Regardless of the point of view, in Britain this year Oxford is in first place. In second – you guessed it – Cambridge. This was once again shown by a new ranking of British universities published in the Guardian newspaper.
The ranking is called the Guardian University Guide 2008. Why, since 2008 is still far away? Because the information is intended for future applicants, those who will only start thinking about admission and submitting documents in September, in order to begin studies next year. Although, according to the compilers, it will also be useful for those who become students this year: after all, under British rules, an applicant can receive offers from several educational institutions at once. And since the final stage of enrollment takes place in August, they will have to make a quick decision.
The ranking is unusual in that it used data from the National Student Survey (NSS) to understand how students themselves evaluate their universities. Since the ranking is intended to be a guiding thread for applicants entering bachelor's programs, the emphasis was placed on the quality of teaching, rather than on research achievements, which would be more likely to interest future master's and doctoral students and which usually play a large role in the formation of other rankings.
When compiling the ranking, the following criteria were taken into account: quality of teaching (according to final-year student assessments); feedback (according to final-year student assessments); spending per student; student-to-staff ratio; career prospects; 'value added' – comparison of degree results with entry qualifications; entry tariff. Based on these criteria, average indicators were derived for each university, taking into account the number of students and the range of subjects studied. True, the compilers are aware that not everyone may agree with their conclusions – after all, students may have different needs and demands. This even depends on the subject – for example, art faculty students turned out to be more critical than biologists or historians. Two universities – London Metropolitan and Keele – refused to provide data for the table.
Acknowledging the undisputed primacy of Oxbridge, now also in student assessment, the compilers of the ranking still note the achievements of some other educational institutions in teaching individual disciplines. Bournemouth and Brighton are first and second respectively in the specialty 'Tourism'. Oxford Brookes teaches 'Social Work' excellently, and Bedfordshire (formerly Luton) distinguished itself in the field of media. Sport is the forte of Bath and Loughborough, while the teaching of chemistry at the University of Sussex earned the highest ratings from respondents.
Oxford's Vice-Chancellor John Hood said he is delighted that the oldest university in Britain has received such a high assessment. 'This result speaks more than eloquently about the high level of our students and professors, the quality of our research and teaching, the extraordinary libraries, museums and other resources that – I say this with pride – we can provide to our students.'
Cambridge overtook Oxford in another university ranking
However, in the official ranking of the best universities in Great Britain, published on July 30 by The Telegraph, for the first time since 2001 Cambridge overtook Oxford.
According to the publication, 113 educational institutions in Great Britain were assessed on nine different indicators. In the final ranking, Cambridge came out best in entry exam scores, quality of teaching facilities, and prospects after graduation. Oxford took second place in the ranking.
The list of best universities is published on the website Thegooduniversityguide.org.uk. According to the ranking, Cambridge and Oxford are followed by Imperial College, London School of Economics and the Scottish university St Andrews, which has the highest student satisfaction score. At the bottom of the list is Edge Hill College.
However, according to Lenta.ru, those interested can change this ranking depending on which indicators are important to them personally. The website has the ability to modify this list according to specified parameters. According to professors, this will help students better navigate the higher education sector.