The rankings of all four of Edinburgh’s universities have changed in the Guardian University League table 2013, with two rising and also two falling quite far. The data, compiled by The Guardian in conjunction with Intelligent Metrix, measures, amongst other factors, teaching standards, career prospects and looks at student satisfaction based on the annual National Student Survey.
The University of Edinburgh is ranked 15th, up one place from 2011 and Heriot-Watt has risen from 27th to 20th place. Edinburgh Napier University and Queen Margaret University have both plummeted though, both ranked in joint 73rd place; Edinburgh Napier was previously placed at 52nd and Queen Margaret was 56th last year.
Judy Friedberg, Guardian Universities Editor, recently commented online:- “The Guardian tables are compiled to help students find good courses. So we emphasise how current students feel about their courses, how much face time they get with staff, and the extent to which their academic performance improves at university. We don’t rank universities according to their research achievements, which many other tables do. That may be one of the reasons that our rankings produce a few surprises.
“We also have regular meetings with our ‘review group’, comprising representatives from a range of universities, and they help us ensure our rankings are the best they possibly can be.”
The way in which the data is compiled can be found here.
Do you attend any of Edinburgh’s universities? If yes, do you feel the Guardian’s results are accurate? If you are a prospective student, how much of an impact do the Guardian’s figures have on your decision to study at an Edinburgh institution? All comments are welcome below.
