The University of Andrews has been ranked the best university in the UK, bumping both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge out of the top spot for the first time in the league table’s history.
With high scores in teaching quality, student experience and its faring through the pandemic, it has topped The Times’ Good University Guide of 2022 for the first time in the table’s 30 years, rising up the ranks from third place.
Last year’s winner, the University of Cambridge, sank down two places in the scoreboard.
The Times’ British University rankings take into account an institution’s teaching quality, student experience and research quality, along with facility-based factors such as the student: staff ratio and success-based metrics; the university’s completion rate and graduate prospects.
It also looks at specific components of social inclusion such as opportunities for disable students and the black achievement gap, and evaluates the student experience through the pandemic.
The rankings aim to help prospective students make an “informed decision” about their higher education, The Times writes, providing a snapshot of each institution’s successes and failings.
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The top 10 universities
1. The University of St Andrews
The institution in Fife, Scotland, has toppled both the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford from the top spot, ranking first in the league table.
The University of St Andrews recorded ratings of both teaching quality and student experience that were more than four points above its competitors; a continuation of the school’s high student satisfaction scores in recent years.
2. Oxford University
Behind the University of St Andrews, sits the University of Oxford in second place, the same ranking it received last year.
The prestigious university has come in either first or second each year since the league table began.
As the relevant data to derive teaching quality and student experience for Oxford and Cambridge weren’t available due to a lack of National Student Survey, or NSS data, scores for each university were adjusted from their 2016 scores by the overall percentage point change between 2016 and 2021, among the cohort of universities in this league table.
3. The University of Cambridge
Cambridge has been ranked third in the The Times’ Good University Guide of 2022, marking a fall from its first-place spot in the last league table.
While the university maintained a fairly high placing, it came bottom in the guide’s rankings for social inclusion. Oxford was second to last.
4. Imperial College London
Ranking third in the charts is Imperial College London, which sweeped up high rankings in teaching quality and student satisfaction and even better marks in completion rate and graduate prospects.
The institution, which focuses entirely on science, engineering, medicine and business, ranked better than the top three in graduate prospects, with a 93 per cent scoring.
5. London School of Economics and Political Science
Fifth place in the league table was awarded to another London-based university, which focuses on social, political and economic sciences.
Much like the Imperial College, the London School of Economics and Political Science scored a 92 per cent scoring for graduate prospects.
6. Durham University
Coming in with the sixth best ranking, Durham University recorded solid scores for ranking measures across the board.
The institution in the north-east of England, which was home to a sizable coronavirus outbreak in October of 2020, dropped to 31st place equal when it came to students’ rating of the school’s operation through the pandemic.
7. University College London
University College London, a major public research university located in London’s Bloomsbury, came in 7th place in the league table.
8. University of Warwick
Coming in eighth place, rising two places from its 10th ranking last year, was the University of Warwick, on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England.
9. University of Bath
Remaining in ninth place was the University of Bath, making it the top-ranked university in the south-west.
10. Loughborough University
While Loughborough University came in 10th place in the Times’ University rankings, it was punching above its weight in student experience, in which category it ranked fourth.
The bottom 10 Universities
123. Middlesex University
Middlesex University, in Hendon, northwest London, scored 123rd place in the league table, marking a drop from its former ranking of 121.
124. Leeds Trinity University
Sweeping the 124th place was Leeds Trinity University.
The institution, which recorded a relatively low score for graduate prospects - 61.8 per cent - had dropped substantially in rankings from last year, when it placed 110th.
125. University of Cumbria
The University of Cumbria ranked 125th place, down from its 114th ranking last year.
126. De Montfort University
Public university in the city of Leicester, De Montfort University, came in 126th place.
127. London South Bank University
Ranking 127th in the scoreboard was London South Bank University, an institution based in Elephant and Castle.
128. University of Wolverhampton
Coming in 128th, the fifth-to-last ranking, is the University of Wolverhampton.
While both the teaching quality and the student experience remained relatively high, at 74.4 and 67.1 per cent respectively, the institution lacked in other ranking areas, remaining stagnant in the same spot it achieved last year.
129. University of Westminster
The University of Westminster came in placing number 129th, dropping three spots from its placing last year.
The university’s student experience ranking was fairly low, at 66.5 per cent, while graduate prospects were also lacking, at 57.3 per cent.
130. University of East London
Sitting in third-to-last place was the University of East London, which had dropped one spot from its ranking last year.
131. Ravensbourne University London
Another London-based higher education institution, Ravensbourne University London, came in second-to-last place, having dropped one place from last year.
The university’s student experience was lacking, at 54.7 per cent.
132. University of Bedfordshire
Ranking bottom in the Times’ Good University Guide of 2022 was the University of Bedfordshire.
The institution recorded a very low completion rate, of 53.1 per cent, and slim graduate prospects, which sat at 66.2 per cent.