Methodological approaches to compiling the ranking of Russian universities
Rating of universities by the number of graduates in the board of the largest companies in Russia

Summary

The RAEX rating agency (Expert RA) has compiled the sixth annual ranking of Russian universities. The Agency is the first organization in Russia and the fourth in the world whose university rankings have successfully passed the international audit of the IREG Observatory.

Russian universities have achieved the greatest progress in the field of scientific publications indexed in foreign scientometric databases: over the year, the number of publications per employee increased by 44%, and the number of citations per employee increased by 66%.

Greatest promotion in the ranking reached universities focusing on training economists and managers. The demand of applicants is steadily shifted towards the leading economic universities, and their graduates a year after graduation earn 28% more than graduates from other top 30 RAEX universities.

Consolidation through mergers/acquisitions is detrimental to strong universities, since the level of material, technical and staffing of the affiliated universities is usually relatively low. Most of the universities involved in the merger processes have decreased their positions in the 2017 ranking.

Ranking of Russian universities: key figures and facts

Rating agency RAEX (Expert RA) made up the sixth annual rating of universities in Russia(see table 1). When preparing the rating, statistical indicators were used, as well as the results of surveys among 30 thousand respondents: employers, representatives of academic and scientific circles, students and graduates.

The top three rankings in 2017 did not change compared to last year: The first place was traditionally taken by Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov, MIPT and NRNU MEPhI were also winners. The winners of the rating are consistently included in the number best universities according to the conditions for obtaining a quality education (see table 2) and the demand for graduates by employers (see table 3). In addition, Moscow State University, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and MEPhI demonstrate the highest level of research activity among all Russian universities for the second year in a row (see Table 4).

MGIMO has shown steady growth in the ranking for several years in a row. According to the conditions for obtaining a quality education, the university is ahead of all competitors, with the exception of Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov. The provision of students with teachers at MGIMO is one and a half times higher than the average for the top 20 ratings (13.9 versus 9.5 per 100 students). MGIMO is the leader in terms of attractiveness for applicants: it has the highest USE for state employees (95.3 points) and the most expensive paid education - 463 thousand rubles a year. This year, the assessment of the university has improved in terms of the level of demand for graduates by employers. This was influenced by the high solvent demand for additional professional programs, as well as improving the assessment of the quality of graduates' careers (according to a new criterion that evaluates the average level of graduates' salaries, MGIMO entered the top 10 universities with an indicator of 62.4 thousand rubles). According to the two parameters indicated, MGIMO was ahead of many competitors, including the Moscow State Technical University. N. E. Bauman.

The negative dynamics of Baumanka in the ranking was also affected by indicators of international integration and citation of scientific publications, which are now being actively increased by participants in the 5–100 competitiveness program. For example, the share of foreign students at Moscow State Technical University. N. E. Bauman decreased, while the competitors, located higher in the ranking, it increased. In terms of the growth rate of citation of scientific publications, the university lags behind its competitors: MSTU im. N. E. Bauman, citation per employee increased by 20%, while on average for a hundred of the best universities in Russia it increased by 66%.

Based on the results of the 2017 rating, the first fifteen participants in the 5-100 program showed multidirectional dynamics compared to 2016. Seven of them did not change their positions in the rankings, while four universities lost their positions. Increased in the rating St. Petersburg poly Technical University Peter the Great, which moved from 11th to 10th place, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University (from 17th to 15th place), NUST MISIS (from 18th to 17th place) and the Far Eastern Federal university, which added three positions at once and took 34th place.

If we separately consider the activities of the “5-100” participants in the research context, then the success is obvious: all places in the top ten of the subrating were shared by universities from the “5-100” and national universities(Moscow State University and St. Petersburg State University, see Table 4).

Focus on scientific publications

The results of the 2017 ranking show that Russian universities have achieved the greatest progress in the field of scientific publications indexed in foreign scientometric databases. If, according to the results of the 2016 ranking, there were on average 0.20 publications per scientific and pedagogical employee of the top 100 universities in Russia, then according to the results of the current ranking, it is already 0.29 publications. Even more rapid dynamics is observed in the field of citation scientific works: the average annual number of citations per faculty member increased from 0.32 to 0.53. By the way, universities from the top 100 RAEX rankings do not have such an explosive growth as in citation in any other dimension.

