Calidad de las universidadesun índice sintético

Abstract

In this article we construct a ranking of the quality of Spanish Public Universities. Therefore we have developed a methodology that avoids subjective decisions, for example, the ad hoc assignment �some times deliberately� of the weight of each sub-index to calculate the general index that allows fine tuning for certain desired results. In this study a quality index for education and one for research of universities was created. Initially more than 100 variables were gathered. A Factor Analysis was applied to synthesise these variables in a few hypothetical non-observable indicators (factors). Each of them was used as a sub index. The quality index of education consists of 5 sub-indexes (based 18 variables). Also the quality index of the research activities consists of 5 sub-indexes, although in this case based on 14 variables. The global ranking of the quality of universities reflects the simple it is average of both indexes.