What's going on when some #universities jump more than 950% in one year on #metrics used in university #rankings? Are they gaming the metrics?
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.09.653229v1
"Key findings include publication growth of up to 965%, concentrated in STEM fields; surges in hyper-prolific authors and highly cited articles; and dense internal co-authorship and citation clusters. The group [of studied institutions] also exhibited elevated shares of publications in delisted journals and high retraction rates. These patterns illustrate vulnerabilities in global ranking systems, as metrics lose meaning when treated as targets (Goodhart’s Law) and institutions emulate high-performing peers under competitive pressure (institutional isomorphism). Without reform, rankings may continue incentivizing behaviors that distort scholarly contribution and compromise research integrity."