Educational institutions selection using Analytic Hierarchy Process based on National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) criteria

Nowadays, with increasing competitiveness in every field, securing a good job may be difficult. In this connection, students aiming to get into the best educational institution (EI) would give them their best chance of quality education and good job opportunities. Institutional evaluation and selection are complex tasks that must simultaneously include different aspects and evaluation criteria. This work addresses the EI selection dilemma by formulating a multi-criteria decision-making computational model. This work utilizes the National Institutional Ranking Framework approved by the Ministry of Human Resource Development India to rank higher education institutions in India. The problem was converted into a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model based on the accumulated criteria. This MCDM problem was further solved with the help of the Analytic Hierarchy Process by formulating a multi-criteria decision-making model for EI/university selection. Further, a new technique based on separated criteria benefits and recommendations (SCBR) has been incorporated with AHP, resulting in the advancement of the basic AHP method. The proposed technique allows comprehensibility of the qualitative method while maintaining the precision of the quantitative methodology for institutional selection of undergraduate and postgraduate students. This work is beneficial not only for the students but also for the academic job aspirants for choosing the appropriate institution. The proposed work is also applicable as a tool for assessing the effectiveness of higher education institutions. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.