Abstract:
University rankings have become a standard criterion of characterising higher
institutions of learning irrespective of their specialisation, be it social sciences,
natural sciences, health sciences or technology. The most highly ranked institutions
worldwide are based on the same criteria despite the area of specialty and the
geographical location. Higher institutional rankings are mainly based on pedagogy,
strategic placement, research output in terms of publications, academic staff-student
ratio, international linkage or partnerships, management of technological resources,
and the existing human and infrastructural resources. This article attempts to
address the possible ways to enhance research in developing institutions with a
case study of Busitema University, Uganda. We propose the Busitema University
Research (BUR) Model that can be used to analyse why the performance of higher
institutions of learning (HIL) should be ranked based on the criteria of institutional
research output (IRO). A survey was also conducted from 29 respondents and the
data was analysed using Spreadsheet. From the generated results, it was established
that the quality of academic staff highly determines the research output and thereby
the increased university ranking. The results also formed the basis of the BUR Model
development. The developed model will further be tested during a comprehensive
study involving different HIL, especially in computing their respective institutional
research index and rankings.
Keywords: Higher institutions of learning; Institutional research index; Institutional
research output; Research model; University ranking.
