ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with public policy in Russia and China show very clearly, governments are not immune to the allure of rankings as an efficient, third-party means of evaluation of the performance of universities. In Latin America, global university rankings are often met with skepticism by leaders of the most established universities. The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC) is one of the six Catholic universities in the Chilean university system. Espeland and Sauder describe two mechanisms that induce the phenomenon: self-fulfilling prophecy and commensuration. On one hand, its primary mission is to achieve excellence in the creation and transfer of knowledge and in education, inspired by the Catholic Church and at the service of society. Students are evaluated solely on the basis of their academic performance, with no consideration given to their socioeconomic status. The Becas Chile international graduate scholarships program is the only case in Chile of public policy based on university rankings.
