IISc ranks below Saveetha, Galgotias on THE's research quality score. What's wrong?

A private medical and technical institute from Chennai just outscored two Ivy League universities on Times Higher Education's research-quality pillar.

In the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings released on September 30, Saveetha Institute scored 95.1 on that measure. Cornell got 94.7 and Columbia 94.9.

Meanwhile, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), the country's top-ranked university overall by THE, sits 65th among 143 Indian institutions on the same metric.advertisement❮❯ Read Full StoryTHE RANK THAT FELLIISc leads India at joint 254th globally as per the THE 2027 rankings. That is a drop from the 201–250 band it occupied in each of the previous three editions. Only three Indian institutes made the global top 500: IISc, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (326 to 350) and Shoolini University (451 to 500).

Look at IISc's scores and the problem jumps out. It scored 62.1 in teaching, 58.6 in research environment and a striking 98.0 in industry. Research quality came in at 51.5, its second-weakest pillar after international outlook (31.1). Yet it is the biggest slice of THE's formula, worth 30 points out of 100 in the overall score. IISC Metrics (Photo: timeshighereducation.com) THE 30% PROBLEMCheck out the ranks and research quality scores of some of the institutes in India placed above IISc:

Galgotias University scored 67 and ranks 23rd. Amity University Noida scored 76.9 and ranks 12th. Both beat IISc.

On research environment (a different metric deciding THE rankings), which covers funding and reputation, IISc leads India at 58.6.

IISc's research environment score is the highest among Indian institutions in the table, but its research quality score is much lower. The contrast shows that the two THE pillars are measuring different things: research environment is driven largely by reputation, income and productivity, while research quality is based on bibliometric measures of research impact.

If you sort the THE 2027 table by research quality, IISc sits at 65th, flanked by universities ranked hundreds of places below it in the overall rankings. IISc flanked by lower-ranked institutes in THE World University Rankings 2027 (sorted by research quality in India) (Photo: timeshighereducation.com) RESEARCH QUALITY vs RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT IN THE RANKINGS

Research quality and research environment are the two of the biggest parameters based on which THE ranks institutes.

Research quality (carries 30 points) asks how much the world uses a university's work, through four citation-based measures led by citation impact (15 of the 30 points).

Research environment (carries 29 points) asks whether the university has the setup to do research, based on reputation (18 of its 29 points), research income and papers per faculty member.

IISc leads in the research environment metric partly because that pillar is mostly reputation (18 of 29 points), which a 100-plus-year-old institution builds over decades. It trails on research quality, which is mainly a citation-based pillar, and citation-based systems can be vulnerable to manipulation, including self-citation and coordinated citation practices.A PATTERN WE HAVE SEEN BEFORE

This is not a one-off issue. India Today's earlier analysis of the QS rankings found private universities scoring on sheer output while stronger public institutions slip. The THE table shows the same pattern. The same names keep rising in India's rankings, and the common thread is volume.

Since its founding in 2011, Galgotias University has filed 2,297 patent applications by 2024-25, more than IIT Bombay, Madras or Kanpur. Only 24 were granted, about 1%. In February, it was asked to leave the India AI Impact Summit after showing a Chinese-made robot dog as its own work.

Three of the top 10 Indian academic patent applicants (as per the Intellectual Property of India Annual Report 2024-25) are also in THE's 2027 top five for research quality -- Saveetha Institute, Graphic Era University and Lovely Professional University. Source: Intellectual property of India Annual Report 2024-25

Retractions tell a similar story. For the first time, six Indian universities are among the world's top 10 for research paper retractions in 2025, according to the Retraction Watch database. Five years ago, China dominated this list.

Saveetha Institute ranks 3rd globally with 159 retractions, and Lovely Professional University (LPU) ranks 6th with 98 (data till February 2026). Yet THE has placed both among India's top five for research quality, at 1st and 4th.

