The latest Guardian University Guide tables show that Cambridge University has taken the top spot, breaking its arch-rival Oxford's six-year stint as the UK's leading institution.
Oxford has come second and St Andrews third, while the London School
of Economics has climbed four places from last year to take fourth place. University College London, Warwick, Lancaster, Durham, Loughborough and Imperial College make up the top 10.
The tables are based on data for full-time undergraduates at UK universities.
Universities with low rankings are almost as likely to be intending to charge maximum tuition fees of £9,000 in 2012 as those with high rankings, our analysis suggests.
London Metropolitan University, which comes bottom of the Guardian tables, intends to charge between £4,500 and £9,000 for its degrees from autumn 2012. Salford, Liverpool John Moores, Manchester Metropolitan and the University of East London – all of which rank in the bottom 20 of the Guardian tables – want to charge £9,000 for at least some of their courses.
From autumn 2012, universities in England will be allowed to charge up to £9,000 a year for undergraduate degrees. The government's access watchdog, the Office for Fair Access, is looking at the fees each university in England wants to charge and will announce in July whether it approves of institutions' plans.
The tables were compiled by independent consultancy firm Intelligent Metrix. It's based originally on information collected by Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and the National Student Survey, published by Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce).
We've also mashed in some data of our own, including the full planned tuition fees, drop-out rates and student numbers.
Here are some of the key numbers:
• 38 of the universities in the top 60 will charge the full £9,000 tuition fee in 2012 - and 18 of those in the bottom 60
• The universities in the top 20 are bigger than those in the bottom 20 - with an average of 8,927 undergraduates, compared to 6,015
• The student staff ratio of the universities in the top 20 is less than that in the bottom 20 - 14.2 students to every tutor, compared to 21.54
You can download the full data below (plus the banding boundaries, for those who want them) - what can you do with it?
Data summary
|
2012 Rank
|
2011
|
Institution
|
Ave Teac Score
|
Exp. per student / 10
|
Student: staff ratio
|
Uni group
|
2012 max tuition fee
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SOUERCE: INTELLIGENT METRIX, HESA |
|||||||
| 1 | 2 | Cambridge | 100.0 | 9.76 | 11.7 | Russell | 9,000 |
| 2 | 1 | Oxford | 97.9 | 10 | 10.8 | Russell | 9,000 |
| 3 | 4 | St Andrews | 85.3 | 7.25 | 13.3 | 1994 Group | |
| 4 | 8 | London School of Economics | 84.7 | 8.45 | 11.8 | Russell | |
| 5 | 5 | UCL | 82.5 | 8.43 | 9.7 | Russell | 9,000 |
| 6 | 3 | Warwick | 81.8 | 8.56 | 14.1 | Russell | 9,000 |
| 7 | 6 | Lancaster | 79.1 | 7.49 | 13.8 | 1994 Group | 9,000 |
| 8 | 17 | Durham | 77.2 | 6.14 | 15.3 | 1994 Group | 9,000 |
| 9 | 9 | Loughborough | 75.5 | 5.8 | 17.1 | 1994 Group | 9,000 |
| 10 | 7 | Imperial College | 74.1 | 8.54 | 10.9 | Russell | 9,000 |
| 11 | 14 | Exeter | 73.8 | 4.97 | 20.0 | 1994 Group | 9,000 |
| 11 | 15 | Sussex | 73.8 | 4.64 | 16.1 | 1994 Group | 9,000 |
| 13 | 11 | SOAS | 73.7 | 7.02 | 11.1 | 1994 Group | 9,000 |
| 14 | 13 | Bath | 73.6 | 5.33 | 16.1 | 1994 Group | 9,000 |
| 15 | 9 | York | 72.7 | 6.63 | 14.9 | 1994 Group | |
| 16 | 15 | Edinburgh | 70.6 | 8.64 | 14.4 | Russell | |
| 17 | 12 | Leicester | 70.4 | 6.78 | 14.7 | 1994 Group | 9,000 |
| 18 | 19 | UEA | 69.8 | 7.12 | 14.9 | 1994 Group | 9,000 |
| 19 | 20 | Surrey | 69.5 | 7.15 | 19.0 | 1994 Group | 9,000 |
| 19 | 21 | Nottingham | 69.5 | 6.39 | 14.2 | Russell | 9,000 |
| 21 | 23 | Glasgow | 69.2 | 6.47 | 14.5 | Russell | |
| 22 | 24 | City | 68.8 | 7.53 | 17.6 | 9,000 | |
