Oxford University has slipped beneath UCL in a world league table published this week, undermining its position amongst British and international institutions.
Oxford was placed joint-fifth with Imperial College in the Times-QS World University Rankings, whilst UCL assumed Oxford’s position from last year in fourth place, up from seventh.
Cambridge was ranked as the second-best institution in the world, the place occupied by Oxford just two years ago.
Phil Baty, editor of the table, explained reasons for the changes. He said, “UCL was only fractionally above Oxford overall. It gained points over Oxford for having a higher proportion of international students on its campus, and it achieved a higher score for its research excellence, suggesting that the work of its researchers has become more influential. Oxford comes out with perfect scores on reputation but citations per staff have slipped slightly while UCL has improved dramatically.”
Oxford achieved full marks in the opinion survey of academics, and in the survey where employers were asked whose graduates they most look to recruit, yet it lost points for research citations. Those compiling the league table concluded that while the top rankings were “very tight”, UCL’s investigations into issues such as global health and climate change, and its strong proportion of international students, merited its new position above the “global super-brands like Oxford”.
Oxford University has responded to the news by drawing attention to its high rankings in other tables. A spokesperson said, “League table rankings can vary as they often use different methods to measure success, but Oxford University’s position is surprising given that Oxford came top of the table for [research] funding, has the highest research income of any UK university, and has come first in every national league table.”
Jonny Medland, OUSU Vice-President of Access and Academic Affairs, was of the opinion that the league table should be considered within the bigger picture, “One result in a league table shouldn’t be viewed with too much concern. The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise showed Oxford as being the most powerful research university in the UK and the THE-QS rankings use a methodology which don’t fully take this into account. There is, however, always room for improvement.”
The UCL President and Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant, was happy with his university’s position commenting, “We are pleased by UCL’s spectacular progression up the tables in recent years. [It] is a remarkable place. It has an edginess to it, a spirit of restless energy, and its traditions are of radical change and innovation.”
The table also suggested that Oxford faces increased competition from international universities, particularly in India and the Far East. Phil Baty pointed out, “Spending on higher education in Asia is phenomenal and that’s why you see their results going up.”
Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group commented, “The broad message of these tables is clear – the leading UK research universities are held in high esteem internationally but countries like China and Korea, which are investing massively in their best institutions, are snapping at our heels.”
The announcement that Oxford had attained its worst placing since the tables began in 2004 has concerned some students. Anna Bone, a second year Human Sciences undergraduate said, “If Oxford really is struggling financially, that’s bad news. I’m surprised by this league table, because I thought Oxford was top of them all.”
The table was drawn-up on the basis of a survey of 9,386 academics, a poll of top 3,281 employers, staff-to-student ratios, recruitment of international staff and students, and research citations.
