ABSTRACT
The successful growth of the various global higher education ranking systems can be attributed to a context of increasing internationalisation as a response to globalisation, marketisation, rapid expansion of higher education, increased privatisation of higher education and consumerism. In addition, the growth in communication technology has allowed higher education institutions to transcend their national boundaries and has enabled global comparison between institutions. Elite universities particularly have the desire to be recognised as prestigious. This is fuelled by universities that are becoming increasingly financially motivated due to increased competition for funding and the fact that the current performance driven culture of higher education is based on increased accountability to both global and local financial actors.
