Webometric ranking as a tool to assess the performance of universities

Nowadays the rankings of higher education institutions are an important component of the world educational services market. They have firmly established themselves in the life of modern universities and their influence has assumed a global character. The ratings are in demand and easy to use as a tool to compare the universities’ work in the conditions of increasing competition in the world scientific and educational space. There is a wide practice to rank universities in most world countries. The Russian universities’ participation in world rankings has become a “matter of prestige”. The article gives a brief overview of the formation of ratings as an information and analytical tool in the assessment of educational institutions. It discusses one of the recognized global rankings (Ranking Web of World Universities) in detail. It tries to determine the position of the Russian Federation and Russian universities in this rating and outline the prospects for further development and appropriate readjustment of universities’ web policies. On the basis of the analysis the author proposes general guidelines for the universities to position on the Internet and enhance their websites. The article proves that the universities should carry out systematic and active work to strengthen and improve their positions in the global rankings of universities.