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League tables of British universities which rank the performances of universities in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 on a number of criteria, have been published every year by The Times
The Times

The Times is a daily national newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register.The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of News International....
 newspaper
Newspaper

A newspaper is a publication containing news, information and advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called newsprint. General-interest newspapers often feature articles on Politics, crime, business, art/entertainment, society and sports....
 and several other newspapers since October 1992.

factors used to assess universities include quality of teaching and research (which are assessed by external inspectors), entry standards and dropout rates.






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League tables of British universities which rank the performances of universities in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 on a number of criteria, have been published every year by The Times
The Times

The Times is a daily national newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register.The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of News International....
 newspaper
Newspaper

A newspaper is a publication containing news, information and advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called newsprint. General-interest newspapers often feature articles on Politics, crime, business, art/entertainment, society and sports....
 and several other newspapers since October 1992.

Assessment

The factors used to assess universities include quality of teaching and research (which are assessed by external inspectors), entry standards and dropout rates. These league tables have become increasingly popular over the last few years and other papers such as The Guardian
The Guardian

Sorry, no overview for this topic
 now publish their own tables annually. These tables are often used by students when deciding to which universities to apply. Some league tables are more specific, ranking universities on their strength in individual subjects, and not just overall teaching and research across a range of subjects.

Oxbridge bias

Although the various tables differ slightly in how they assess universities, the same names tend to dominate the top positions. The universities of Oxford
University of Oxford

The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
 and Cambridge
University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge , located in Cambridge, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation university in the Anglosphere....
 have typically headed the lists. Cambridge has generally fared better, claiming first place in most of the newspapers' tables, with Oxford normally in second position. Oxford has recently been top of some lists though. However, The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)

The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom. There is also a Republic of Ireland edition; contrary to a popular misconception, the Irish edition of the Sunday Times is not linked to The Irish Times newspaper, which is published Monday to Saturday in Dublin....
, which compiles its own tables using slightly modified criteria has placed Cambridge top for nine years running up to 2006. The only times since the inception of the tables that another university broke this trend were in 1999 and 2000, when Imperial College London
Imperial College London

Imperial College London is a United Kingdom university in London that focuses primarily on science, engineering, medicine and business.Imperial is regularly placed in the top three in the Times National University League Table along with Oxford and Cambridge....
 overtook Oxford for second place in the Sunday Times Good University Guide.

Third place is taken by a variety of contenders (usually Imperial College, though the London School of Economics
London School of Economics

The London School of Economics and Political Science, more commonly referred to as The London School of Economics or LSE, is a specialist college of the University of London in London, England....
 has placed third a few times). It is difficult to form a list of other high-achieving universities due to the different methodology used between league tables.

Sutton Trust

The Sutton Trust
Sutton Trust

The Sutton Trust is an educational Charitable organization in the United Kingdom which aims to provide educational opportunities to young people from non-privileged backgrounds....
, an educational charity has produced a list of 13 universities identified as those with the highest average rankings in surveys published by The Times, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Times and Financial Times in 2000. The Sutton Trust believe that these top universities should do more to widen access and increase their state school intake.

  • University of Birmingham
    University of Birmingham

    The University of Birmingham is a United Kingdom 'Red brick universities' university located in the city of Birmingham, England. Founded in Edgbaston in 1900 as a successor to Mason Science College, and with origins dating back to the 1825 Birmingham Medical School, it was the first of the so-called Red brick universities to receive a Royal...
  • University of Bristol
    University of Bristol

    The University of Bristol is a university in Bristol, England. It received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876....
  • University of Cambridge
    University of Cambridge

    The University of Cambridge , located in Cambridge, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation university in the Anglosphere....
  • Durham University
    Durham University

    Durham University is a university in Durham, England. It was founded as the University of Durham by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837....
  • University of Edinburgh
    University of Edinburgh

    The University of Edinburgh founded in 1582, is an internationally renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom....
  • Imperial College London
    Imperial College London

    Imperial College London is a United Kingdom university in London that focuses primarily on science, engineering, medicine and business.Imperial is regularly placed in the top three in the Times National University League Table along with Oxford and Cambridge....
  • London School of Economics
    London School of Economics

    The London School of Economics and Political Science, more commonly referred to as The London School of Economics or LSE, is a specialist college of the University of London in London, England....
  • University of Nottingham
    University of Nottingham

