从索引到衡量办学水平：对唯ESI误导我国大学办学的省思

From Literature Index to School Level Index: A Critical Thinking of Misguidance of ESI-orientation to University-running in China

当前,大学办学"唯ESI现象"大行其道,包括ESI排名在内的各种排行严重干扰大学的改革发展。通过对ESI的本质、局限和办学唯ESI现象的考察可以发现,本质为引文索引工具的ESI逐渐演变成衡量我国大学办学水平的关键指标,是通过排行榜或行政部门将ESI作为大学排名或学科评估的核心指标来实现的。"唯ESI"正误导着大学办学,主要体现在大学办学被"化约"为ESI,大学学科专业增减以ESI为导向及大学发展陷入ESI"一言堂"。典型后果是大学职能的严重窄化及边缘化、大学办学的趋同化、大学办学结构的畸形化及大学办学的表面化。若不及时调整,或将对我国大学办学水平造成严重危害。走出"唯ESI现象"必须标本兼治:从根源上深化高等教育评价体制改革,从路径上探索扎根中国大地以人才培养为核心的大学分类管理,从常识上遵循古德哈特定律。

Over enthusiastic attention to university ranking leads to the current widespread "ESI-orientation" of university running in China. A thorough examination of the essence and limitations of ESI and the consequences of ESI-orientation in university running yields the following findings: ESI is essentially a literature index. The reason of expropriating this literature index to be a key indicator of university level is because of university rankings and school administration employing ESI to be a vital indicator of evaluating and ranking school level. ESI orientation is now misguiding university running in China. For instances, school running is simplified to be ESI;ESI dominates the additions or deletions of disciplines and specialties;consequently, university running becomes completely ESIdominated. The main functions of university are severely narrowed and marginalized. And the universities are losing their own characteristics and becoming more and more identical. The discipline structure of universities is malformed. An irreversible damage is undergoing if no action to be taken. Getting rid of the damage of ESI-orientation needs treatment of both deep causes and superficial performances: deepen reformation of higher education evaluation mechanism;explore diverse university management by sorting out different talentdemands of the society;intuitionally, following the Goodhart’s Law.