28/09/2008 | Background/Methodology, 2008 Results
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2008 Employer Review Response Analysis

By: Ben Sowter

The Employer Review was introduced in 2005 and currently forms 10% of the weightings applied by Times Higher Education to the various indicators included in the THE - QS World University Rankings. The final scores are compiled based on three years worth of responses from employers around the world to an online survey. For the first time, this analysis reveals how they are broken down.

Peer Review

The total number of respondents considered for the 2008 results (including those that from 2007 and 2006 who have not updated their responses) was 2,339. Unless otherwise stated the analyses on this page refer to the entire Employer Review sample.

Respondents are first asked to identify their knowledge by region. The list of institutions from which they can select within each subject area is influenced by their response to this question. Again, respondents are permitted to identify more than one region of knowledge. Before results are calculated, weighting is applied to equalise the response from each of the three regions.

Employer Review Responses by Region
RegionRespondents
Source: Employer Review: 2006-2008 Combined Response
Copyright © 2008 QS Intelligence Unit
Americas744
Asia Pacific636
Europe, Middle East & Africa768
Total Responses Considered2,339


Unlike, the Academic Peer Review, you may notice that the total responding for the three regions comes to a less than the total number of respondents. Wlhilt respondents to the Employer Review are also entitled to select more than one region, far fewer of them do. Also, our survey completion rate amongst employers is lower than that for academics, but is improving each year.

Examining the breakdown of responses by industry sector, we see particularly strong responses from professional and financial services, IT and engineering. Perhaps sectors with natural trends towards higher workforce mobility.

Employer Review Responses by Main Industry Sector
Source: Employer Review: 2008 Response Only
Copyright © 2008 QS Intelligence Unit
THE - QS World University Rankings: Employer Reviewers by Sector

There has also been much interest as to the precise location of responding employers... in terms of the conuntries that they represent. Regional weightings are based on the individual knowledge specification above, but in most cases these will reflect the geographical location (and experience) of respondents.

Employer Review Responses by Country
Source: Employer Review: 2006-2008 Combined Response
Copyright © 2008 QS Intelligence Unit
CountryRespondents
United States346
United Kingdom269
Australia178
Mexico75
Netherlands75
Singapore74
Russia69
India64
Argentina60
Greece59
Germany56
Hong Kong50
Philippines45
Ireland41
Malaysia38
Canada37
Japan37
France36
New Zealand36
South Korea32
Italy29
Chile28
Spain27
Venezuela27
China25
Denmark23
Thailand23
Switzerland22
Belgium19
South Africa19
Ukraine18
Taiwan17
Czech Republic16
Romania15
Other354

NOTE: Data on this page does not all relate to the same sample - some relates to the entire sample (from 3 years) considered for the 2008 Employer Review, whereas some refers only to the survey responses received in 2008. Please refer carefully to the source information.