Comparative Assessment of Global and Local Ranking of Higher Education Institutions

National and international rankings are gaining attention and popularity, and not necessarily for academic reasons. Media, academic groups and the governments have indulged in various ranking efforts for various reasons. Media rankings are guided by 'what sells in the market' rather than the rigorous quality assurance practices of academic bodies (Stella A., Woodhouse D., 2006). The leading European economists emphasise that the education system, which ensures an effective and equal result, is a significant contribution to the economic growth and social cohesion. From the economists' point of view on the education quality, such notions as effectiveness and availability are the features describing quality. Opportunities of equal quality education become more significant in the education policy of Europe and most of the other developed countries. It has also to be admitted that the equality of achievements is a more complicated notion than the availability of education. Education quality and equally high achievements in the entire country are most likely to impact positively on the overall economic growth. Therefore, the research aim is to assess global and local university rankings and to draw parallels with the national ranking of Latvia. The authors conclude that rankings are aimed at the improvement of the HEI performance, study process, study quality and other aspects. However, no ranking is perfect and practically there are no at least two rankings that are comparable due to different methodologies and indicators applied when developing ranking.