Multi-criteria approach to identify homogeneous groups of universities considering their traditional missions

The growing diversity of higher education systems worldwide highlights the need for methodologies that classify universities based on their traditional missions, enabling a better understanding of their socio-economic impact. Given their specialization in teaching and research, the identification of homogeneous groups of universities seems vital for more effective benchmarking and policy planning. This paper applies a novel multi-criteria approach to classify universities according to their performance in these core missions. The multiple reference point composite indicator technique is employed to assess overall performance, constructing composite indicators for each mission and period considered. Empirical results demonstrate the importance of establishing comparable groups for university leaders when comparing performance effectively, which promotes informed strategic decision-making and long-term monitoring. As a proof of concept, the proposed methodology is applied to the Spanish public universities, using twenty performance indicators classified into six dimensions and two main missions. The results show that grouping by period gives rise to three homogeneous groups that remain stable over the time horizon, with some improvements among universities with moderate performance. On the other hand, grouping by mission shows that Spanish public universities perform similarly in teaching, forming only two groups. In contrast, the mission of research and industrial income shows greater diversity, with three clearly differentiated groups. Finally, this paper provides useful information for university leaders, administrators and policymakers by suggesting new methodologies to promote and foster the socio-economic development of Spanish public universities in their respective territories.