Data and knowledge production

This document details a framework on the collection and use of relevant, comparable and quality data to support effective policymaking in higher education. It starts by providing a summary account of the availability of international data and indicators based on official sources, and then considering other sources of data as well. In doing so it identifies that international data on Higher Education (HE) is a particularly weak area both in terms of the most basic elements we might consider (enrolments, graduated, financing, etc.), and as compared to the availability of data for compulsory schooling. The weakness of international official statistics becomes more evident given the expansion of other sources of data (mainly rankings of institutions) that constitute, by themselves, a controversial area.