Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) has made significant strides in the Webometrics rankings for 2024. In the mid-year update, SMU broke into the top 3,000 globally, moving up from its previous rank of 3,058 to 2,869. This progress reflects SMU’s commitment to enhancing its digital presence and academic performance. On the local rankings, SMU moved up 2 places, to assume position 18 nationwide.
SMU’s improved ranking demonstrates the university’s growing influence and visibility in the global academic landscape. By actively participating in the ranking systems and increasing its online engagement, SMU has showcased its research output and institutional achievements to a broader audience. “This upward trajectory in the Webometrics rankings highlights SMU’s dedication to academic excellence and its ongoing efforts to strengthen its position in the digital arena. It not only elevates SMU’s recognition within the international academic community but also positions it as a competitive institution in the rapidly evolving digital landscape”, stated SMU Institutional Researcher, Mr Benjamin Ntshabele.
About Webometrics
Webometrics is a global ranking system developed by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), the largest public research organisation in Spain. Initially aimed at promoting web publication and supporting Open Access initiatives, Webometrics has evolved into a comprehensive tool for evaluating the digital presence and impact of universities worldwide. Webometrics emphasises a university’s overall online presence, offering a holistic view of institutional influence in the digital space. Webometrics ranks over 30,000 tertiary institutions worldwide, including universities, private institutes, and colleges, providing a broad analysis of global academic performance. The ranking system updates its results twice a year, offering universities an opportunity to track their progress and make improvements as needed. The primary objective of Webometrics is to measure the visibility, transparency, and excellence of higher education institutions (HEIs) by analysing the quality, quantity, and accessibility of their web content. Through this approach, Webometrics not only encourages universities to increase their digital engagement but also provides a broad perspective on their global standing in the academic community.
Webometrics Methodology
The Webometrics ranking system uses three core indicators to evaluate universities:
• Visibility (50% weighting): This indicator measures the number of external networks (subnets) linking to the institution’s web pages. The more external references a university has, the higher its visibility score, which reflects the global impact of its online presence.
• Transparency or Openness (10% weighting): This metric evaluates the number of citations from the top 310 authors at each university, excluding the top 30 outliers. This indicator is designed to assess the transparency of the institution’s academic contributions.
• Excellence (40% weighting): This component measures the number of papers published by the university that are among the top 10% most cited in their respective disciplines over the last five years. Excellence indicates the university’s research impact and academic quality.
The importance a good ranking
“Rankings increase the university’s visibility on the global stage and promotes initiatives geared towards internationalization, which is key to forging partnerships and networks amongst universities thus leading to cross-pollination in the academic space and the sharing of resources through students and staff exchange initiatives”, concludes Professor Bassy Marvey, Director of Institutional Planning and Quality Assurance at SMU.
