Or lack of a profit motive leading to not trying to game metrics as much. If an entity is ranked by some metric, and the better they are that metric, the more profitable they are, then they have an incentive to game it as much as possible.
Sure, but I would assume that the priorities for a private university are different than a public one. A private university might optimize for profitability and university ranking, while a public one might optimize for providing the most accessible and highest quality education while staying within budgetary guidelines.
It's like saying that American universities are the best on the "amount spent on American football facilities per student" ranking. It's true, but the other universities might not be competing on that particular metric and focusing on other ones.