However, if we separately evaluate the results of the 5-100 program participants in terms of publications and citations, there is a discrepancy in dynamics. If the number of publications has grown by 45% (calculated on the basis of academic staff), then citation per article has increased by only 16%. This is very symptomatic. After all, in order for a publication to become highly cited, investments in high-quality research are needed. But at the same time, in fact, the volume of R&D among the “5–100” participants remained practically unchanged over the year (+0.1%, see Table 5), and the total amount of funding per student even decreased by 11% (see Table 6), that is, in other words, participation in the scientometric race is not supported by sufficient funds. In such a situation, the temptation to increase the number of publications can adversely affect their quality.

"Economic growth

In 2017, for the first time since the RAEX (Expert RA) educational rankings have been compiled, synchronous growth in the list of the top 100 universities was demonstrated by universities that focus on training economists and managers. RANEPA moved from 12th to 11th place, Financial University improved positions from 14th to 13th, PRUE. G. V. Plekhanov - from the 25th to the 23rd, VAVT - from the 30th to the 29th. Such a single positive character of the dynamics of economic universities was not observed earlier in the RAEX ratings (Expert RA).

The key factor in the flourishing of economic universities was the growing advantage over competitors in two groups of indicators: "demand among applicants" and "quality of graduates' careers." The demand of applicants has been shifted towards economic and managerial areas for many years, which allows the respective universities to traditionally win in the struggle for an applicant.

For example, according to the results of the 2017 ranking, the average USE score of state employees of leading economic universities was 85.3, while even the first participants in the 5–100 competitiveness program had 80.4. As for paid admission, here the gap between economic universities is even more significant: the average cost of education in the first year is 267 thousand rubles against 149 thousand rubles for universities - participants in the 5-100 project of the first wave.

Taking into account the residence of the leading economic universities in the capital, in fairness, the results of their comparison with other successful Moscow universities from the top 30 of the RAEX rating (Expert RA) should be presented. And in this case, the picture is similar: the average USE result(81.4) and the cost of education (194 thousand rubles) were lower than those of top economic universities. There are only two technical universities in the list of the top 10 most expensive universities - the Mining University and the Russian State University of Oil and Gas. I. M. Gubkina (see graph 1).

The steady growth of applicants' interest in the field of economics and management is mainly associated with claims for career achievements. And it should be noted that these expectations are not unfounded.

Firstly, the level of income of graduates of economic universities from the top 30 of the RAEX rating (Expert RA) is 28% higher than that of other participants in the top 30 - 66.3 thousand rubles against 51.7 thousand rubles (according to monitoring data employment of graduates of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation on the average level of monthly wages of citizens of the Russian Federation in the next year after graduation).

If we talk about the future prospects of graduates, then against the background of the recently published data of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation, they undoubtedly look rosy: the highest salary level in 2016 in Russia was recorded precisely in the financial sector (78.3 thousand rubles). In addition, according to RAEX (Expert RA), the Financial University and the RANEPA, along with Moscow State University, are in the top 3 universities, whose graduates are most widely represented in the top management of Russia's largest companies.

Secondly, the prerequisites for successful employment of managers and economists are also created by the structural changes observed in the Russian economy based on data on the sectoral distribution of revenues of the largest business structures. Thus, in just four years, the share of the banking sector in the revenue of Russia's largest companies has grown by two-thirds: from 6.1% in 2011 to 10.0%, according to current data on the sales volume of companies from the RAEX-600 list. At the same time, the share of industry over the same period decreased by 8.7 percentage points - from 63.1 to 54.4%.

Finally, another argument in favor economic education- this is the experience gradually accumulated by Russian universities in teaching the relevant disciplines and conducting scientific research. In the early 90s in Russia, in fact, there was no economics in its modern sense. At that time, economic universities in Russia acted as students - they invited foreign professors, sent their young specialists to study abroad. Since then, significant progress has been made in the level of teaching and research in the field of economics. As a result, confidence in economic education programs in Russia is gradually increasing.

