The Dhaka Tribune-Bangla Tribune Private University Rankings 2017 considered two key components when assessing each institution: factual data and perceptual data.
The factual data was collected from the information the universities are required to send to the University Grants Commission (UGC) every year.
The perceptual data was collected from respondents from the academic circle and employers in various organisations who took part in the study.
To calculate the final grading, the two sources were then combined with 60% weight given to the perceptual score and 40% to the factual score. Less weight was given to factual data because the information from the UGC was only valid up to 2014, and many of the universities were not able to share their latest information with the research team conducting the rankings study.
Point allocation
Considering the local context, the challenge was to come up with appropriate indicators or variables under the factual and perceptual components before starting the survey.
A set of variables was reached following discussions with education experts and research organisations in neighbouring countries who are familiar with this sort of work.
This preliminary idea was then shared with experienced university education experts through workshops and necessary amendments were made. The final list of variables can be seen in the adjoining table.
The factual and perceptual components were measured on a scale of 100. Weighted points were allocated to the variables under each of the components depending on their importance. As faculty was found to be the most important process input, it was allocated 50 points with the remaining 50 points distributed among the other inputs.
Data collection
Perceptual data was collected from two sources: academics including university deans, department heads, registrars and senior teachers; and employers who are the human resource managers of organisations that employ university graduates. Data from 300 academics and employers were collected through a mix of face-to-face interviews and self completion forms.
For factual data, the selected universities were formally approached to provide necessary information in a prescribed form. However, as only a few responded positively, the data published by the UGC for the year 2014 (latest data at the time of the study) was used.
Seemingly inconsistent or abnormal data in the UGC report was verified with the relevant university officials and corrected as necessary. In some cases, data was validated through physical visits, especially in case of ready space used for academic and administrative purposes.
Score calculation and ranking method
Factual- Factual information for each university was put into the scale or ratio, as appropriate, against each of the indicators. The outliers were detected using the Tukey’s fences method, setting 1.75 IQR. The ratios converted to points according to the score table.
Perceptual- The Perceptual Score was calculated separately for academic and employer respondents, and then combined to arrive at the total score.
The final ranking was made by combining the perceptual and factual scores, with a weight ratio of 60:40 respectively. Hence, the scores for all the universities were on a 100-point scale.
Scope of study
There are currently 83 private universities in Bangladesh, however not all 83 universities were considered. The 15 universities blacklisted by the government have not been included in the study.
Also excluded are about 20 universities that started their academic activities after 2012 and have not yet held a convocation.
Universities that offer degrees in only one subject - such as engineering, business, agriculture or English - and those that do not offer an honours degrees, have also been excluded.
Finally, universities which are not governed by the Private University Act, for instance, the Asian University for Women, were also not assessed.
