Measuring quality and sustainability in higher education: an analysis using university rankings

Purpose This study aims to examine how national higher education systems and institutional strategies foster high-quality education and promote societal impact. By analyzing country and university outcomes in the QS World University Ranking (QSWUR) and QS Sustainability Ranking (QSS), it explores how governance, research capacity, institutional collaboration and diversity are associated with university performance in both academic excellence and sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Cross-sectional analysis of 436 universities in 48 countries using mixed-effects models and bootstrapped ordinary least squares regressions. Findings Countries with regulatory governance perform better in both academic and sustainability rankings, though most variation occurs at the university level (93% in QSWUR; 73% in QSS). Research output is the strongest predictor. Industry collaboration contributes to academic scores, while open-access publishing negatively affects both rankings. Gender equity improves academic performance only when women’s authorship exceeds 29%, indicating that greater representation is needed for positive effects. Research limitations/implications Findings are limited to the QSWUR and QSS. Further research is needed to assess whether results apply to other ranking systems. Practical implications This study offers insights into improving university performance in global rankings, by prioritizing high-quality research, fostering industry collaboration, advancing gender equity and strengthening internal governance within supportive national regulatory environments. Social implications The negative effect of open-access publishing suggests that current rankings may undervalue practices that promote public access to knowledge. This study also highlights structural barriers to gender equity, as most universities fall below the threshold where women’s research contributions begin to positively affect performance. Originality/value This study advances existing research by analyzing how both country- and institutional-level factors are associated with university rankings in traditional academic and sustainability domains. This study offers practical guidance for improving performance while advancing sustainable development goals.