It should be noted that the indicated conclusions are valid for the leading economic universities, but they are not applicable to the Russian educational palette as a whole: as was repeatedly noted in the RAEX studies (Expert RA), in the field of "economics and management" there is a gap between leading universities and universities - middle peasants is huge. In addition, the published rating analyzes the head universities, while in the branches educational organization teaching level and scientific activity may be significantly lower.

And growing pains again

An analysis of the dynamics of the position of universities in the RAEX ranking (Expert RA) allows us to draw an unambiguous conclusion: when less successful educational organizations join strong universities, the competitiveness of the former decreases. In other words, the processes of consolidation through mergers damage strong universities.

In particular, over the past few years, due to mergers with other universities in the RAEX (Expert RA) rankings, the positions of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, the Financial University, and NUST MISIS have temporarily decreased. Such dynamics is understandable: it is caused by the erosion of human and financial capital, which is inevitable when a university with more modest indicators is added to a strong university. This can often be accompanied jump the number of students against the background of an insufficiently high increase in the material base and personnel.

This year, the most striking illustration of the impact of the association on competitiveness is the example of the Samara State Aerospace University named after Academician S.P. Korolev. For four years, the university has consistently been in the top 30 Russian universities, in particular, in 2016 it took 26th place. After joining Samara State University (ranked 76th in the ranking), the united university took only 31st place in 2017, which is five positions lower than the result of the Aerospace University last year. The total number of students in the merged university has grown sharply, while funding has remained at the same level, as a result of which the amount of money per student has collapsed by half. The merger led to a serious drop in a number of other specific criteria. For example, the share of foreign students decreased from 5.5% to 4.8%, and the share of Olympiad students enrolled in the first year - from 1.1% to 0.5%.

The downward trend in the positions of universities in the ranking after consolidation can be clearly seen in the example of flagship universities. Recall that the first flagship universities appeared in Russia in 2016. According to the plan, they should become large scientific and educational centers focused on the needs of the regional economy and the regional labor market and preventing the outflow of applicants and young professionals to more prosperous regions. One of the conditions for granting the university the status of a “flap university” was the accession of another educational organization to it. As a result of the competition, 11 universities were selected, which, together with the status, received subsidies for the implementation of development programs in the amount of up to 200 million rubles. In April of this year, another 22 universities were added to the list. The top 100 in the 2017 RAEX (Expert RA) ranking included only six flagship universities of the first wave. At the same time, most of them lost several positions compared to last year's measurements. This is mainly to blame for the insufficiently high level of affiliated universities and the subsidence of specific indicators due to consolidation.

Indicative are examples of a decline in the ranking of oil and gas universities that have become pivotal. Tyumen State oil and gas university, which annexed the Tyumen State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering and changed its name to Tyumen industrial university, took 52nd place in the 2017 ranking, despite the fact that a year earlier the oil and gas university was located much higher - in 38th place. In the university, there is a drop in the indicator “number of teaching staff per 100 students” by 13.5%, a reduction of 8.5% in funding per student (from 199.8 thousand rubles to 182.9 thousand rubles), as well as a decrease a number of other specific criteria.

Ufa State Petroleum Technological University, which joined the Ufa State University economy and service, decreased by nine points and took 57th place against 48th a year earlier. The number of teaching staff per 100 students here decreased by 7%, and the average USE result became lower by 0.94 points, while the average for the top 100 Universities USE increased by 0.65 points.

It can be stated that the assignment of the status of a flagship university to a university after consolidation leads to a weakening of its position in the RAEX ranking, at least in the short term. At the same time, in the future, flagship universities, which should become centers of innovation, technology and social development regions have good chances to be ranked much higher. Given the social responsibility entrusted to them (after all, they are called upon to restrain the outflow of intellectual potential from the regions to Moscow and St. Petersburg universities), the state is unlikely to abandon the idea of supporting the development of such educational centers in the subjects of the Russian Federation. In that case, when effective management flagship universities have the opportunity to win back the fall and increase their competitiveness over time.