| 23 | 27 | Kent | 68.3 | 6.31 | 14.4 | 9,000 | |
| 24 | 30 | Birmingham | 68.1 | 7.86 | 15.4 | Russell | 9,000 |
| 25 | 33 | Bristol | 67.9 | 6.32 | 13.5 | Russell | 9,000 |
| 26 | 22 | Dundee | 67.8 | 6 | 14.3 | ||
| 27 | 32 | Heriot-Watt | 67.7 | 7.31 | 19.1 | ||
| 28 | 18 | Southampton | 67.1 | 6.24 | 13.6 | Russell | 9,000 |
| 29 | 25 | Strathclyde | 66.9 | 6.16 | 18.0 | ||
| 30 | 25 | King's College London | 66.6 | 6.35 | 12.0 | Russell | 9,000 |
| 31 | 37 | Newcastle | 66.3 | 5.55 | 15.3 | Russell | 9,000 |
| 32 | 45 | Reading | 65.4 | 5.87 | 15.5 | 1994 Group | 9,000 |
| 33 | 31 | Sheffield | 64.5 | 4.83 | 14.9 | Russell | 9,000 |
| 34 | 36 | Aston | 64.2 | 5.9 | 17.1 | 9,000 | |
| 35 | 41 | Royal Holloway | 63.7 | 4.83 | 15.7 | 1994 Group | 9,000 |
| 36 | 46 | Queen Mary | 63.6 | 6.34 | 13.6 | 1994 Group | 9,000 |
| 37 | 35 | Leeds | 63.0 | 6.28 | 14.9 | Russell | 9,000 |
| 38 | 27 | Robert Gordon | 62.6 | 4.23 | 19.0 | ||
| 39 | 43 | Essex | 61.5 | 6.22 | 15.6 | 1994 Group | 9,000 |
| 39 | 46 | Cardiff | 61.5 | 5.96 | 15.0 | Russell | |
| 41 | 51 | Manchester | 61.4 | 7.86 | 15.4 | Russell | 9,000 |
| 42 | 38 | Bournemouth | 60.8 | 6.94 | 23.6 | University Alliance | 9,000 |
| 42 | 48 | Oxford Brookes | 60.8 | 4.94 | 18.1 | University Alliance | 9,000 |
| 44 | 27 | Stirling | 60.7 | 4.25 | 19.3 | ||
| 45 | 33 | Aberdeen | 60.3 | 5.22 | 15.8 | ||
| 46 | 40 | UC Falmouth | 60.2 | 5.95 | 23.5 | Ukadia/ Guild HE | 9,000 |
| 47 | 49 | Plymouth | 60.1 | 7.21 | 16.5 | University Alliance | 9,000 |
| 48 | 52 | Sunderland | 59.7 | 6.7 | 15.8 | Million + | 8,500 |
| 49 | 39 | Liverpool | 59.3 | 6.66 | 13.2 | Russell | 9,000 |
| 50 | 49 | Aberystwyth | 58.8 | 4.77 | 18.1 | University Alliance | 9,000 |
| 50 | 56 | Queen's, Belfast | 58.8 | 5.6 | 14.8 | Russell | |
| 52 | 55 | Edinburgh Napier | 58.5 | 3.58 | 21.6 | Million + | |
| 53 | 54 | Huddersfield | 58.0 | 4.45 | 18.4 | University Alliance | 7,950 |
| 54 | 44 | Keele | 57.3 | 4.4 | 14.5 | 9,000 | |
| 55 | 67 | Northumbria | 56.9 | 4.51 | 20.3 | University Alliance | 8,500 |
| 56 | 63 | Queen Margaret | 56.5 | 2.59 | 21.7 | ||
| 57 | 72 | Lincoln | 56.3 | 3.43 | 19.7 | University Alliance | 9,000 |
| 58 | 42 | Chichester | 56.2 | 3.34 | 16.6 | 8,500 | |
| 59 | 62 | UWE Bristol | 55.5 | 3.82 | 20.7 | University Alliance | |
| 60 | 79 | Teesside | 55.2 | 5.2 | 19.5 | University Alliance | 8,500 |
| 61 | 64 | Gloucestershire | 55.1 | 5.3 | 20.6 | Million + | 8,250 |
| 62 | 58 | Goldsmiths | 54.9 | 3.8 | 17.6 | 1994 Group | 9,000 |
| 63 | 87 | Coventry | 54.5 | 3.33 | 15.7 | Million + | 9,000 |
| 63 | 94 | Northampton | 54.5 | 5.22 | 22.9 | Million + | |
| 65 | 71 | Sheffield Hallam | 54.2 | 4.43 | 19.8 | University Alliance | 8,500 |
| 65 | 67 | Bath Spa | 54.2 | 4.07 | 21.1 | Million + | 9,000 |
| 67 | 53 | Nottingham Trent | 53.9 | 4.53 | 19.7 | University Alliance | |
| 68 | 76 | Glamorgan | 53.7 | 4.6 | 20.2 | University Alliance | |
| 69 | 96 | Winchester | 53.6 | 2.52 | 17.7 | Guild HE | 8,500 |
| 70 | 69 | Central Lancashire | 53.4 | 5.89 | 18.4 | Million + | 9,000 |
| 71 | 57 | UWIC | 53.1 | 4.1 | 20.7 | University Alliance | |
| 72 | 60 | Hertfordshire | 52.9 | 4 | 18.5 | University Alliance | 8,500 |
| 73 | 78 | Brighton | 52.8 | 4.55 | 18.8 | 9,000 | |
| 74 | 79 | Glasgow Caledonian | 52.5 | 3.85 | 20.9 | University Alliance | |
| 75 | 112 | Middlesex | 52.2 | 7.23 | 21.0 | Million + | 9,000 |
| 75 | 59 | Hull | 52.2 | 4.55 | 20.1 | 9,000 | |
| 77 | 69 | Staffordshire | 51.9 | 5.66 | 21.7 | Million + | |
| 78 | 88 | Edge Hill | 50.9 | 3.26 | 18.5 | 9,000 | |
| 79 | 65 | Bangor | 50.8 | 5.35 | 20.7 | ||
| 80 | 79 | Chester | 50.5 | 3.29 | 17.2 | 9,000 | |
| 81 | 77 | Thames Valley | 50.2 | 7.74 | Million + | ||
| 82 | 86 | St Mary's UC, Twickenham | 50.1 | 2.29 | 22.1 | Guild HE | 8,000 |
| 82 | 75 | Brunel | 50.1 | 4.32 | 20.2 | ||
