Ranking Private Higher Education Institutions Based on Topsis Method

Abstract The national economy of each country and its long-term development depend on the quality of the human resources. The higher education sector is one of the most important factors in building a high-quality workforce. It is exactly because of the importance of higher education institutions that countries used to have a key role in their financing, regulation and supervision. However, the commercialisation of the higher education sector has led to the abolition of the monopoly held by public higher education institutions, i.e. to the opening of private institutions. Recently, the ranking of higher education institutions has been gaining importance. This study used the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to rank order the private higher education institutions in the Republic of Serbia in 2021. The study was carried out using 16 criteria, mostly accounting ones, to rank the private institutions. It involved 10 private universities, together with their member faculties, 10 private colleges of academic studies, and 16 colleges of applied studies. The obtained ranking results are beneficial to the institutions in terms of their business improvement aimed at staying ahead of the competition, and meeting the stakeholder needs.