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How the University of Jordan is using QS Stars to strengthen institutional performance and international recognition
30 October 2026
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The University of Jordan is using QS Stars to evaluate institutional performance, showcase its academic strengths and support international student recruitment, achieving an overall 5 Star Rating.
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The challenge: Strengthening institutional recognition
Established in 1962, the University of Jordan is Jordan's oldest and largest university, offering a wide range of academic programmes across its campuses in Amman and Aqaba.
As a leading public institution, the university wanted to strengthen its national, regional and international recognition while demonstrating the quality of its teaching, student experience and graduate employability.
A key priority was finding a structured way to assess institutional performance against international standards, identify opportunities for improvement and communicate its strengths to prospective students and international partners.
The University of Jordan also recognised the importance of strengthening its data collection processes to support long-term strategic planning and institutional development.
The solution: Evaluating performance with QS Stars
The University of Jordan adopted the QS Stars rating system to assess its performance across a broad range of indicators aligned with international standards and best practices.
Unlike traditional university rankings, QS Stars provides a detailed assessment of institutional performance across individual categories, helping universities identify their strengths and areas requiring further development. The framework provided valuable insights into Teaching, Employability, Internationalisation, Online Learning, Innovation and Inclusiveness for the university.
The assessment also helped the University of Jordan highlight aspects of campus life and student support that may not be fully reflected in traditional ranking systems.
Beyond external recognition, QS Stars supported the university's internal improvement processes by encouraging more systematic data collection and analysis. This contributed to its wider digital transformation ambitions, including plans to automate processes and improve the accessibility of institutional performance data.
The impact: Improving recognition and recruitment
Through QS Stars, the University of Jordan achieved an overall 5 Star Rating, alongside strong results across several individual categories.
The university received 5 Stars in Teaching, Employability, Inclusiveness, Innovation, Internationalisation and Online Learning, demonstrating its strengths across academic quality, student support and institutional development.
These achievements have supported the university in several areas:
- Greater international recognition: The 5 Star Rating has helped UJ communicate its institutional strengths and differentiate itself within the competitive regional higher education landscape.
- Increased student interest: The university reported a significant increase in student interest in its Nursing programme following its 5 Star recognition, building on growing international demand.
- Stronger international engagement: QS Stars has supported the university's efforts to develop partnerships with regional and international institutions and attract international faculty.
- Improved strategic planning: The assessment has helped identify areas for improvement, strengthen data collection practices and inform the university's long-term institutional strategy.
Showcasing excellence in Nursing
The University of Jordan’s Bachelor of Nursing programme received a 5 Star Rating under the QS Stars Specialist Criteria.
The programme, which also holds international accreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), has experienced growing student interest, particularly from international applicants.
According to the university, interest increased significantly following its QS Stars recognition, highlighting the value of communicating programme-level strengths to prospective students.
Supporting continuous institutional improvement
QS Stars has provided more than external recognition, and has helped the the University of Jordan better understand its performance, strengthen internal processes and identify priorities for future development. By combining internationally recognised ratings with detailed performance insights, the university is better positioned to communicate its strengths, support student recruitment and guide ongoing institutional improvements.
As Nathir M Obeidat, President of the University of Jordan, explained:
"It provides us with a summary of the ratings in each category and a detailed breakdown of the results for each indicator, helping us identify strengths and areas of improvement."
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