Universities slip down league table

THREE Yorkshire universities have fallen down the latest world league table, with Sheffield and Leeds both dropping by more than 50 places and out of the top 100.

York has maintained its position as the best in Yorkshire, ahead of Sheffield and Leeds, in the top 200 of today’s World University Rankings from a leading education magazine.

The US dominates the Times Higher Education table, with 72 institutions in the top 200, and all five top places, including Harvard at number one, California Institute of Technology at number two, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in third.

The UK, which has historically viewed its higher education sector as world-leading, has just 14 universities in the top 100.

Countries which have invested heavily in higher education, like China, South Korea and Canada, are performing well, warned magazine editor Ann Mroz.

“Higher education funding is currently a matter of worldwide debate,” she added, “and we urge those discussing the issue to remember the importance of a strong university system for excellence in research and teaching, and as a driver of the knowledge economy.”

Last year, British universities accounted for four out of the top 10, with eight in the top 50 and 18 in the top 100.

Organisers said a new method of compiling the list, which places less emphasis on reputation and heritage, makes it difficult to interpret movement up or down since last year as a change in performance.

But survey editor Phil Baty added: “We do contend, however, that these tables are realistic, and so in some cases they may deliver an unpleasant wake-up call that the days of trading on reputation alone are coming to an end.”

York (joint 81st) is the region’s only institution in the top 100 but has dropped back to its 2008 position, after rising to joint 70th in 2009.

Sheffield has fallen 55 places from 82nd to its worst position in the rankings since 2006, while Leeds crashed almost 70 places from 99th, to its worst ever placing.

The Times Higher Education (THE) magazine is using a new data provider for the first time since it launched its analysis in 2004 which has led to suggestions the rankings are flawed.

Professor Michael Arthur, University of Leeds Vice-Chancellor, said: “The numerous university league tables on offer diverge widely in their results and methodologies, and every table, including this one, has a big element of subjectivity.

“The table clearly has its limitations and inconsistencies – its compilers themselves admit to ‘anomalies’. It ignores the overall impact of a major research-intensive institution like Leeds.”

The data also paints a different picture to last week’s Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings, where Sheffield and Leeds overtook York as Yorkshire’s best universities, and all three were placed in the top 100. The Times Higher worked with QS between 2004 and 2009, but is now using data supplied by Thomson Reuters.

A University of Sheffield spokesman said: “The University of Sheffield welcomes the confirmation that we are amongst the top one per cent of universities worldwide, outlined in today’s rankings. Other world rankings, which use different criteria, also confirm our strong global position.”

Overall, Britain’s performance in the Times Higher was down on last year, with only five universities in the world’s top 50 – Cambridge (joint sixth), Oxford (joint sixth), Imperial College London (ninth), University College London (22nd) and Edinburgh (40th) – and 14 in the top 100.

Prof Brian Cantor, University of York Vice-Chancellor, said: “Our performance reflects great credit on the dedication and hard work of all our staff and illustrates the international esteem in which the university is held.”