Oxford tops Guardian university league tables

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Oxford tops the Guardian rankings as the best university for students, according to new league tables published by EducationGuardian.co.uk today.
Arch rivals Cambridge and Imperial College are in second and third place, while Prince William's alma mater St Andrews soars into fourth place on the strength of high student satisfaction ratings.

Other powerhouses in the capital, University College London and the London School of Economics, fill the next places, followed by Edinburgh, Warwick, Bath and Loughborough universities.

Oxbridge departments account for many of the top spots in results for individual subjects but new universities shine in some subjects - Bournemouth and Brighton first and second in tourism, Oxford Brookes tops social work, while Bedfordshire (formerly Luton) ranks third in media and communication behind Russell group giants Newcastle and Sheffield. When it comes to sports science, Bath and Loughborough rule.

In chemistry, the winner was the Sussex University department threatened with closure until a public outcry helped ensure its survival last year, although the most popular chemistry department with students was Loughborough, awarded 10/10 for teaching and feedback.

Professor Andrew Smith, the head of the chemistry department at Sussex, said: "Our position reflects both the quality and success of our undergraduates and the underlying quality of the educational provision at Sussex and we look forward to building on this in the future."

The Guardian's University Guide 2008 is aimed at helping prospective students choose courses - so it concentrates less than alternative tables on research ratings. It judges courses on the student verdict on teaching and feedback, gathered from final year undergraduates in the National Student Survey, plus spending per student, staff/student ratios, job prospects, entry qualifications and a value-added measure comparing individuals' entry qualifications with their degree results.

The average subject scores, weighted according to the number of students, go to make a Guardian score for the institutions.

Oxford's vice-chancellor, John Hood, said he was delighted by the recognition for the oldest university in the English-speaking world. "The result says volumes about the high calibre of our students and staff, the quality of our research and teaching, and the fantastic libraries, museums and other resources I am proud to say we can offer scholars."

St Andrews, Scotland's oldest university, came third in English, modern languages and maths and pipped UCL for the fourth place overall. The principal, Brian Lang, commented: "Given that we do not have the additional spending power and competitive advantage which tuition fees have given our sister institutions south of the Border, this is a good result, not just for St Andrews but for Scottish higher education."

The online guide links to brief profiles of universities and colleges (including the bursaries they offer) and for the first time this year it gives information on the sort of skills a student can expect to acquire in studying a particular subject and the sort of jobs open to him or her.

The tables have been compiled for EducationGuardian.co.uk by Campus Pi, an applied research unit at Brunel University, from data returned by the universities to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa). The tables are based on data for full-time undergraduates, so institutions like the Open University and Birkbeck College London which specialise in part-time students, or Cranfield which is a postgraduate institution, do not feature.

Two universities - Keele and London Metropolitan - did not allow their data to be used.

http://education.guardian.co.uk/universityguide2008/story/0,,2069022,00.html