Perceived quality factors in higher education

What does it mean to be 'excellent', particularly for the higher education institution? Without a definitive answer to that question, university rankings have become a proxy for quality and excellence. As such, higher education institutions are continually seeking ways to improve their rankings, with the implication being that these rankings measure which universities are most excellent. Upper administrators from public four-year higher education institutions in the United States were surveyed regarding their perceptions of factors they considered most important when assessing quality in the higher education institution. Respondents rated graduation and retention as the most important indicator of quality. Survey results were further compared to methodologies of the US News and World Report rankings, Times Higher Education World University Rankings and Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings and found that the perceived quality factors identified by survey respondents did not align with methodologies for any of these three rankings.