Research Activities and University Ranking: Academic Staff Opinion from a Sudanese University, with Roadmap for Improvement

Abstract

Background: University ranking is an essential and crucial benchmark of excellence. In this study, we investigated the academic staff perception of a Well-Established Sudanese University (WESU) regarding reasons behind the low university ranking and how to improve it, focusing on research as it represents a considerable weight in university ranking systems.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional quantitative study, collected data through a structured self-administered, pre-tested Google form questionnaire. SPSS was used to analyze the data.

Results: Of the 114 respondents, 95.6% (n=109) believed university ranking is important, about 60% (n=69) had published, with only 7% (n=8) having more than 20 publications. Around a third 36%(n=41) of those who published research used affiliation other than the WESU. Seventy-nine percent (n=90) of the participants perceived that lack of budget for scientific research was a leading cause of low university ranking, followed by the absence of clear scientific vision and the frustration of many teachers, who tended to abandon research and authorship, among other factors. Furthermore, most of the WESU academic staff did not have accounts on academic social media.

Conclusion: As a result of the study, seven themes emerged regarding how the university ranking could be improved. The most important of these were raising awareness about ranking among academic staff, funding, improving the university's online content, and encouraging publishing in journals with high impact. The investigators think that these parameters do not apply only to WESU, but also to most other Sudanese universities.

Keywords: University Ranking, Sudanese Universities, Publication, Research Funding.