There’s a new edition of the Spanish National Research Council’s bi-annual  Ranking Web of Universities. The Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas uses web presence and visibility as indicators of global performance of a university. Indicators include teaching commitment, research results, perceived international prestige and industry and community ties.

Critics complain a web presence is no sure measure of quality but supporters ask if surveys and citation analysis are. If there is credibility in conformity the CSIC rates reasonably, with its top-performers being much the same as in the other major rankings. Harvard U is one in the world, with the anglo-sphere accounting for all of the top 20.

The highest Australian unis rank roughly where they are in the Shanghai based Academic Ranking of World Universities. On the new CSIC list, Tsingua U is number one in the Asia-Pacific and 43^rd in the world, followed by the University of Hong Kong at 44th, National University of Singapore at 51st, Peking University at 52nd and the University of Tokyo at 58th.

Then the ANZACs arrive with UniMelb at 60th in the world, UoQ 65th, UNSW 67th, ANU 70th, UniSydney 79th, Monash U 97th, UniAdelaide 126th, UWA at 142nd and UniAuckland at 157th. There is less a gap than a chasm to the ninth Australian uni, Curtin U at 234th.