    The University of Nottingham is a public, co-educational institution of higher learning in the city of Nottingham, England. Nottingham, which has campuses in the United Kingdom and Asia, is the fifth largest university in the UK , and is a member of the Russell Group, Universitas 21, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, and the Europ...
  • University of Oxford
    University of Oxford

    The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
  • University of St Andrews
    University of St Andrews

    The University of St Andrews is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation university in Scotland and third oldest in the English-speaking world, having been founded between 1410 and 1413....
  • University College London
    University College London

    University College London is a university institution and constituent college of the University of London based primarily in London, England, United Kingdom....
  • University of Warwick
    University of Warwick

    The University of Warwick is a British campus university located on the outskirts of Coventry, West Midlands , England and is University of Warwick#Academic standards as one of the country's leading universities....
  • University of York
    University of York

    The University of York is a campus university located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, York has expanded to more than 30 departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects....


On top of this, the THES - QS World University Rankings
THES - QS World University Rankings

The THE - QS World University Rankings is an annual publication that ranks the "Top 200 World Universities", and is published by Times Higher Education and Quacquarelli Symonds ....
 list of the 'World's top 200 Universities' in 2006, placed Glasgow
University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow was founded in 1451, in Glasgow, Scotland, and, along with its contemporary institution, the University of St Andrews, it formed the Kingdom of Scotland's equivalent to Oxbridge....
, Manchester
University of Manchester

The University of Manchester is a "red brick university" civic university located in Manchester, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration....
 and King's College London
King's College London

King's College London is a United Kingdom higher education institution and co-founding constituent college of the University of London. Founded by George IV of the United Kingdom and the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington in 1829, its royal charter is predated, in England, only by those of the Universities of University of Oxford and Un...
, among, and in some cases higher than, the names mentioned above.

It should be noted that inclusion in the overall top ten does not indicate excellence in any particular field, and some universities with a very good reputation for specific subjects (especially vocational subjects) never enter the overall top ten.

League Tables, which usually focus on the full-time undergraduate student experience, commonly omit reference to Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London

Birkbeck, University of London, sometimes referred to by its former name Birkbeck College or by the abbreviation BBK, is a constituent college of the University of London....
 and the Open University
Open University

The Open University is the UK's Distance education government-supported university notable for having an open entry policy, i.e. students' previous academic achievements are not taken into account for entry to most undergraduate courses....
, both of which specialise in teaching part-time students at the undergraduate level. These universities, however, often make a strong showing in specialist league tables looking at research, teaching quality, and student satisfaction (Birkbeck
Birkbeck, University of London

Birkbeck, University of London, sometimes referred to by its former name Birkbeck College or by the abbreviation BBK, is a constituent college of the University of London....
, for example, was ranked 13th in the last Research Assessment Exercise - 2001 - by The Guardian
The Guardian

Sorry, no overview for this topic
, and the Open University
Open University

The Open University is the UK's Distance education government-supported university notable for having an open entry policy, i.e. students' previous academic achievements are not taken into account for entry to most undergraduate courses....
 was ranked first, and Birkbeck
Birkbeck, University of London

Birkbeck, University of London, sometimes referred to by its former name Birkbeck College or by the abbreviation BBK, is a constituent college of the University of London....
 fifth in the 2006 Student Satisfaction survey according to the BBC).

1992 universities

Traditionally the post-1992 universities have done less well in the University rankings. However, in recent years some of the new universities have steadily moved up the league tables and can now sometimes be found in the top half of all universities. The Guardian 2004 tables were especially favourable to some post-1992 universities, Middlesex
Middlesex University

Middlesex University is a university in north London, England, located in the Historic counties of England of Middlesex ....
 was ranked 19th overall, and Oxford Brookes
Oxford Brookes University

Oxford Brookes University is a university in Oxford, England....
 was ranked 26th. In the most recent tables, published in 2007, the following Universities were ranked in the top fifty by one or another table: the University of Plymouth
University of Plymouth

The University of Plymouth is the largest university in the southwest of England, with over 30,000 students and is the fifth largest UK university based on student population....
,Robert Gordon University
Robert Gordon University

The Robert Gordon University is a modern university located in Aberdeen, Scotland. Granted university status in 1992, Robert Gordon University currently has approximately 12,790 students at its two campuses at Garthdee and Schoolhill, studying on over 145 full-time and part-time undergraduate and postgraduate courses....
, Glasgow Caledonian University
Glasgow Caledonian University

Glasgow Caledonian University is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland.Glasgow Caledonian began in 1875 as a small college with 110 students....
, Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University

Bournemouth University is a university in and around the large south coast town of Bournemouth, UK . It has several well respected departments including The School of Health and Social Care, The School of Services Management, The Business School, School of Design, Engineering & Computing and the Media School, recognised as the only Centre fo...
, Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University

Oxford Brookes University is a university in Oxford, England....
.

