UVic-UCC once again tops the transparency ranking for private universities

The University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia once again tops the transparency ranking of Spanish private universities for the fourth consecutive - this year, tied with Nebrija University. This is the result of the 2019 Transparency Examination, which is organised by the Fundación Compromiso y Transparencia, and was announced last Monday.

This ranking examines the information that the 49 public and 26 private universities voluntarily publish on the website, about their staff, governance, board of trustees, their range of academic courses and the demand for them, and financial information and results, among other indicators.

UVic-UCC scored 47 points on a scale of 48, which shows compliance with 98% of the indicators evaluated. The University of Navarre is in third place, with 46 points.  The tendency of UVic-UCC in the ranking is clearly in the ascendant, as it was classified as a translucent university in 2015, and it has been considered a transparent university since 2016, and held first place for the last four years.

The report classifies universities as transparent, translucent and opaque. Although the number of private universities considered transparent has doubled from three to six this year, 42% of centres are still classified as opaque after 9 years of evaluation.

Among the public universities, the Rey Juan Carlos, Cantabria and Castilla-La Mancha lead the ranking, with a total of 51 points out of 54. The report concludes that although unprecedented levels of transparency have been achieved to date, some outstanding issues remain, such as accountability by boards of trustees.

UVic-UCC would be at the top of a single hypothetical ranking of both private and public universities, together with Nebrija University, with compliance with 98% of the indicators, while the leading public university, Rey Juan Carlos, would be in fourth place, with 94%, just behind the University of Navarre (96%).

According to the foundation that compiles it, the aim of this ranking is to promote good governance, transparency, accountability and the social impact of institutions.