York falls out of Top 10 British universities
The University of York has fallen to 11th place in this year’s The Times Good University Guide.
The University fell two places from ninth last year, after York’s total score out of 1000 decreased by 25 points, from 736 to 711, placing it below both Exeter and Bristol, who rose four places and remained in tenth position respectively.
University Press Officer David Garner said: “Naturally we would always prefer to be in the Top 10, but the interpretation of the data is something over which we have no control. We are ranked in the Top 10 in other newspaper league tables.”
Certain areas of the assessment, including Graduate Prospects and Services and Facility Spending, contributed to York’s position, and taken individually placed the University significantly outside the Top 10. Out of 100, York scores only 69.4 points for Graduate Prospects. Bristol and Durham Universities scored 82 and 78 points respectively.
Garner added: “Slight fluctuations such as this do occur from time to time in newspaper league tables, mainly as a result in changes in the criteria used by compilers. In this case, the new factor is the RAE.
“York did well in the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) based on the submission of research by a very high proportion of academic staff, other institutions did marginally better – but based on a much lower proportion of staff. The Times appears not to have taken so-called ‘intensity’ into account.”
YUSU Academic and Welfare Officer Charlie Leyland says that she is “disappointed to see that the institution has dropped out of the Top 10”, and that it will give the Union “leverage to demand more student-led reviews of the University.”
She added: “This year’s RAE results were a cause for celebration, but we must remain vigilant and ensure that rewarded research does translate into better teaching and learning for our students.”
The assessments are based on the 2008 RAE, which measures the “calibre of academic research and influences the destination of £1.5 billion a year of research funding.”
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