Imploring the Gap Between Top Ranked Global Universities and Jiangsu University & the University of Nairobi with the Aim of De-gaping Through Addressing These Disparities

Abstract

Higher education institutions (HEIs) employ varying parameters to increase their assessment and consideration as institutions of choice for learners and competitiveness in comparison to other institutions offering similar content output. All institutions of higher Education gear towards growing their capacity in both qualitative and quantitative domains as they seek to change positively the society within and without the HEIs jurisdiction. The growing need for visibility and demand for higher education has left many higher education institutions with a mirage of challenges on how to improve access while maintaining quality. This research focused broadly on; ranking determinants and development of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), and the impact and inter-relational effects the determinants of academic quality postulates on academic quality development, while comparatively critiquing the academic dynamics for University of Nairobi (UON) & Jiangsu University (UJS). Specifically, and regarding the ranking systems, academic quality of UJS and UON, certain contemporary study design guided current study. The depth, quality and reliability of ranking determinants as the nature of HEIs internal quality assessment and external visibility is investigated as it largely underscores on the nature and weight of ranking variances implored by the various ranking systems of HEIs a midst their developmental antecedents under higher academia to underscore the comparative significance, directions and (inter)-correlational characteristics amid UJS & UON’s contemporary higher education variances in their process of academic developmental antecedents and process. The research then delves at the impact of key parameters (teaching, research, attitude, performance and internationalization) on changing the academic quality of UON and UJS and on a comparative domain, finally the study tackles the effects of inter-relational associations of key parameters to the academic quality at both vertical and cross-section analogy in a bid to address their relevance and effects of academic quality and collaboration amid UON and UJS. The methodological underpinning implied to actuate the objectives is mixed in approach. Its qualitatively intensive where the quality and reliability of ranking systems is delved from a review process of the relevant literature concerning HEI’s, while an intensive-descriptive to qualitative review technique is implied resulting to a critical analysis of relevant literature. The study compares and contrasts the ranking variances for UON & UJS higher academia being quantitative intensive and integrated in approach while using primary data to quantify the fact that there exist variances and impacts amid the higher academia of UON & UJS.