Rating "100 best universities in Russia"

Table 1. Top 100 universities in Russia, 2017

Open table in new window

Place, 2017	Place, 2016	Name	Rating functionality	Conditions for obtaining a quality education, rank	The level of demand for graduates by employers, rank	Level of research activity, rank
1	1	Moscow State University M.V. Lomonosov	4.729	1	2	1
2	2		4.603	3	5	3
3	3	National Research Nuclear University MEPhI	4.424	7	4	2
4	5	Saint Petersburg State University	4.244	4	12	5
5	7		4.223	2	7	34
6	6	National Research University Higher School of Economics	4.216	5	6	15
7	4	Moscow State Technical University named after N.E. Bauman	4.136	10	1	11
8	8	National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University	4.100	6	15	7
9	9	Novosibirsk National Research State University	3.957	8	16	6
10	11	St. Petersburg Polytechnic University of Peter the Great	3.890	12	13	8
11	12	Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation	3.724	9	11	30
12	10	Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin	3.704	25	9	9
13	14	Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation	3.701	11	8	35
14	13	National Research Tomsk State University	3.647	19	30	4
15	17	Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University	3.589	16	32	10
16	15	Siberian Federal University	3.565	26	10	14
17	18	National Research Technological University "MISiS"	3.560	13	31	16
18	16	Russian State University of Oil and Gas (National Research University) named after I.M. Gubkin	3.553	24	3	37
19	19	Saint Petersburg State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics	3.461	15	47	12
20	21	Peoples' Friendship University of Russia	3.412	14	29	23
21	22	First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation	3.338	21	20	21
22	23	First St. Petersburg State Medical University named after Academician I.P. Pavlov Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation	3.320	18	25	33
23	25	Russian University of Economics named after G.V. Plekhanov	3.253	23	14	41
24	27	Russian National Research Medical University named after N.I. Pirogov Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation	3.175	22	23	31
25	20	National Research University "MPEI"	3.088	28	26	27
26	24	Novosibirsk State Technical University	3.060	32	21	19
27	-	Moscow State Linguistic University	3.018	17	52	75
28	28	National Research Nizhny Novgorod State University named after N.I. Lobachevsky	2.957	29	58	18
29	30	All-Russian Academy of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation	2.865	20	39	127
30	31	South Federal University	2.826	39	59	13
31	26	Samara National Research University named after Academician S.P. Queen	2.762	55	18	17
32	35		2.737	41	17	45
33	29	Saint Petersburg State University of Economics	2.699	27	56	82
34	37	Far Eastern Federal University	2.692	35	65	20
35	45	North-Eastern Federal University named after M.K. Ammosova	2.661	33	49	40
36	33	St. Petersburg Mining University	2.654	31	46	62
37	32	Kazan State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation	2.653	34	24	91
38	39	Moscow State Law University named after O.E. Kutafin (MSUA)	2.644	42	19	56
39	34	Siberian State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation	2.633	37	36	63
40	40	Russian State Pedagogical University named after A. I. Herzen	2.534	38	73	36
41	36	St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University "LETI" V. I. Ulyanova (Lenin)	2.502	36	80	44
42	41	Russian State University for the Humanities	2.446	30	102	76
43	43	Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics	2.405	54	43	29
44	46	Northwestern State Medical University named after I.I. Mechnikov of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation	2.401	44	37	95
45	42	Voronezh State University	2.349	46	95	25
46	47	Altai State University	2.342	43	74	46
47	53	National Research Moscow State University of Civil Engineering	2.338	49	53	52
48	55	Kazan National Research Technical University named after A.N. Tupolev-KAI	2.310	47	71	49
49	52	Samara State Technical University	2.301	73	27	54
50	51	Samara State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation	2.271	57	34	85
51	50	Moscow State Technological University STANKIN	2.270	45	115	24
52	38	Tyumen Industrial University	2.262	63	22	103
53	49	Voronezh State Medical University named after N.N. Burdenko Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation	2.235	59	33	97
54	44	Russian University of Chemical Technology named after D.I. Mendeleev	2.225	40	119	38
55	69	Moscow Pedagogical State University	2.188	50	78	65
56	65	University "Dubna"	2.188	48	84	67
57	48	Ufa State Oil Technical University	2.184	65	38	92
58	60	National Research University "MIET"	2.179	52	87	43
59	59	Belgorod State National Research University	2.156	61	96	28
60	67	Belgorod State Technological University named after V.G. Shukhov	2.153	60	92	32
61	58	Moscow State University of Communications Emperor Nicholas II	2.071	76	35	108
62	56	National Research Mordovian State University named after N.P. Ogaryova	2.068	68	62	73
63	64	St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering	2.063	85	40	77
64	-	Moscow Automobile and Road Construction State Technical University (MADI)	2.055	66	77	60
65	76	Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University named after R.E. Alekseeva	2.053	117	28	61
66	57	South Ural State University (National Research University)	2.035	51	109	59
67	62	Ural State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation	2.022	69	50	105
68	54	Kazan National Research Technological University	2.013	75	91	42
69	66	Volgograd State University	2.011	78	76	50
70	63	Perm National Research Polytechnic University	1.987	91	67	47
71	78	Tomsk State Pedagogical University	1.984	80	69	69
72	79	Ryazan State Medical University named after Academician I.P. Pavlov Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation	1.974	72	51	111
73	85	Stavropol State Agrarian University	1.968	97	66	48
74	81	Kursk State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation	1.941	86	44	101
75	73	Volgograd State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation	1.935	67	63	123
76	61	Izhevsk State Technical University named after M.T. Kalashnikov	1.924	74	86	81
77	70	Omsk State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation	1.919	77	41	134
78	97	South Russian State Polytechnic University (NPI) named after M.I. Platova	1.919	102	54	70
79	68	Saratov National Research State University named after N.G. Chernyshevsky	1.891	94	121	22
80	-	Moscow Technological University	1.887	88	79	68
81	87	Saratov Medical University named after V.I. Razumovsky Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation	1.885	70	72	119
82	72	Altai State Technical University named after I.I. Polzunova	1.874	87	68	96
83	-	Petrozavodsk State University	1.868	84	90	71
84	92	Omsk State Technical University	1.866	89	57	102
85	96	Tyumen State University	1.863	83	82	90
86	-	Tambov State Technical University	1.859	58	105	107
87	-	Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov	1.850	53	114	116
88	84	Irkutsk National Research Technical University	1.833	110	75	58
89	-	Pyatigorsk State University	1.816	56	137	80
90	91

