Is US higher education the best in the world?

[Otto Kretschmer]

I often hear a claim that US universities are the best in the world, often backed up by lists like the Shanghai Ranking.

 

So, are they? 

This claim gets my inner skeptic on for a simple reason - they are not free unlike universities in my.country (Poland)

[CharonY]

It really depends on which level you are looking at it. Undergrad? Not so much. There can be differences in how the technical labs are equipped, though in the US (and elsewhere) labs are getting cut because of cost. This trend is less so in countries in which Universities are not funded by tuition. I will also add that having tuition as a significant part of the university budget often creates perverse incentives and often also leads to administrative bloat. Examples include having offices who are actively trying to recruit and attract students, which is largely absent in entirely publicly funded institutions. Likewise, there is more incentive for student retention, which is associated with higher grade inflation. From a student perspective the experience can be better as there is more support (incl. recruitment, accommodation, living space, guidance and career counseling, as well as easier to grieve grades). But it does not mean that the education is better (often the reverse, actually).

On the graduate level, that depends more on individual researchers than the university per se. I.e. individual profs can run successful groups regardless on which university they are working in. However, there are disparities between countries. The US provides quite a bit of funding for research, but there are quite differences between European countries. Highly ranked universities are often also flush with money and often support profs more with resources to establish successful research programs. 

That being said, there are many moderately or low ranked universities with good researchers and successful (research) graduate programs. Things are a bit iffier when the University primarily sees itself as a teaching university. There, Profs struggle to maintain a program as they get virtually no support (e.g. no lab space). They therefore rarely have successful programs in natural sciences (though they might have social science programs).

[iNow]

5 hours ago, Otto Kretschmer said:

So, are they? 

Depends entirely on how YOU define “best”

[Otto Kretschmer]

On 1/31/2024 at 10:23 PM, CharonY said:

It really depends on which level you are looking at it. Undergrad? Not so much. There can be differences in how the technical labs are equipped, though in the US (and elsewhere) labs are getting cut because of cost. This trend is less so in countries in which Universities are not funded by tuition. I will also add that having tuition as a significant part of the university budget often creates perverse incentives and often also leads to administrative bloat. Examples include having offices who are actively trying to recruit and attract students, which is largely absent in entirely publicly funded institutions. Likewise, there is more incentive for student retention, which is associated with higher grade inflation. From a student perspective the experience can be better as there is more support (incl. recruitment, accommodation, living space, guidance and career counseling, as well as easier to grieve grades). But it does not mean that the education is better (often the reverse, actually).

On the graduate level, that depends more on individual researchers than the university per se. I.e. individual profs can run successful groups regardless on which university they are working in. However, there are disparities between countries. The US provides quite a bit of funding for research, but there are quite differences between European countries. Highly ranked universities are often also flush with money and often support profs more with resources to establish successful research programs. 

That being said, there are many moderately or low ranked universities with good researchers and successful (research) graduate programs. Things are a bit iffier when the University primarily sees itself as a teaching university. There, Profs struggle to maintain a program as they get virtually no support (e.g. no lab space). They therefore rarely have successful programs in natural sciences (though they might have social science programs).

Why do you think so many US universities make it to top ranks?

[CharonY]

 

Quote

The US provides quite a bit of funding for research, but there are quite differences between European countries. Highly ranked universities are often also flush with money and often support profs more with resources to establish successful research programs. 

 

[Phi for All]

1 hour ago, Otto Kretschmer said:

Why do you think so many US universities make it to top ranks?

 

Quote

 

https://www.bestcolleges.com/news/analysis/2021/10/27/is-us-higher-education-still-the-best-in-the-world/

In the 2023 edition [Shanghai Rankings], eight of the top 10 institutions are American, as are 15 of the top 20. This representation is exactly the same as it was in 2003, when the rankings debuted.

What does such dominance mean? It certainly means America's best are considered among the world's best, at least by STEM-related standards. But are we the world's best system?

Bentley MacLeod and Miguel Urquiola, writing in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, aren't convinced. They point out that although the U.S. accounts for 40 of the top 100 universities in the Shanghai rankings and Spain accounts for zero, 83% of public Spanish universities appear in the top 1,000, while only 23% of all American institutions do.

 

Apparently it's not "so many" US universities that make it to the top ranks. 

[CharonY]

38 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

 

Apparently it's not "so many" US universities that make it to the top ranks. 

As I alluded to earlier, it is related to how funding (for teaching and research) is allocated, and in the US (but also Canada, and I believe UK) there is marked disparity in what universities get. Also in many publicly funded universities in Europe you lack many amenities (and sports teams), but in return you can study without getting into debt.

[Evelyn_Guglielmo]

On 1/31/2024 at 11:23 PM, CharonY said:

It really depends on which level you are looking at it. Undergrad? Not so much. There can be differences in how the technical labs are equipped, though in the US (and elsewhere) labs are getting cut because of cost. This trend is less so in countries in which Universities are not funded by tuition. I will also add that having tuition as a significant part of the university budget often creates perverse incentives and often also leads to administrative bloat. Examples include having offices who are actively trying to recruit and attract students, which is largely absent in entirely publicly funded institutions. Likewise, there is more incentive for student retention, which is associated with higher grade inflation. From a student perspective the experience can be better as there is more support (incl. recruitment, accommodation, living space, guidance and career counseling, as well as easier to grieve grades). But it does not mean that the education is better (often the reverse, actually).

On the graduate level, that depends more on individual researchers than the university per se. I.e. individual profs can run successful groups regardless on which university they are working in. However, there are disparities between countries. The US provides quite a bit of funding for research, but there are quite differences between European countries. Highly ranked universities are often also flush with money and often support profs more with resources to establish successful research programs. 

That being said, there are many moderately or low ranked universities with good researchers and successful (research) graduate programs. Things are a bit iffier when the University primarily sees itself as a teaching university. There, Profs struggle to maintain a program as they get virtually no support (e.g. no lab space). They therefore rarely have successful programs in natural sciences (though they might have social science programs). You can also consider online education. I remember once I had problems with English and I looked for help on the Internet. Used quite often https://essays.edubirdie.com/english-assignment-help as it is a great resource where real professionals work. I can confidently recommend it to you. Everything is done there quickly and qualitatively.

From a student's point of view, it is really quite convenient to study in the US. Thank you!

 

Edited March 27 by Evelyn_Guglielmo

[John Cuthber]

It seems that America isn't really "good" it's just "big".

There are (if Google is to be believed) about 5300 universities in the USA. About 200 are on the "top 1000" list. That's about 3.8%
There are 166 in the UK of which 25 are on the "top 1000" list which is about 15%
France has 71 of which 27 are on the Shanghai list. 38% is impressive.
Germany  is confusing.
 "a total of 423 higher education institutions in Germany, including 108 universities, 211 universities of applied sciences, 52 colleges of art and music, 30 colleges of public administration, 16 theological universities and 6 colleges of education."

[CharonY]

1 hour ago, John Cuthber said:

Germany  is confusing.

Of course it is. Germans like to categorize stuff and there is a distinction between applied sciences (which are often called Technische Hochschule) which usually includes areas such areas with applied training such as engineering, nursing etc. and "regular universities. 

[falkor1995]

I have to say the university of Hamburg is a wonderful university for people who need distance education and provides top notch education.  It really depends what you’re looking for,  at the end of the day though I feel nothing is stopping someone from getting a textbook on a subject,  you don’t need a degree to be educated in a subject.