Pusan National University (PNU) ranked in the 501-600th place in the Times Higher Education (THE) world university rankings 2024, which is a steeply grown figure. The most significant factor behind this was the “change in the evaluation criteria.” However, the impact factor of academic papers remained low, indicating the persistent issue of PNU.

In September, the THE, a higher education institution in the UK, announced the results of the “2024 World University Evaluation.” THE has been conducting evaluations of universities worldwide since 2010, and it is recognized as one of the most authoritative higher education assessments alongside the QS rankings. Particularly in this evaluation, significant changes in the evaluation criteria has attracted attention.

PNU experienced a remarkable improvement of approximately 500 places compared to the previous year, primarily attributed to the revision of the criteria. It ranked 14th among domestic universities and secured the top position among national universities. Last year, PNU was in the range of 1001-1200, but this year, it rose to the 501-600 range. The scores in the five categories increased as follows: teaching from 30.7 to 39.2, research environment from 32.5 to 39.1, research quality from 21.6 to 45.1, international outlook from 50.8 to 86.6, and internationalization from 28.5 to 37.8. All these scores contributed to the total score, which increased from 24.4-29.7 last year to 41.9-45.3 this year.

The rise in rankings is not exclusive to PNU. The majority of domestic universities experienced an increase in their rankings in the recent THE evaluation. Among the 39 domestic universities listed in the THE evaluation, 18 universities saw an improvement in their rankings, including top-tier universities like KAIST (83rd) and POSTECH (149th). Notably, the Catholic University of Korea and the University of Seoul saw increases of around 600 and 400 places, respectively, indicating a significant upward trend. Among national universities, Kyungpook National University, Chonnam National University, Jeonbuk National University, and Chungnam National University witnessed an average increase of about 250 places, along with PNU. Kyungpook National University currently shares the top spot among national universities, positioning itself in the 501-600th place along with PNU.

The significant rise in the ranks of domestic universities can be largely attributed to the changes in the evaluation criteria. THE announced that they made adjustments in this evaluation for more accurate and precise analysis by changing the names of evaluation indicators and adding additional indicators. Now, the evaluation is based on five categories (teaching, research environment, research quality, industry, and international outlook) and 18 detailed sub-items. The most notable changes were observed in the “research” category, particularly in the “research environment” and “research quality.” Domestic universities showed a noticeable strength in the revised indexes of research quality and international outlook. For the research quality, 36 universities out of the 39 domestic universities saw an increase in scores compared to the previous year. For the industry, Seoul National University, KAIST, and POSTECH got 100 points, followed by Yonsei University and GIST, getting 99.9 points.

The growth of PNU has been significantly influenced by these changes. In particular, PNU experienced a noticeable benefit due to the reduction and restructuring of the major indicator “impact factor” into a sub-item of “research quality.” The “research quality” is subdivided into various facets, including the impact factor, research strengths, research excellence, and research impact. An annual impact factor of PNU was only 60% of metropolitan universities in the 1st quarter of this year (reported by “Channel PNU” on March 31st, 2023). However, as the importance of the impact factor decreased as a sub-indicator, PNU was able to gain scores in other indicators. Consequently, PNU got high scores in research excellence (80.5), assessing the awards for research, and in research impact (88.8), assessing the network impact of papers.

There were also improvements in the indicators for industry and teaching. With the addition of “the number of institutional paper citation patents” as a new sub-item in the industry, PNU gained 86.6 points, marking a 35.8-point increase compared to the previous year. In teaching, PNU gained 39.2 points, an 8.5-point increase compared to the previous year. This is due to the increase in faculty and Ph.D. holders and the expansion of government financial support programs. Kim Eun-Jin (Division of Planning and Evaluation, PNU) said, “The significant increase in scores was largely due to PNU’s efforts in expanding revenue and conducting joint research based on close cooperation with local companies.”

Despite the steep rise in rankings, the persistent issue of “impact factor” remains a challenge for PNU. In the evaluation last year, PNU faced a significant impact on the overall score due to the impact factor, a sub-item of the citation index indicator, falling below half the average score (reported by “Channel PNU” on October 28th, 2022). At that time, the citation index score was 21.6 points, marking the lowest among the five indicators. Although there were several revisions in the evaluation criteria in this year’s assessment, PNU still failed to reach higher scores for the indicators that utilize the impact factor, such as “citation impact” (23.4) and “research strength” (31.1). Compared to Sejong University, which holds the top position in the citation index among domestic universities with a score of 94 points, PNU lags by about 49 points. Particularly, as the indicator “research quality” utilizing the impact factor holds the highest weight in the evaluation among the five indicators, improving the “impact factor” stands as a task that must be addressed.

PNU has introduced a research promotion policy as a measure to address the low “impact factor” and to foster the growth of research quality. This includes the “outstanding paper publication incentive,” which gives incentives for papers published in journals, and “PNU One Heart Prize,” which gives incentives for papers with high citation rates in the last three years. Kim said, "We plan to continue programs to facilitate research in a conducive environment. Our goal is to achieve the top position among national universities in the QS and THE evaluations.”

In the QS evaluation, PNU ranked 13th among domestic universities. PNU also ranked 7th among domestic universities in the ARWU evaluation by Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Reporter Jo Seung Wan, Jang Seo Yun

Translated by Lee Soo-Hyun