Discipline Rankings and University Admission Attractiveness. Quasi-Natural Experimental Evidence from China.

Autor/inn/en	Wang, Tianjiao; Guo, Congbin
Titel	Discipline Rankings and University Admission Attractiveness. Quasi-Natural Experimental Evidence from China.
Quelle	In: Higher education policy, 39 (2026) 1, S. 182-306Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; gedruckt; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0952-8733; 1740-3863
DOI	10.1057/s41307-024-00380-1
Schlagwörter	Lehre; Studium; Hochschulsystem; Student; Ausland; China
Abstract	Attracting high-caliber students is a crucial goal in university development, and obtaining authoritative third-party quality disclosures may be an effective strategy. However, existing literature predominantly focuses on overall university rankings and lacks research on the vast higher education market in China. Utilizing a quasi-natural experiment opportunity provided by the disclosure of discipline rankings by the Chinese Ministry of Education, this study constructs a unique dataset comprising university admission information from 2014 to 2020, covering 1733 disciplines across 117 elite Chinese universities. Employing a two-way fixed effects model, the study empirically examines the impact of discipline rankings on university admission attractiveness. The results indicate that improvements in discipline rankings significantly enhance the appeal of universities to prospective students, while declines in rankings result in even greater losses. The findings remain robust across alternative specifications of core variables, additional control variables, and adjusted samples. Analysis of moderating mechanisms reveals that the impact of discipline rankings on attractiveness is significantly stronger for disciplines with higher reputations, while inceases in information quality costs diminish the value of ranking information. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).
Erfasst von	Hochschulrektorenkonferenz, Bonn
Update	2026/4