Abstract

During this past decade, academic life in universities has undergone substantial changes, not only in the increase in the consumption of all types of media by students, but also in the attention paid by the media to universities. Formerly, academic life and especially the competition for prestige among universities were of interest to a small sphere of people in academia. This is no longer the case. Today the publication of university rankings is widely covered by the media. The media coverage of universities’ rankings and qualities has become so vigorous that some governments have increased higher education budgets with the direct aim of improving their countries’ universities rankings.

Keywords: higher education, public institution, industrial revolution, private institution, private ownership