University Rankings Under Scrutiny – Open Access as a Performance Indicator, and Institutional Perspectives from Germany and the Netherlands
Dates
Date: 26.06.2026
Time: 10:00–12:30 CEST
Location: Online via Zoom
Language: English
Registration: https://uni-goettingen.zoom-x.de/meeting/register/V5l2ogCjSu-rzvk5E98U3w
Description
University rankings are shaping institutional strategy more than ever – but how well do they actually measure what matters? And what happens when Open Access becomes a performance indicator?
This interactive online workshop brings together professionals from German and Dutch universities to critically examine how rankings are constructed, how they are used in institutional decision-making, and how institutions can respond more strategically.
The workshop is primarily aimed at university management, research and ranking managers, library management staff, Open Access/Open Science officers, bibliometricians, and anyone working at the intersection of research evaluation, rankings and Open Access strategies.
Programme
Three brief presentations open up the discussion from complementary angles:
- Open Access as a Performance Indicator: Sophia Dörner (Göttingen State and University Library / OA Datenpraxis Project) presents findings on how university rankings incorporate Open Access as a comparative dimension, what data sources and methodological choices underlie these rankings, and what this means for institutions.
- Dutch Perspective on University Rankings and Lessons Learned from Universities Netherlands: Tung Tung Chan (Erasmus University Rotterdam) shares how Dutch institutions engage with university rankings and what lessons have been learned about working with and pushing back against ranking systems.
- German Perspective on University Rankings and Challenges identified by the service project on international university rankings of the German Rectors’ Conference: Dr. Sarah Spiegel (German Rectors’ Conference (HRK)) presents problems with university rankings identified through the HRK service project and their implications for German institutions.
Each input is followed by a discussion round, giving participants the opportunity to share their own experiences, compare practices across institutions, and exchange views on practical strategies for interpreting and responding to rankings.
Insights from the workshop will directly inform the creation of interpretation and intervention aids for institutional information management as part of the DFG-funded OA Datenpraxis project.
The interactive workshop is jointly organised by Sophia Dörner (Göttingen State and University Library, OA Datenpraxis), Sarah Spiegel (German Rectors’ Conference), Tung Tung Chan (Erasmus University Rotterdam) and Thed van Leeuwen (CWTS Leiden, BUA Research Fellow).