Rankings of Universities and Power in the Digital Age

This paper will discuss one topic in the current debate on higher education： How power is exercised between universities？ How do colleges determine what the best college is？ What are the differences in the excersise of power in the digital age？ The authors analyze one of the mechanisms of relationship and contact between different universities： the rankings. They will discuss the practices that allow certain values and organizations they are becoming central nodes between universities and the influences of the information and communication technologies in the measurement mechanisms. The authors seek to show the rankings serve as mechanisms to exercise power among universities. These measurements become a tool and justification in competition between universities for resources such as funding, prestige, and student demand. The analysis is based on the University of Mexico, the authors use the ranking of the best universities in Latin America and the best universities in Mexico.