CHE Ranking under fire

It seems that the CHE ranking is going through a raff time. As it went through the media - some German journals like DUZ or Times Higher in the UK - reports on the growing scepticism and even boycott the CHE ranking a new discussion about the use of rankings appeared on the HE sky. Which one is good or not so good? Why should a university join or not? What are the alternatives? Of course statements like the president of the university Hamburg saying that they don't need a ranking to know that they are good, is more then provocative. We know that rankings don't provide the ultimate through but are a piece of the HE landscape. It seems that now just after the new U-multirank - as it was announced by the EC in Dublin earlier this year - starts and the EU is eager to develop his own global ranking (based on CHE methodology), it's time to challenge the rankers. OK we can't live with...but also without the rankings. We know that you love it or you hate it dear presidents but you have to live with it. There should be a clear statement for improvements and quality development from the rankers - no question about it. But to react like a child on the playground as some did just recently in Germany is not the way how we improve the rankings. A dialogue would help more both parties then a fight like this. Of course other rankers like Times Higher are perhaps more then happy about the criticism in Germany and see their ranking as a winner at this very moment. I can remember few years ago, when Times Higher had to change part of the methodology because it turned out that they have some bias, which have changed the results a tables questionably. Now is CHE on the list, a year later Shanghai and all the others. But at the end of the day we will by the magazine, read the websites and look to the league tables of rankings...