NIRF rankings explained: what the five parameters measure and how to read them

Every year, the Ministry of Education publishes the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings. Launched in 2015, with the first rankings published in 2016, NIRF ranks Indian higher-education institutions overall and in categories such as universities, colleges, engineering, management, medical, law, pharmacy and research.

The five parameters

NIRF scores each institution on five broad parameters. The weight each one carries varies by category.

1. Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR): student strength, faculty-student ratio, the share of faculty with PhDs, and financial resources and how they are used.
2. Research and Professional Practice (RP): publications, citations, patents and the quality of research output.
3. Graduation Outcomes (GO): how students do in university examinations, how many go on to higher studies, and placement and median salary data.
4. Outreach and Inclusivity (OI): diversity of students from other states and countries, representation of women, support for economically and socially challenged students, and facilities for students with disabilities.
5. Perception (PR): how employers, academics and the public view the institution, gathered through surveys.

Where the data comes from

Institutions submit data themselves through the NIRF portal, and much of it is published on the NIRF website. Research metrics are drawn from citation databases. Participation is voluntary for most institutions, so a college missing from the list may simply not have applied.

How to use the rankings sensibly

• Look beyond the overall rank. A college that ranks modestly overall may score very well on graduation outcomes, which is often what matters most to a student.
• Download the institution's submitted data. NIRF publishes it, and it includes figures such as median salaries and the number of students placed. Compare those directly.
• Check the right category. An engineering student should look at the engineering list, not the overall list, which favours large research universities.
• Compare over several years. One year's movement can reflect small changes in data or method.

NIRF, NAAC and NBA: what is the difference?

Students often see three sets of letters on college websites. They measure different things:

• NIRF is a ranking. It compares institutions against each other every year using data they submit.
• NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) gives accreditation to an institution as a whole, with a grade, after a peer review. Accreditation lasts several years.
• NBA (National Board of Accreditation) accredits individual programmes, mostly in engineering, management and other technical fields. An NBA-accredited B.Tech programme has met set standards for curriculum, faculty and outcomes.

A college can be NAAC-accredited and have some NBA-accredited programmes without appearing in NIRF at all.

How to read placement data

The NIRF data each institution submits includes the number of students placed and the median salary for each programme. The median, the middle value when all salaries are lined up, is more useful than the "highest package" colleges advertise, because a single large offer can make the average look much better than what a typical student gets. Also look at how many students went on to higher studies, which can be a good outcome too.

A checklist before you choose

1. Is the institution recognised? Check that it is listed by the UGC (for universities) or approved by the relevant regulator, such as AICTE for technical courses. The UGC publishes a list of fake universities every year.
2. Is the programme accredited? Look for NBA accreditation for technical courses.
3. Compare median salaries and placement numbers from NIRF data, not brochures.
4. Check the faculty. How many teachers hold PhDs, and how many are permanent?
5. Work out the full cost, including hostel, transport and exam fees, and check scholarships.
6. Talk to current students and recent graduates.

Rankings do not decide admissions

A college's NIRF rank does not affect how you get in. Admission to most engineering colleges, including the IITs and NITs, depends on entrance exam scores and counselling processes such as JoSAA. Medical seats are allotted through NEET counselling, and many universities admit through CUET scores. Use NIRF to shortlist and compare, then follow each institution's official admission process.

Be careful with other "rankings" you see in advertisements. Some are produced by private publications whose methods are not public, and a few let institutions pay for listings. NIRF's method and data are published openly by the Ministry of Education, which makes it easier to check.

What NIRF does not tell you

Rankings cannot capture everything. They say little about teaching quality in a specific department, campus life, location, fees or the strength of a particular course. A strong institution can have a weak department, and the reverse is also true.

Use NIRF together with an institution's accreditation status, such as its NAAC grade or NBA accreditation for programmes, conversations with current students, and the official placement reports institutions publish.