In this paper we explore the issue of the measurement of productivity in the context of higher education. We suggest applying data envelopment analysis (DEA) to estimate the productivity scores for universities of Belarus. This assessment will help to find out (a) if it possible to construct alternative tier-based ratings using DEA and peeling procedure; (b) what determines the difference in productivity between public and private universities; (c) what policy should be undertaken in order to improve the performance of universities.