Each year prospective students, academics, employers and university alumni alike all flock to view university league tables.
These tables and guides aim to provide a helpful insight into universities and how they are doing in comparison to one another. There are many versions including; The Times Good University Guide, The Guardian University Table, Hot Prospects and The Complete University Guide . Whilst they all aim to give an accurate portrayal of overall performance they often conflict with one another.
They are a constant bone of contention between universities and ranking rivalry is commonplace. This undoubtedly appeals to some primeval will to win but, is it really helpful?
The regular contradictions, the controversial criteria used and the mass of assumptions that are made when compiling these tables leads us to question, Do they really tell us anything and do they really help students make a sound, fair and reliable choice?
Career Prospects
The career prospect rankings are a good case in point. Certainly, assessing the career prospects you gain when choosing a university is an important consideration for prospective students but, do the league tables really tell us anything?
For example, this chart highlights that amongst the top 50 universities in the UK there is very little difference between them in terms of job prospects. Therefore should we be looking elsewhere when making decisions on which university to choose?
For example, this chart highlights that amongst the top 50 universities in the UK there is very little difference between them in terms of job prospects. Therefore should we be looking elsewhere when making decisions on which university to choose?
Informed Decisions
Sam Harris, a University Careers Adviser, says, “League tables are good as a rough guide but really people should base their decision on other things. For example, open days are a great way to decide on a university. Students need to make an informed decision and taking everything into consideration, not just where the institution ranks that year.”
Ranking – One Year to the Next
Sam’s point on the position an institute ranks that year is significant. It seems that there can be so much movement. So, what maybe a good choice one year may not seem like such a good idea the next.
Katie Smith, a graduate from the University of Manchester demonstrates this, “When I was applying to University in 2005 Manchester was around 12th in league tables. Now in 2012 it is ranking in the 40′s in the UK tables.”
“The reputation is still excellent and I can’t imagine the teaching standard has dropped but because it is such a big university and the tables take things into consideration like staff ratio and facilities per student it is giving a false impression. The fact that it ranks around 40 in the world university rankings which obviously have to take in so many more places shows the UK tables aren’t really that representative.”
| 2012 Rank | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | Institution |
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Cambridge |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Oxford |
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | St Andrews |
| 4 | 8 | 5 | 3 | London School of Economics |
| 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | UCL |
| 6 | 3 | 4 | 4 | Warwick |
| 7 | 6 | 16 | 12 | Lancaster |
| 8 | 17 | 14 | 16 | Durham |
| 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | Loughborough |
| 10 | 7 | 8 | 6 | Imperial College |
| 11 | 14 | 13 | 14 | Exeter |
| 11 | 15 | 18 | 33 | Sussex |
| 13 | 11 | 12 | 8 | SOAS |
| 14 | 13 | 9 | 13 | Bath |
| 15 | 9 | 11 | 11 | York |
| 16 | 15 | 7 | 9 | Edinburgh |
| 17 | 12 | 15 | 14 | Leicester |
| 18 | 19 | 35 | 40 | UEA |
| 19 | 21 | 26 | 19 | Nottingham |
| 19 | 20 | 27 | 22 | Surrey |
| 21 | 23 | 17 | 20 | Glasgow |
| 22 | 24 | 21 | 26 | City |
| 23 | 27 | 45 | 28 | Kent |
| 24 | 30 | 24 | 30 | Birmingham |
| 25 | 33 | 29 | 31 | Bristol |
| 26 | 22 | 19 | 17 | Dundee |
| 27 | 32 | 22 | 52 | Heriot-Watt |
| 28 | 18 | 22 | 25 | Southampton |
| 29 | 25 | 38 | 29 | Strathclyde |
| 30 | 25 | 24 | 21 | King’s College London |
| 31 | 37 | 40 | 43 | Newcastle |
| 32 | 45 | 41 | 39 | Reading |
| 33 | 31 | 30 | 36 | Sheffield |
| 34 | 36 | 19 | 18 | Aston |
| 35 | 41 | 31 | 34 | Royal Holloway |
| 36 | 46 | 57 | 47 | Queen Mary |
| 37 | 35 | 28 | 27 | Leeds |
| 38 | 27 | 36 | 50 | Robert Gordon |
| 39 | 46 | 44 | 32 | Cardiff |
| 39 | 43 | 48 | 35 | Essex |
| 41 | 51 | 32 | 24 | Manchester |
| 42 | 38 | 32 | 37 | Bournemouth |
| 42 | 48 | 56 | 57 | Oxford Brookes |
| 44 | 27 | 36 | 37 | Stirling |
| 45 | 33 | 34 | 23 | Aberdeen |
| 46 | 40 | 61 | - | UC Falmouth |
| 47 | 49 | 51 | 48 | Plymouth |
| 48 | 52 | 62 | 72 | Sunderland |
| 49 | 39 | 47 | 44 | Liverpool |
| 50 | 56 | 49 | 46 | Queen’s, Belfast |
| 50 | 49 | 71 | 69 | Aberystwyth |
An Overview
Of course league tables do have there uses. They are a very quick and easy way to get an overview of universities and a bit of healthy competition and rivalry doesn’t hurt. Just remember they do change year to year and there are many other factors to consider.
Top Tips
Just in case you were unsure what to look for Sam Harris gives us top tips for choosing where to study.
- Look at league tables (They are a good place to start)
- Go to as many open days as possible
- Read around – find out as much as you can about the universities your interested in
- Speak to tutors – particularly if you get an offer. If they want you they will want to here from you
- Student satisfaction surveys are helpful. They are really useful as this is what people there now are saying
- Contact student support to find out what extra help they give to student parents
- Check out the facilities.
Jo
/ May 7, 2012I hate league tables! They really don’t give you the full picture.