The ranking of universities is a relatively new phenomenon, the beginning of which coincides with the third phase of changing societal expectations on research, but it does not necessarily correspond to the programs of this phase. Shortcomings of university rankings show that most of the current university ranking indicators are in line with the programs of the first and partly the second research phases, but far from reaching the third, leading to a lot of discussion in both academic and political discourses. Therefore, in this paper, we analyze how changing societal expectations are transforming research assessment. It also deals with the experience of creating a centralized model of current research information system (CRIS) in VMU, and how its development has affected the visibility of the institution on the rankings and the quality of the university.