The Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) presented a ranking of the English websites of 47 Russian and 11 international universities. Tomsk State University climbed 7 positions upward and entered the top 3 universities with the best English versions of their sites.
RIAC experts evaluated the quality of English sites on 108 parameters, combined in 16 semantic units, including information about the university, its history, mission, and strategic objectives; opportunities for admission and educational programmes; structure, management, and staff; the library, science, news, graduates, careers, and the social life of the university; its main indicators; information for international partners; and contacts. The ranking included federal universities, research universities, and universities with strong training in foreign languages or targeted at international audiences. The Higher School of Economics tops the list, and the second-ranked is ITMO.
- The TSU English site is based on the Russian version, so it is our common achievement, - explains Maria Kochetkova, the editor of the English version and an employee of the Department of Information and Communication. - We understand the importance of adapting information for English-speaking users, so we like to utilize a native speaker, Jean Kollantai, a TSU staff member, who really helps us to make texts understandable and attractive for the international audience. Also, we are constantly working on improving the usability, accessibility, and friendliness of the site, moderating it on the recommendations of experts.
- A site is such a “robot” that it needs to be programmed for a long time, it needs to be constantly improved, but when it reaches a certain degree of maturity, we can rely on it, - comments Artyom Rykun, Vice-Rector for International Affairs. - Today the English version of the site works productively, but we constantly check it with international students and university guests. Our consultant Eva Burbo analyzes the needs of international students and monitors how the best international universities work with their sites.
RIAC notes that the growth in the ranking was shown by the universities that occupied high positions last year - during the year they actively developed their English-language Internet resources. Experts also made recommendations for the further development of the sites.