ENTRY CRITERIA
The Higher Vocational Schools Ranking 2026 includes public and non -public vocational universities (in accordance with the institution type specified in the register of Polish higher education and science institutions in Poland, available in the RAD-on system) that: (i) offer full-time study programmes and enrol a minimum of 300 students; (ii) provide first-cycle and second-cycle degree programmes or long-cycle Master’s degree programmes; and (iii) have at least two years of graduates.
EMPLOYABILITY- 40%
- Alumni earnings - the indicator reflects the alumni earnings of a given university in 2020-2023 to average earnings in the county of residence according to the nationwide study of the “Polish Graduate Tracking System" (ELA) by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education based on the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) data.
Source: Polish Graduate Tracking System (ELA). (25%) - Alumni’s employment - indicator reflects the average length of employment of graduates of a given university in 2020-2023, based on the average proportion of months during the observation period in which graduates were registered as unemployed, according to the nationwide study the "Polish Graduate Tracking System" (ELA) by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education based on the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) data. The data are related to unemployment rates in the graduates’ counties of residence.
Source: Polish Graduate Tracking System (ELA). (15%)
QUALITY OF EDUCATION – 35%
- Educational offer diversity – the total number of first-cycle and second-cycle courses attended by at least 10 people as of 31.12.2025. Source: POL-on database. (10%)
- SRR – ratio of the number of academic teachers to the number of students.
Source: POL-on database. (20%) - Full-time Students – the proportion of students enrolled in full-time programmes within the total student population. Institutions with at least 80% of their students enrolled in full-time programmes receive the maximum score for this indicator.
Source: POL-on database. (5%)
ACADEMIC POTENTIAL - 10%
- Academic staff with highest qualifications - defined as the ratio of the number of professors and PhDs with habilitation to the total number of teaching staff employed as of 31.12.2025.
Source: POL-on database. (5%) - Faculty development - measured by the ratio of academic titles and degrees obtained by university staff in 2024-2025 (PhDs with habilitation weighted 1.5 and full professors weighted 2.0) in relation to the total number of academic staff - professors and doctoral degrees employed full-time as of the end of year.
Source: POL-on database. (5%)
INTERNATIONALIZATION - 10%
- International students – measured by the ratio of foreign students to the total number of students as of 31.12.2025 (note: universities that have a percentage of international students of at least 25 percent receive the maximum number of points).
Source: POL-on database. (5%) - Multicultural composition of student body – measured by the number of countries represented by at least 5 foreign students as of 31.12.2025.
Source: POL-on database. (5%)
WEB VISIBILITY – 5%
- Webometrics – an indicator assessing the presence of a university on the Internet, including scientific publications, educational materials and activity in social media. It measures the visibility of a university on the Internet and its presence in the global online environment.
Source: Webometrics (5%)
Note: PhD with habilitation is the degree between doctoral degree and full professor title.