The CHE University Ranking () is an annual ranking of German universities and colleges. It is a subject‐specific, multidimensional system aimed at providing information for students, with its main emphasis on teaching, rather than research. Introduced in 1998 and published by the Centre for Higher Education in cooperation with Die Zeit, it is the most comprehensive ranking of its kind in Germany. Ranking The CHE University Ranking is a subject-specific ranking. Each subject at each university is evaluated based on up to 37 criteria, e.g. overall study situation or research orientation. The decision to include which criteria is decided in consultation with representatives of the faculty conferences, expert associations and student representatives, and may differ depending both on the subject and type of higher education institution. The assessed criteria are not weighted, nor combined to produce an overall ranking; CHE argues that there would no theoretical nor an empirical basis for such an aggregated value. Instead, the CHE University Ranking is multidimensional and solely shows the individual criteria. However, the ranking lists for each subject initially show a set of four to six pre-selected criteria, which may vary depending on the subject. The reader is invited to create their personal ranking. Each evaluated criteria groups the subject at a specific institution into three groups: the , the , and the , to minimize the risk of minor differences produced by random fluctuations being misinterpreted as real differences. The top and bottom groups are arranged to deviate to a statistically significant degree from the arithmetic mean. Criteria include: Academic studies and teaching (courses offered, exams, interdisciplinary, study organisation, study situation, etc.) Job market and career-orientation (contact with work environment, job market preparation, etc.) Research (research reputation, citations per publication, doctorates per professor, publications per academic, etc.) Equipment (IT infrastructure, library, facilities, etc.) International orientation Result of study (graduates per year, exam results, period of study, etc.) Students (acceptance rate, gender balance, etc.) Town and University (population, public transport, tuition fees, etc.) History In the late 1980s, newspapers started compiling the first university rankings in Germany. The Centre for Higher Education considered those methods inadequate and started constructing their own ranking based on sound methodology and with involvement of the universities themselves. In 1998, CHE published its first ranking in co-operation with Stiftung Warentest. The first ranking solely analyzed the subjects business administration and chemistry. In subsequent years, the range of subjects