Interfax International Information Group presented the results of the IX annual National University Rankings for 2017/2018 school year.

NATIONAL RANKING OF UNIVERSITIES >>>

The Financial University improved its result by several points compared to last year and took 24th place.

In total, 288 leading Russian universities were evaluated within the rating (23 more than last year), including 29 national research universities, 10 federal, 33 flagship universities, as well as 21 universities participating in the 5-100 Project. The ranking also includes 7 leading non-state universities.

National ranking Interfax Universities 2018 is available on the official resources academia.interfax.ru and www.univer-rating.ru. Along with NRU, this year, for the first time, a ranking of cities in the Russian Federation based on the data of the Dimensions scientometric system by the level of publication activity in 2013-2017 was prepared for the first time.

About rating

The activities of universities are evaluated by six parameters on a 1000-point scale, the integral assessment is formed in six main areas: education, research, social environment, international and interregional cooperation, innovation and brand of the university. Based on each of the directions, six parametric private ratings are also published.

The sources of data are open materials on the activities of universities, personal data collected by Interfax experts, data from university monitoring conducted by the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, as well as the results of analysis conducted using the Comprehensive News Analysis System (SCAN-Interfax).

A special project of the international information group "Interfax" "National University Ranking" was launched in 2010 in order to develop and test new mechanisms for an independent system for evaluating Russian universities.

June 6th website - The Interfax International Information Group publishes the results of the VIII annual National University Rankings based on the results of the 2016/2017 academic year (NRU-2017).