The Times's methodology (2007)

The Times University rankings take into account eight factors. Student satisfaction and a universities research output were weighted by 1.5 and each factor score was multiplied by 10 in order to give each university a score out of 1000 for each university.

  • Student Satisfaction – Measured by the National Student Survey
    National student survey

    The National Student Survey is a survey, launched in 2005, of all final year degree students at institutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
     2005, This is a measure of student’s opinions of their university and so does not necessarily measure the quality of an institution, especially as there is usually no basis for relative comparison.
  • Research – Data was taken from the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise
    Research Assessment Exercise

    The Research Assessment Exercise is an exercise undertaken approximately every 5 years on behalf of the four UK higher education funding councils to evaluate the quality of research undertaken by British higher education institutions....
     which measured British universities' research output.
  • Entry Standards- The universities average UCAS
    UCAS

    UCAS is a clearing house for applications to almost all full-time undergraduate academic degree at British universities and colleges....
     tariff score. Data was taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency
  • The student-staff ratio- Data was taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency
    Higher Education Statistics Agency

    The Higher Education Statistics Agency was established in 1993 by the UK higher education institutions as the central source for the collection and publication of higher education statistics in the United Kingdom....
  • Library and Computing spending- Average expenditure per student Data was taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency
    Higher Education Statistics Agency

    The Higher Education Statistics Agency was established in 1993 by the UK higher education institutions as the central source for the collection and publication of higher education statistics in the United Kingdom....
  • Facilities spending- Average expenditure per student on sports, careers services, health and counselling
  • Good Honours – The percentage of students graduating with a good degree
    British undergraduate degree classification

    The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grade scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied in other countries, such as India, the Republic of Ireland, Kenya, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Malta and Canada....
    .'Good' being defined as a first or 2.1
  • Graduate prospects – The percentage of UK graduates in graduate employment or further study. This data is taken from HESA's survey of Destination of Leavers from Higher Education
    Destination of Leavers from Higher Education

    The Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey or DLHE is a statistical survey conducted by the United Kingdom's Higher Education Statistics Agency ....
     (DLHE).
  • Completion – The percentage of students who manage to complete their degree


The Books:

The "Times" Good University Guide Edited by: John O'Leary and Tom Cannon, with: Andrew Hindmarsh, Bernard Kingston, Roberts Loynes

The "Times" Good University Guide
The Good University Guide

The Good University Guide is a guide to United Kingdom universities. The guide provides League tables of British universities to compare British universities as well as subject performance tables and a brief introduction to each university....
Edition Published Title Year ISBN-13 ISBN Institution table on pages
16th 08 Jun 2009 2010 9780007313488 0-00-7313489 
15th 16 Jun 2008 2009 9780007273539 0-00-7273533
14th 5 Jun 2006 2007 9780007231485 0-00-723148-2 39-44
13th 6 Jun 2005 2006 978-0007203031 0-00-720303-9 39-43
12th 7 Jun 2004 2005 978-0007165247 0-00-716524-219-23
11th 2 Jun 2003 2004 978-0007151851 0-00-715185-3 19-22
10th 5 Jun 2002 2003 978-0007126484 0-00-712648-423-29
9th 4 Jun 2001 2002 978-0007110773 0-00-711077-4 25-31
8th 02 May 2000 2000 & 2001 978-0723010364 0-72-301036-618-21
7th 1 April 1999 1999 978-0723010203 0-72-301020-X18-21
6th 5 May 1998 1998 978-0723010036 0-72-301003-X 18-21
5th Jun-97 1997 978-0723009573 0-72-300957-0 18-21
4th 2 May 1996 1996 978-0723008446 0-72-300844-2 18-21
3rd 04 May 1995 1995-6 978-0723007074 0-72-300707-1 18-21
2nd 06 Feb 1994 1994-5 978-0723006114 0-72-300611-3 19-22
1st 03 May 1993 978-0723005971 0-72-300597-4 67-70


