Qatar Foundation funds US magazine’s efforts to rank MENA colleges

Aided by a grant from Qatar Foundation, a prominent American publication has begun working on a ranking system to assess some 800 higher education institutes across the MENA region.

But researchers concede that the pursuit, which was first suggested by QF Chairperson Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, is sure to be rife with challenges – not the least of which will be getting Arab universities to share key data points like admissions statistics and student retention rates.

For US News & World Report, which is perhaps best known for its annual (and controversial) reports assessing US-based colleges, the new rankings would be a chance to expand its global profile.

Brian Kelly, the publication’s editor and chief content officer, announced the project last month while in town for the WISE education conference. In a statement, he said:

“Qatar Foundation is a leading source of global education innovation. Sheikha Moza asked me whether we could bring the work we do in the U.S. to the region as a way of creating global consistency and adding substantial value to higher education in the MENA region.”

Speaking to Doha News, project leader Robert Morse said the magazine is pursuing the project for many reasons:

“There is definitely demand for comparative information and rankings by students and parents in the Middle East (who want to) find out about the schools in their own country.” he said. “We believe there’s also demand from policymakers in higher education and government officials who are trying to make an effort to raise the standards of the schools or be able to understand their needs.”

Employers would also find the rankings helpful because it would help them understand the quality of education that applicants have gotten, he added.

Qatar Foundation funds US magazine’s efforts to rank MENA colleges