The undisputed leader in the first place Russian education- Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov. The second place is taken by the National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" (NRNU MEPhI), the third place is taken by St. Petersburg State University (SPbGU). The fourth place was taken by the National Research University " graduate School Economics" (Higher School of Economics), the Novosibirsk National Research State University (NSU) closes the top five.

The top 10 also included: Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT, 6th place), St. Petersburg National Research University information technologies, mechanics named after optics (ITMO, 7th place), National Research Tomsk State University (TSU, 8th place), Russian University Friendship of Peoples (PFUR, 9th place) and National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU, 10th place).

As part of the ranking, 264 leading universities in Russia were evaluated, which is 26 universities more than in the last year's edition. The rating covers 21 participants of the 5-100 project, 29 national research universities (NRUs), 10 federal universities, as well as 33 flagship universities.

The full top 20 of the Interfax National University Ranking 2017, as well as six private rankings in the main areas of activity of universities, were published on Tuesday morning on the official website of the NRU.

Aleksey Chaplygin, editor of the National University Ranking, notes that Moscow State University has remained the unchanging leader since the rating was founded in 2010, while MEPhI retained its second place for the second year in a row thanks to high level international cooperation and work with high-tech business.

"NRNU MEPhI, by most criteria, corresponds to the level of a world-class university, despite the historically established closeness, which, largely due to participation in Project 5-100, is successfully overcome," A. Chaplygin noted.

He also noted the growth of the positions of St Petersburg University, which managed to rise from the fifth line to the third. Success is associated with high performance in research and innovation activities.

"It should be noted that it is some St Petersburg University graduates who are leaders in world-class high-tech start-ups, although they are developed in Silicon Valley," said A. Chaplygin.

Accelerated development is also demonstrated by one of the leaders in Russian education, the Higher School of Economics - HSE managed to get from 6th place to fourth position due to notable achievements in innovation and the development of technological entrepreneurship.

Another notable breakthrough was made by ITMO University, which rose from the 12th position to the seventh - also thanks to innovations and successful cooperation with business, A. Chaplygin added.

Belgorod State Technological University named after I.I. V.G. Shukhova (30th place). Southwestern State University made a breakthrough by 53 points (43rd place), Moscow State University managed to rise by 32 lines. technological university"Stankin" (35th place), Bashkir State University and Stavropol State agricultural university(50th and 47th positions, respectively).

The activities of universities are evaluated according to six parameters on a 1000-point scale, the integral assessment is formed in six main areas: education (20%), research (20%), social environment (15%), international and interregional cooperation (15%), innovation ( 15%) and the brand of the university (15%). Based on each of the directions, six parametric private ratings are also published.

The sources of data are open materials about the activities of universities, personal data collected by Interfax experts, monitoring data from universities of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, as well as the results of an analysis conducted using the Comprehensive News Analysis System (SCAN-Interfax).

We took as a basis "plums" about universities that users of our site send us. A drain is a detailed review of a university that goes through several stages of verification. The drain has a given characteristic. It can be positive, negative or neutral. We ask students, teachers, university staff, just people who know about the university from the inside to write us a mini-essay, which we call a “drain”. At the first stage of checking the "drains" are checked by the site editors. They weed out unreasonable, suspicious in our opinion reviews. If the review is approved by the site editor, the review is published in the “Typical Applicant” group. Members of the group determine by voting whether to trust this opinion or not. In the event that the number of votes “I don’t believe” exceeds the norm, we carefully read the comments on this publication and try to understand what exactly confused our readers. In a number of cases, we find reasoned comments explaining the dissatisfaction with the opinion. Next, we decide whether to take into account this drain in the assessment of the university or not. If a comment passes all the stages of verification, it turns into a "leak" and is taken into account in the formation of our rating. "Drain" has its own weight - the number of people who clicked on the "support" button. Thus, the ranking of a university depends not only on the number of positive, neutral or negative “leaks”, but also on the number of readers who supported this or that “leak”. Old plums have a worse effect on university rankings than new ones.

1…n– number of positive reviews
n+1…m– numbers of neutral reviews
m+1…t– numbers of negative reviews
1…t– all numbers of reviews
l i– number of likes for review number i
T- this year
t i– year of recall number i