Diversity, Rankings and Their Determinants – General Issues and Poland’s Experience

Abstract

The article aims to answer several key questions, namely: What does
diversity in higher education concern? What is the relationship between
diversity and university rankings – do and what dimensions of higher education
diversity create favorite conditions for reaching high positions in rankings?
What is the role of competition on the one hand and government policy on
the other hand in maintaining or upgrading a position in rankings? What
other conditions of the functioning of universities are crucial for diversity
and the improvement of productivity and scientific quality? And last but
not least, in what conditions do the Polish universities function and what
should be done to upgrade their positions in the global rankings and maintain
their diversity? The answers to these questions are surprising and have great
utilitarian importance.