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Q I would like to know why the University of the West of Scotland was not listed in the ratings ?

I have heard that the UWS and the courses offered are pretty good.

Manu, Hyderabad, India

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A. The West of Scotland is not listed because it is one of four universities that block the release of the statistics from which the guide is compiled. The others are Liverpool Hope, London Metropolitan and Swansea Metropolitan.

The West of Scotland's explanation is that most of the statistics in this year's guide would relate to the two institutions (Paisley University and Bell College) that merged to form the new university. It considers that they would give a misleading picture. London Metropolitan gave the same reason for boycotting league tables in its early years, but still does so five years later.

The West of Scotland was 103rd in our table last year, while Paisley was 102nd in the previous year, before the merger took place.

Q. Can you comment on exactly why universities like the LSE and Nottingham have dropped so much in your ranking in the space of only a few years? It seems strange to think that 2 universities who have expanded and invested so much can be regarded as going backwards by your guide.

A. The London School of Economics is in the top ten and Nottingham in the top 20 out of 114 universities, so they have hardly dropped like a stone. But significant expansion does sometimes lead to a slight (often temporary) drop in league tables. There may be a marginal decline in staffing levels, spending on facilities may not keep pace with the increased numbers and entry grades may be slightly lower than before.

The LSE is only four points behind Warwick, which has upped its spending on facilities in the latest edition of the guide, and seven behind University College London, which has the best staffing ratio at any university, so the margins can be slim. Southampton, which was level with Nottingham in last year’s guide, slipped down the table when it expanded in the 1990s, but is now higher than ever. Both the LSE and Nottingham are among the most popular universities in terms of applications and did well in last year’s research asessments. They may well move back up our table in years to come.

Q. Why do you not follow the US and global rankings and include a reputation or "prestige" score? These rankings are not used by students any more because they do not signify the "best" universities just one's that do best in manipulative criteria. Also recruiter reviews would be helpful.

A. Reputational scores are controversial, as I have discovered through my association with the global rankings that you mention. They are necessary in the global context because most of the measures used in The Times Good University Guide are not available internationally. The guide already has two measures of opinion – research quality and student satisfaction – so we try to make the rest as factual as possible.

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