Achal Agrawal, founder of India Research Watch, said: "Many of the institutes doing well in research quality also have some of the highest numbers of retractions in the world."

Then there is VIT Vellore. It was India's 8th-highest patent filer among academic institutions in 2024-25 and also ranked 12th in the world for retractions, with 48 retractions (data till February 2026). THE's 2027 rankings do not list it.

A high number of retractions does not automatically mean that all research from an institution is unreliable. But the concentration of retractions among some high-output institutions raises a separate research-integrity question that citation-based rankings may not capture directly.WHY IT'S POSSIBLE TO GAME THE METRIC

The biggest piece of research quality is citation impact, worth 15 of the 30 points. It measures how often a university's papers are cited, adjusted for field and year.

THE's Chief Global Affairs Officer Phil Baty admits this average can be skewed by outliers at universities with fewer publications and is open to active manipulation.

Institutional self-citation and coordinated citation practices can also affect citation-based measures, making a small or fast-growing university post a number that looks elite.

THE itself has now acknowledged that citation impact can be vulnerable to active manipulation and statistical outliers. (AI-generated image) PROMISED CHANGES FOR 2028

On September 30, Phil Baty announced changes for the 2028 edition, due in autumn 2027. THE plans to cap institutional self-citations and reduce the weight of citation impact from the 2028 edition.

Thresholds will be explained "in the coming months," followed by public debate.

Achal welcomes the step but not the pace. He says he has been following up with THE to improve their metrics for a couple of years now.

His bigger worry is timing. Universities have a full year of notice, so those gaming the metrics have ample time to change their modus operandi, and he doubts the changes will move much.

He also notes the announcement says nothing on a retractions penalty, which he calls the clearest signal of research integrity problems.

Achal argues that institutions with heavy retraction records should face a separate penalty rather than simply having retracted papers removed from the bibliometric dataset. THE said in October 2025 that retracted papers are already filtered out of its analysis. THE BOYCOTT QUESTION

Seven IITs (Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee) opted out of the rankings in 2020, citing transparency and ranking parameters. BITS Pilani followed in January 2026, citing transparency, methodological rigour and the need for verifiable benchmarking. It said it would return if the framework improved.

The impact is visible in this year's table. With most of India's strongest engineering schools missing, the Indian field is thinner at the top, and IISc is the only major public institution still carrying the flag.

Some IITs remain, such as IIT Indore (651-700), IIT Patna (701-800), IIT Gandhinagar (801-1000), IIT Mandi (801-1000), and IIT Ropar (1001-1200). These are all second-generation IITs established around 2008–2009. (AI-generated image) QUESTIONS THE 2027 TABLE LEAVES OPEN

THE calls its rankings the most rigorous in the world. But a table where Saveetha Institute scores above Ivy League universities like Cornell and Columbia on research quality raises a few fair questions.

THE says retracted papers are filtered out of its analysis. Should an institution's overall retraction record also count in its score? No such penalty has been announced yet.

THE has promised to explain the self-citation cap in the coming months. Would sharing those thresholds sooner help, given that universities now have a year to adjust?

And since THE says it already spots institutions with unusual citation and retraction patterns, would flagging them publicly help students and employers read a score in context?

Finally, the 2028 changes apply only to future editions. Until then, how should readers treat the 2027 numbers?

Those answers will decide whether the table's research quality scores can be read at face value, or need a second look.- EndsRead | The Indian patent story: Why private universities file more patents than IITs combinedRead | India now dominates global research paper retractions with 6 universities in top 10

Roshni has been working in the journalism industry for over a decade, telling stories that matter. She loves writing about student innovations, latest research, and people striving to make the world better for children -- through education, social change, or environmental efforts.

With a special focus on education, the job industry, and mental health, she also enjoys uncovering lesser-known scientists and changemakers from history whose work continues to shape our lives today. Away from work, Roshni finds joy in reading, painting, photography, and exploring the spiritual and the occult.