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Based on the practical challenges, we propose a\u00a0fuzzy TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) for assessing higher vocational education development levels. Firstly, in order to deal with decision-makers\u2019 preferences on interval numbers, we develop a\u00a0preference-based fuzzy number comparison method and then integrate it with the classic TOPSIS method to formulate a\u00a0fuzzy TOPSIS method. An application example shows the effectiveness of the work and observes the impact of decision-makers\u2019 preferences on the assessment results. Several insights are also found to improve the assessment process in the real world.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3233\/jifs-169194","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2016,12,6]],"date-time":"2016-12-06T11:12:14Z","timestamp":1481022734000},"page":"3083-3093","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["A fuzzy TOPSIS for assessing higher vocational education development levels in uncertainty environments"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"31","author":[{"given":"Xuefeng","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Business Administration, Northeastern University, Shenyang, P.R. China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kai","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Business Administration, Northeastern University, Shenyang, P.R. 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