The Guardian's methodology (2008)


The Guardian’s league tables use six different criteria. The Guardian does not provide the raw data
Raw data

Raw data is a term for unprocessed data, it is also known as primary data. It is a relative term . Raw data can be input to a computer program or used in manual analysis procedures such as gathering statistics from a statistical survey....
 for any of these criteria but instead assigns a mark out of 10. The weighting given to each criteria is given in brackets. The Guardian gives no weight to the research output of a university.. The Guardian Online provides the facility to sort the table by any of the criteria. The Guardian also provides ranks for individual subjects.

  • Teaching quality - as rated by graduates of the course (10%) – This data was taken from the National Student Survey
    National student survey

    The National Student Survey is a survey, launched in 2005, of all final year degree students at institutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
    .
  • Feedback - as rated by graduates of the course (5%)
  • Spending per student (17%)
  • Staff/student ratio (17%)
  • Job prospects (17%) - from DLHE
    Destination of Leavers from Higher Education

    The Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey or DLHE is a statistical survey conducted by the United Kingdom's Higher Education Statistics Agency ....
  • Value added - comparing students' degree results with their entry qualifications (17%)
  • Entry score (17%)


The Books:

Guardian
The Guardian

Sorry, no overview for this topic
 University Guide, Edited by: Jimmy Leach, David MacLeod
The "Guardian" University Guide
Edition Published Title Year ISBN-13 ISBN Institution table on pages
6th 30-Jul-08 2009 978-0852650974 0-85-265097-3 
5th 01-Jul-07 2008 978-0852650783 0-85-265078-7 33-34
4th 29-Jun-06 2007 978-0852650547 0-85-265054-X 34-35
3rd 30-Jun-05 2006 978-1843544111 1-84-354411-3 64-65
2nd 25-Jun-04 2005 978-1843542599 1-84-354259-5 66-67
1st 12-Jun-03 2004 978-1843541943 1-84-354194-7 201-202


The Web Ranking of UK universities (2008)


As the Web is already the main scholarly communication tool and it collects results of all the activities and missions of universities (teaching, research, third mission), the is not only showing the electronic publication performance of these institutions but also an overall glimpse of their quality. The Web ranking takes into account web activity (pages, documents and papers) and visibility (external inlinks) and it is very sensitive to bad practices in URL naming such as duplicate web domains (Imperial and Cardiff are specially affected). The January 2008 edition ranked the Top UK universities as follows:

WORLD RANKUNIVERSITYSIZEVISIBILITYRICH FILESSCHOLAR
1 UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD503649104
37 UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE11267496
57 UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON1175554138
60 UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH132706879
77 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON1021418730
103 UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW13395124259
116 IMPERIAL COLLEGE92101235299
132 UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK11320822160
144 NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY12174340459
151 UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS250155119276
165 UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM27219893213
174 UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD40172241356
194 UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL360112325345
235 UNIVERSITY OF YORK330245238353
246 UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM190304286407
248 LANCASTER UNIVERSITY293291207415
278 DURHAM UNIVERSITY263318242525
280 OPEN UNIVERSITY UK425211440472


Complete University Guide 2009, in association with The Independent

The Complete University Guide is another series of rankings. It is published on line only at www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk and allows users to adjust the main ranking to meet their individual requirements. This is achieved by varying the weightings attached to the criteria used to create the main table. It also publishes league tables of Universities in 59 subject areas, as well as a wealth of information on bursaries and scholarships, crime rates, sports facilities, advice on how to decide what to study, where to study and how to apply, student accommodation and International students. The tables are complied by Mayfield University Consultants, who until 2007 compiled the rankings for The Times. It rated Cambridge above Oxford in its first tables, published on July 30, 2007. In April 2008 the tables were published in association with The Independent.

The Times Higher Education Supplement has published league tables of universities on an international scale. Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, LSE, St Andrews, UCL, Edinburgh, Manchester, King's College London, Bristol, Warwick, SOAS, Glasgow, Birmingham, Nottingham and Queen Mary all appear within the top 100..

