the quality of higher education, and monitoring higher education reforms – said Jan Sadlak, President of IREG Observatory. - Therefore, a need had arisen to audit the quality of the rankings.

In order to start the audit process, IREG Observatory appointed teams of independent experts. Their work is coordinated by Prof. Klaus Huefner from Berlin. - The audit rules were announced by IREG Observatory in Paris at the UNESCO conference in May 2011. The rankings that positively pass the audit (carried on a voluntary basis) have the right to use the quality label “IREG Approved”. This label attests that the ranking has been prepared in accordance with the highest professional standards – stressed Prof. Huefner. Detailed information on audit methodology are available on the website: ireg-observatory.org
 

Rankings produced by the Perspektywy Education Foundation (Poland) and by the QS Intelligence Unit (UK) have been the first ever. to pass the audit procedure. They are entitled to use the “IREG Approved” label confirming that the methodology, procedures and publication of these rankings meet the high quality criteria. The quality label will be valid till 31 December 2016.

Perspektywy University Ranking (Poland) is a national ranking produced by Perspektywy Education Foundation since 2000. More information on the ranking is available at: ranking.perspektywy.org (in English) and at: ranking.perspektywy.pl (in Polish).

The audit of Perspektywy University Ranking has been carried by an Audit Team chaired by Jamil Salmi, global expert on higher education and former coordinator on higher education of the World Bank in Washington DC, now leaving in Columbia, Carla van Cauwenberghe of the Dutch Ministry of Education, the Netherlands, and Patricia Georgieva, expert in the field of higher education, Qualifications and Quality Support Centre, Bulgaria.

- We are proud that Perspektywy University Ranking is the first national ranking to obtain the “IREG Approved” quality stamp – said Waldemar Siwinski, President of the Perspektywy Education Foundation. – The quality and credibility have always been in the center of our attention. I am happy that a team of international experts noticed it and rewarded us.

QS World University Ranking is an international ranking produced by the QS Intelligence Unit since 2004. Along the main ranking, the two QS regional rankings have been evaluated granted the "IREG Approved" quality label: QS World University Ranking Asia and QS World University Ranking Latin America. More information at: TopUniversities.com

The audit of QS World University Ranking has been carried by the Audit Team composed of: Tom Parker, (chair), expert of the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), Washington DC, USA, Stanislaw Chwirot, Professor, Dean of the Faculty of Phisics, Astronomy and Applied Informatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland; Sadiq Sait Mohammed, Professor, Director for Information Technology, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; Akiyoshi Yonezawa, Associate Professor, University of Nagoya, Nagoya, Japan.

- QS is committed to the pursuit of best practice in international university rankings. We are, naturally, pleased to be the first international ranking to be IREG Approved - says Ben Sowter, QS head of research. - Beyond the result itself, it signals the willingness to open our systems and processes up to external, independent scrutiny and exhibit the same transparency we demand of universities.

IREG Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence (IREG Observatory in short) is an international non-profit association of ranking organizations and universities. Its purpose is strengthening of public awareness and understanding of academic rankings and academic excellence. IREG Observatory was founded by a group of rankers and ranking analysts, who met first in 2002 as an International Ranking Expert Group (IREG). IREG Observatory as a non-profit organization was established in 2009. It is registered in Brussels, Belgium, and its Secretariat is located in Warsaw, Poland. Website: ireg-observatory.org

Perspektywy Education Foundation is an independent, non-profit national organization established in 1998 to promote and support education. Former rectors of Polish universities and outstanding public figures are represented on the Board. The Foundation works closely with the Polish Rectors Conference (CRASP), especially in promotion of Polish universities abroad through the "Study in Poland" program. Website: perspektywy.org
 
QS Quacquarelli Symonds. Since 1990, QS has become established as the world’s leading network for top careers and education. Producers of the QS World University Rankings, QS’s innovative research, events, publications and university solutions provide new ways of bringing universities into contact with the best and brightest students worldwide. Website: qs.com

Additional information:
Kazimierz Bilanow, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.