Academic Ranking of World Universities (
ARWU), also known as
Shanghai Ranking, is an annual publication of
university rankings by Shanghai Ranking Consultancy based in
China. The league table was originally compiled and issued by
Shanghai Jiaotong University in 2003, the first global ranking with multifarious indicators, after which a board of international advisories was established to provide suggestions. The publication currently includes world's overall and subject league tables, alongside independent regional
Greater China Ranking and
Macedonian HEIs Ranking. ARWU is regarded as one of the three most influential and widely observed university measures, alongside
QS World University Rankings and
Times Higher Education World University Rankings. It is praised for its objective methodology but draws some condemnation for narrowly focussing on raw research power, undermining
humanities and quality of instruction.