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University rankings are flawed
This year’s Shanghai Ranking league table for universities shows France lagging behind much of the rest of the world, with just three institutions in the top 100.
However it is partly explained by the fact the system is different in France.
US universities dominate the table, with Harvard coming top, but head of the Conférence des Présidents d’Université, Gilles Roussel, told FranceInfo the judging focused on university research achievements but ignored the preference in France of splitting teaching universities and research groups.
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Paris Pierre-et-Marie-Curie university was No40 and Paris-Sud university No41 followed by École Normale Supérieure in Paris at 69. However, Mr Roussel said research groups such as CNRS still attract some of the world’s best doctoral and post-doctoral individuals, who “continue to reach the highest level in many subject areas”.
In France, Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur rankings look at student pass rates, with Angers University top on 58.7%, although this is on figures based on the 2013 intake of students.
