International reputation is an undeniable component of today's world class universities. How better to evaluate that than to assess the proportion of international students and faculty who are attracted to that institution. Representing 5% each in this evaluation, the international students score and international faculty score are calculated based on those proportions. 

In the first year of the THE - QS World University Rankings, an independent study was done of the results, which concluded that the "International Students" indicator was the only one negatively correlated with the overall performance of an institution and recommended its withdrawal.

It, and the "International Faculty" indicator are included largely because this is a WORLD university ranking and set forth to track performance of institutions worldwide against indicators that are, like it or not, prerequisite to being heralded as a world class university. There is no longer a negative correlation between either of these indicators and the overall performance.

The international migration of students and faculty is a major trend in higher education and is inevitably driven both by the march of globalisation and the pursuit of alternative higher education revenue streams by universities and governments. It cannot be ignored or denied.

At present this trend is recognised in this evaluation simply by the proportion of full time registered students and faculty that hold an overseas nationality - as these statistics are relatively easy to collect. Various other measures, such as exchange student numbers are being collected and compiled and may be included in the future.