The good news for the University of Wollongong in the latest league table of the world's best institutions was overshadowed by one glaring failure.
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UOW was at the bottom rung of the list of 1000 universities for their staff-to-student ratios in the QS World University Rankings.
But the university wasn't alone in failing this important measure.
Some 31 of Australia's 35 institutions went backwards in the staff-to-student ratio measure, which the ranking's compilers described as "a proxy for teaching capacity".
UOW were among many, including UNSW, Monash, the University of Western Australia and the University of Technology Sydney to receive the aggregate bottom ranking of "601+" on this measure.
A spokesperson said UOW's faculty to student ratio ranking was on par with most in the Australian university sector.
"UOW improved its score on its faculty to student ratio slightly from 7.1 to 7.3 between last year's ranking and these latest results. The improvement, however, did not appear in the data," the spokesperson said.
"Specific rankings are only assigned to the universities which scored well above the global median of 8.1."
The University of Wollongong did however climb six places in the overall standing to number 212 in the world and 11th best in Australia.
The QS World University Rankings is an annual publication by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).
Previously known as Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings, the publisher had collaborated with Times Higher Education (THE) magazine to publish its international league tables.
The rankings measure a university's academic reputation, graduate employability, student-to-staff ratio, research performance and international student ratio.
In the 2020 rankings UOW made improvements in key performance indicators including academic reputation, research citations by faculty and international students.
UOW Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Wellings attributed the outcome to the dedication of university staff.
"We are delighted to see the university again climbing the international rankings," he said.
"It is a strong indication of our academic success driven by high-quality research taking place at UOW, both independently and in collaboration with partner institutions around the world.
"We have also built on our reputation as a destination for international students, with UOW continuing its quest to become a truly global university and strengthen its international brand."
UOW also placed in the top 125 universities in the world for its international student ratio, a measure that focuses on a university's ability to attract talent from abroad.
The university has 5383 international students.
"International students are part of the diverse fabric of student life here at UOW," Professor Wellings said.
"We offer a welcoming learning environment to international students with targeted programs, world-class facilities, and a deep commitment to quality and personalised education."