Top of the Class Yet Again: How IISc Bangalore Secured the 2024 NIRF Ranking Crown

Last Updated on August 13, 2024

On Tuesday, August 13, the 2024 NIRF rankings were announced, and once again, IISc Bangalore has claimed the top spot. The premier institution considered an academic haven for brilliant minds from all across the country, has now seen itself maintain its position as the best in class for the 9th consecutive year. As we reflect on this remarkable achievement–the brainchild of the munificence and vision of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, it is natural to wonder how such rankings are determined and the factors that contribute to them. And that is exactly what we aim to do today—albeit in a crisp and succinct manner (it was definitely not easy, trust me, ladies and gentlemen!) 

However, before we go down the deep end, it is essential for us to first grasp the basics of the National Institutional Ranking (or NIRF as we know it) and its overall purpose.  

So, what is the National Institutional Rankings Framework? 

The NIRF as we know today, was established as a means to bring clarity and quality to India’s expansive higher education system. Evaluating institutions amidst the growing number of universities and colleges, the NIRF provides a structured benchmark–accessing educational quality by focusing on key areas such research productivity, teaching resources, graduation outcomes, outreach and institutional perception. 

The framework, therefore, helps not only gauge institutional performance but also assist them in enhancing their overall global standing. All that said, while the NIRF has remained fairly constant in all these years, 2024 saw the evaluation criteria expanded to include 16 categories, including adding three new ones, namely state universities, skill universities and open universities. 

So, with all that said, and with our initial bases covered, let us now discuss the parameters and metrics that go into ranking universities, albeit in a succinct and lucid manner. (P.S. We will not be discussing colleges universities here, as that would constitute a separate topic in its entirety. Ah well, maybe for another day!)

Summary of Ranking Parameters for Ranking Universities

According to the Methodology for ranking of Universities and Colleges in India, published by the Department of Higher Education, under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the ranking parameters are evaluated on a total score of 500. The classifications within them include: 

Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR): 

This assessment for institutions, with a ranking weight of 0.30, evaluates four key metrics: 

1. Faculty to Student Ratio (FSR): Focuses on the ratio of permanent faculty to students. 
2. Faculty Qualifications and Experiences (FQE): Measures faculty with Ph.D. and relevant experience. 
3. Library and Laboratory Facilities (LL): Assesses expenditure of library resources, and laboratory maintenance. 
4. Sports and Extra-curricular Activities (SEC): Evaluates facilities, budget and achievements in sports and extra-curriculars. 

Research Productivity, Impact and IPR (RPII): 

This assessment, with a ranking weight of 0.40, evaluates institutions on three core metrics:

1. Publications: Evaluates faculty publications indexed over the last three years. 
2. Citations: Assesses the total number of citations for publications over the past three years. 
3. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR): Considers patents and designs filed, granted and licensed over three years. 

Graduation Outcome (GO): 

This assessment, with a ranking weight of 0.05, evaluates two key metrics: 

1. University Examinations (UE): Measures the percentage of students graduating on time (must have atleast 80% of students graduating within time).
2. Public Examinations (PE): Assesses the success rate of students in exams like UPSC, GATE, NET etc. The data is gather from public examination bodies for verification. 

Outreach and Inclusivity (OI):

This assessment, with a ranking weight of 0.15, evaluates the following five metrics: 

1. Continuing Education and Services (CES): Assesses outreach programs offered by the institution, with marks being based on participation over three years. 
2. Regional Diversity (RD): Evaluates the percentage of students admitted from other states and countries, averaged over three years. 
3. Women students and Faculty (WS): Measures the percentage of women students, faculty and leaders within the institution. 
4. Economically and Socially Disadvantaged Students (ESDS): Assesses the percentage of disadvantaged students admitted over three years. 
5. Facilities for Differently Abled Persons (DAP): Evaluates the provision for infrastructures and aids for the differently abled students and faculty. 

Finally, Perception (PR): 

An important criterion, this assessment, with a ranking weight of 0.10, consists of two main components:

1. Process for Peer Rating (PR): Evaluates institutional reputation through a survey of academics, institutional heads, HR and other stakeholders. 
2. Application to Seat Ratio (SR): Measures the ratio of student applications to available seats across all UG and PG Programs. 

So there you have it–a brief rundown of all the essential parameters and metrics that go into determining the ranking of a university with the NIRF rankings. And with a score of 83. 29, there is no wonder the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, leads among the top-ranked universities in this year’s exclusive list. That said, join us as we next discuss the important parameters and metrics that go into measuring the ranking of India’s top College Universities. In the meantime, you can check out our blog for more such stories related to every study related–both in India and Abroad!