Numerical data about university ranking (6)
I believe the answer is:
status
'ranking' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'numerical data about university' is the wordplay.
'numerical data' becomes 'stats' (statistics).
'about' is an insertion indicator.
'university' becomes 'U' (abbreviation for university).
'stats' going around 'u' is 'STATUS'.
(Other definitions for status that I've seen before include "One's standing in the community" , "Rank or standing in society" , "Standing, condition, position" , "Position eg in society" , "Social ranking" .)