| 84 | 110 | Leeds Trinity University College | 50.0 | 2.08 | 22.8 | Guild HE | 8,000 |
| 85 | 85 | Portsmouth | 49.9 | 4.94 | 20.5 | University Alliance | 8,500 |
| 86 | 74 | Bradford | 49.4 | 5.16 | 17.5 | University Alliance | 9,000 |
| 87 | 105 | Westminster | 49.0 | 3.99 | 17.1 | 9,000 | |
| 88 | 79 | Ulster | 48.9 | 4.07 | 17.0 | ||
| 89 | 83 | Cumbria | 48.7 | 5.6 | 15.3 | Guild HE | 8,400 |
| 90 | 66 | Birmingham City | 48.4 | 5.34 | 20.9 | Million + | |
| 91 | 84 | Anglia Ruskin | 47.8 | 7.7 | 22.7 | Million + | 8,300 |
| 92 | 98 | Kingston | 47.5 | 4.45 | 19.9 | Million + | 9,000 |
| 93 | 73 | De Montfort | 47.3 | 3.91 | 17.5 | University Alliance | 9,000 |
| 94 | 91 | Derby | 47.1 | 4.05 | 20.5 | Million + | 7,995 |
| 94 | 93 | Swansea | 47.1 | 3.93 | 16.5 | ||
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• Banding boundaries (xls)
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Comments
17 May 2011 8:32AM
The university I graduated from has gone up 14 places in one year.
Vast improvement or just really questionable metrics?
17 May 2011 10:18AM
I think the big changes in 'rank' say more about this crappy league table than about the institutions. Does anyone really believe that a University can be twenty places 'better' or 'worse' from one year to the next? Just nonsense.
17 May 2011 2:33PM
You have not ranked the table by 'teaching excellence'. You have ranked them by criteria which you consider proxies for teaching excellence - which in almost every case they are demonstrably not. How can you have the nerve to say that the teaching in one institution is better than another without even sitting on a lecture?
17 May 2011 4:34PM
See foot of the table above:
'SOUERCE: INTELLIGENT METRIX, HESA
Says almost everything about those who put this 'bo......cks' together.
Bert
17 May 2011 6:55PM
If you wanted to study fine art there's no way Oxford or Cambridge are the best places to go - what a load of twaddle.
17 May 2011 7:37PM
This isn't the 'raw data', is it? It's just the published league tables in one handy spreadsheet, and the banding boundaries for two categories. Where can one actually check the data submitted / extracted on, for example, student spend? I can't make sense of this category in the context of institutional operations and would like to know how the reporting's done.
17 May 2011 8:28PM
Stirling has apparently slipped from 27 to 44. Yet you haven't included any data on the teaching of eg sociology, social policy and social work some of the largest areas of teaching there. In contrast the National Student Survey -for example- recorded 100% satisfaction with social policy teaching at Stirling.....???? Not very impressive. Can you please explain?
17 May 2011 9:30PM
Hm. Whether or not you believe in it, the formula for "Guardian score" is certainly not obviously computable from the supplied data. On individual criteria Lancaster is ranked 23,20,14,14,22,66,50 yet ends up ranked 7th. No combination of the individual scores can lead to that...
17 May 2011 10:28PM
Correction. There are combinations that can invert the rankings, but it's unlikely: the sets of higher-ranked items in each category would need to be quite disjoint, and as there are only 94 items, there isn't a lot of space for that to happen.
19 May 2011 12:23PM
After seeing Brunel ranked so highly in last year's table for Art and Design I looked on their website. There was no first degree in Fine Art. I thought the course might have been scrapped after the table had been compiled so I contacted them. They confirmed that they have no degree in Fine Art. How can they rank so highly for Art and Design, then?
19 May 2011 7:42PM
These tables are just ridiculous!
All it does is reinforce peoples attitudes towards who goes to what uni. So if you go to a university on the lower end of the table you will be seen as inferior than those at the higher end. Its just absolute rubbish!