University ratings

The first thing that students should be aware of concerning higher education in the UK is that unlike most other education systems, the UK system is subjected to strict quality control exercises carried out by government appointed independent bodies. This ensures that there are no poor quality institutions and so no matter where you study you will receive a first class education. The quality control exercises cover both the teaching standards and the quality of the research being done at postgraduate level. The quality control exercises are carried out at a departmental level rather than at an institutional level. Therefore there is no "official" government ranking for universities in the UK.

The Quality Assessment Exercise (QAE) takes place every four years and every department at every university in the country is subjected to it. At postgraduate level the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) checks the level of research being done in every department. Departments are rated from 1 to 5* with 5* being the highest rating. This is the most reliable way to choose an institution to undertake research. In the Teaching Quality Assessment (TQA?) departments are rated out of a maximum score of 24, 24/24 being the best possible score. The ratings indicate the quality of teaching, the standard of facilities and the quality of the courses being taught by the department. This is the most reliable way for a student to choose a taught course.

Students should be aware that there is no official government league table of universities in the UK. The only official government ratings are the "Research Ratings" and the "Teaching Assessment Ratings".
The Research Ratings take place every four years and, as their name suggests, they look at research undertaken in individual departments. Departments are ranked on a scale of 1 to 5*, with 5* being the highest ranking. The Research Rankings are more useful to students wanting to undertake research in the UK. Undergraduate students should pay more attention to the Teaching Assessment Ratings.

In addition to the above government ratings, there are also the unofficial newspaper rankings published every year by the Times Newspaper, The Telegraph and The Guardian. These league tables are often source of controversy with academics arguing about the way that they are compiled. Students should use the newspaper rankings as a general guide only.

NB. Students should not use ratings as the only factor when choosing a course. As stated above, due to strict quality control there are no poor institutions. Students would therefore be wise to make decisions, which also take into account the course content, and location in order to choose the most appropriate course and to ensure a suitable living environment. They should also take into account the government rankings above as well as how suitable a particular course is to their own needs and the location of the university. Students should aim to get into the university that is most suitable for them and not simply aim for the highest possible university based on the newspaper rankings.

Top 20 political science universities in United Kingdom (source: Times, 2005)

Rating. Name, Teaching, Research (4/5, A/B), Tariff, Destinations, Overall score.

1. Oxford, 24, 5*, B, 500, 80, 100.0
2. Warwick, 24, 5, B, 432, 75, 95.2
3. King's, College, London, 24, 5*, A, 395, 55, 95.1
4. Bath, 24, 5, A, 335, 80, 95.0
5. Sheffield, 24, 5*, A, 418, 50, 94.9
6. York, 24, 5, A, 427, 60, 94.3
7. St, Andrews, 5, A, 455, 60, 93.8
8. Essex, 24, 5*, A, 309, 55, 92.9
9. Birmingham, 24, 5, B, 367, 70, 92.7
10. Aberystwyth, E, 5*, A, 313, 55, 92.3
11. Nottingham, 24, 4, A, 404, 65, 92.0
12. Cambridge, 23, 4, A, 456, 85, 90.7
13. Bradford, 24, 5, B, 260, 70, 89.9
14. Bristol, 23, 5, A, 407, 70, 89.5
15. Manchester, 24, 5, B, 376, 45, 89.0
16. Salford, 24, 5, A, 253, 55, 88.9
17 Keele, 24, 5, A, 282, 40, 87.3
=18. Newcastle, 23, 5, B, 345, 75, 87.1
=18. London, School, of, Economics, 22, 5, A, 473, 80, 87.1
20. Strathclyde, E, 5, B, 326, 40, 86.1

Universities are ranked by the overall combined score from four indicators: assessments of teaching quality and research, average A-level scores of entrants and destinations. The destinations figure is the percentage of graduates who go on to graduate-type jobs or further study. Scores are weighted to ensure fairness when data is missing from one of the columns.

Source: http://www.thegooduniversityguide.co.uk/subject_tables_2006.php?selected_table=poli