Daily Telegraph 'table of tables'

The Daily Telegraph created a 'table of tables' bringing together the results 6 different league tables. The league tables it used were from The Daily Telegraph itself, The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Times, The Sunday Times and an employability score taken the opinions of more than 200 firms that regularly recruit graduates. However, even this, has its flaws. Some tables place York as high as second place, such as The Guardian, although employers rank it as low as twenty-ninth. Therefore, finding an aggregate to judge all tables by is difficult.

Sex-ratio and other tables

The Daily Mail
Daily Mail

The Daily Mail is a United Kingdom newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1896 by Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun ....
, The Sun and other media outlets have republished statistical data on the ratio of female to male undergraduates that is researched by Push.co.uk
PUSH (university guide)

Push is a British media organisation that offers information to university applicants and students in the United Kingdom.Its flagship is now the website Push.co.uk, which features profiles of every UK university, advice about choosing a university and student finance, and a tool called the 'Uni Chooser' which allows users to create a shortl...
. Push
PUSH (university guide)

Push is a British media organisation that offers information to university applicants and students in the United Kingdom.Its flagship is now the website Push.co.uk, which features profiles of every UK university, advice about choosing a university and student finance, and a tool called the 'Uni Chooser' which allows users to create a shortl...
 also publishes a wide range of tables and data about UK universities. The statistics show that the Royal Veterinary College has the highest ratio of females to males (80:20) and Imperial College London has the highest ratio of males to females (63:37).

Criticism

University league tables have been subject to varying degrees of criticism. There has been criticism of attempts to combine different rankings on for example research quality, quality of teaching, drop out rates and student satisfaction. Sir Alan Wilson, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Leeds
University of Leeds

The University of Leeds is a major teaching and research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire and, with over 33,000 full-time students, one of the largest universities in the United Kingdom....
 argues that the final average has little significance and is like trying to ‘combine apples and oranges.’ Other criticisms he made included the varying weights given to different factors, the need for universities to 'chase' the rankings, the often fluctuating nature of a university's ranking, and the catch-22 that the governments desire to increase access can have negative effects on league table rankings.

The Guardian
The Guardian

Sorry, no overview for this topic
 suggests that league tables may affect the nature of undergraduate admissions in an attempt to improve a university's league table position.

Roger Brown, the former Vice Chancellor of Southampton Solent University
Southampton Solent University

Southampton Solent University is a university of 17,000 students based in Southampton, United Kingdom. Its main campus is located on East Park Terrace near the city centre....
 argues the limitations of comparative data when comparing Universities.

The Guardian
The Guardian

Sorry, no overview for this topic
 league table has a peculiar feature of ranking quite highly courses given by departments that have recently closed down. For example mathematics at Bangor which closed in 2006 was rated fifth in the UK in the "2008" league table, Hull also did reasonably well considering it too no longer had a mathematics department or degree. The Guardian later published a correction.

Use of data from the National Student Survey
National student survey

The National Student Survey is a survey, launched in 2005, of all final year degree students at institutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
 has been another area of controversy as the survey has been boycotted by some universities.

Professor Geoffrey Alderman writing in the Guardian makes the point that by including the percentage of 'good honours' this can encourage grade inflation
Grade inflation

Grade inflation is the increase over time of Grade , faster than any real increase in standards.It is frequently discussed in relation to United States of America education, and to GCSEs and Advanced Level in England and Wales....
 so that league table position can be maintained.

It is also criticized as short in fully reflecting the whole picture of British universities. There are titles which focus on research and enjoy a prestigious reputation not shown in the table for various reasons. For example, the Institute of Education, University of London is never seen in the ranking but generally recognized as one of the best institute concerning Education studies.

Nevertheless, students who are looking for postgraduate study opportunities may experience quite annoying result in using the Times ranking, as the table was mainly made for undergraduates. Upon comparison,for example, its Rankings by Subjects only generally classifies the studies of universities as very comprehensive categories. A student who is looking for a study chance of English Teaching can only go for English or Education rankings, not of which can give a clear statement on the student's particular need.

See also

  • College and university rankings
    College and university rankings

    In higher education, college and university rankings are listings of universities and liberal arts colleges in an order determined by any combination of factors....
  • The Good University Guide
    The Good University Guide

    The Good University Guide is a guide to United Kingdom universities. The guide provides League tables of British universities to compare British universities as well as subject performance tables and a brief introduction to each university....


External links

  • (different from The Times University Guide)