 On 5 October 2017, QS Quacquarelli Symonds acquired Hobsons Solutions, the international division of Hobsons, Inc.The acquisition allows QS to increase the size of its global product offering, which now incorporates products like QS' International Student Survey (formerly Hobsons' International Student Survey), which is the world's largest survey of prospective international students.Generally, the QS World University Rankings is regarded as one of the three most influential university rankings in the world, along with the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities.