17th June 2014 9:00
By Blue Tutors
Non-Russell Group universities are charging ahead in league tables, proving that in areas of employability and student satisfaction, they are able to rival their more prestigious peers. This year’s Guardian University League table has shown that Bath, Surrey and Lancaster universities have overtaken some Russell Group peers, knocking University College London out of the top ten. In a significant shake up of the table, LSE has also shifted down the list to 7th place, losing its third place to St Andrews, and coming in after Bath, Imperial College, and Surrey. Cambridge University remains top of the table, and has widened the gap between itself and Oxford University which stands in second place.
The league table examines spending per student, student/staff ratio, graduate career prospects, entry requirements, student satisfaction, employment prospects and a value added calculation which measures entry qualifications against final degree results. Universities such as Bath and Surrey which have been extremely successful this year have said that they work hard to find students places on graduate schemes. They have also created several opportunities for students to meet with university administration in addition to standard student representation, developments which have greatly increased their student satisfaction rating. Bath University has implemented a scheme whereby 60% of their students now do a work placement as part of their degree, a project which has enabled them to compete with Russell group universities in the employment stakes.
The league table showed a general trend of non-Russell group universities improving drastically, especially in the areas of graduate employment, staff/student ratio and overall student satisfaction. Meanwhile Russell Group universities such as UCL and LSE which fell in the table have seen a fall in the number of leavers gaining graduate employment, or going on to further study. Overall student satisfaction is also down, prompting concerns that the universities have not responded to students demand for increased contact time and support following the rise in tuition fees. The consultancy behind the league table Intelligent Metrix has said that the table clearly showed that universities needed to listen and act on the concerns of their students.