The quality of education attracts great attention in the post-industrial society. The processes of globalization contribute to the expansion of the educational space, ensuring the accessibility of quality education. In this regard, the competition of universities is one of the factors favouring the improvement of the quality of education. However, the ranking of universities is not only a source of statistics; it also acquires the role of an instrument for the development of the university itself. In the postmodern era it is important to take into account the more complex, "mediated" factors of many subjects which influence upon the educational space. The university ranking becomes the subject and object of the educational space; the authors of this article show that stakeholders - the actors of influence for the educational space - ensure the development of not only the educational institution (university), but also of the educational space in the long-term period.