jordan pulse -

By Ghada Al-Khuli

‘Play or quit!’ — that’s how many describe the sudden withdrawal of the University of Jordan and Jordan University of Science and Technology from the Times Higher Education world ranking — just three days before the results were due. The move baffled the academic community and raised a flood of questions: was it a protest against the criteria or an escape from an unfavourable outcome?

Both universities justified their decision as a “principled stand” against changes in the ranking methodology — as if they had just discovered that Times updates its system. But the obvious question remains: why now? And why after fully participating?

Ironically, the universities claim to defend “academic fairness,” while many insiders whisper that some institutions are informed of their results before publication — suggesting the withdrawal came after leaks about their expected positions, not before.

As for the argument about the “paid subscription system,” it only exposes deeper administrative confusion. Yarmouk University, despite financial struggles, climbed from rank 1200 to 600 through genuine research efforts — not money or PR campaigns. Yarmouk didn’t pay; it published.

Global rankings aren’t perfect, true, but they’re not scapegoats for academic decline either. When research output drops and publication rates fall, pulling out of the rankings looks less like principle and more like fear of the scorecard.

The University of Jordan already withdrew from the Shanghai Ranking — and now from Times. So, is the problem with the system, or with the performance?

Perhaps it’s time to stop arguing with the mirror — and start improving the reflection.

Recent Times data reportedly placed:

Applied Science and Ahliyya at 401–500

Jordan and Yarmouk at 601–800

German Jordanian and JUST at 801–1000


Notably, the University of Jordan and Amman Ahliyya were set to co-host the Arab Universities Ranking Ceremony on 26–27 next month — making their sudden withdrawal all the more puzzling.