Click here for the Good University Guide rankings for 2008

The top university league table 2007 ranks universities by measuring nine key aspects of activity. Scores were weighted by 1.5 for student satisfaction and research assessment. The totals for all universities were transformed to a scale where the top score was set at 1,000, with those for the remaining universities being a proportion of that score. If a university was missing any data, the total score was based on the remaining data available.

Student satisfaction: a view of the learning experience at the university, taken from part of the National Student Survey in 2005. The survey It is a measure of student opinion, not a direct measure of quality. Scottish universities were not included and a small number of English ones had insufficient data.

Research assessment: average quality of researchby all staffat the university, from the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise.

Entry standards: average fullfull UCAS tariff score of new students under age 21, from the HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) in 2003/04. At A level, an A grade is 120 points, B 100, C 80, D 60, and E 40. AS grades are worth halfas much.

Student-staff ratio: average number of students per staff member at the university, taken from HESA data for 2003/04.

Library/computing spend: average expenditure per student on library and computing facilities, from HESA data between 2001 and 2004.

Facilities spend: average expenditure per student on facilities such as sports, careers services, health and counselling, from HESA data between 2001 and 2004.

Good honours: percentage of graduates achieving a first or upper second class degree, from HESA data for 2003-04.

Graduate prospects: the percentage of a university’s UK graduates in “graduate” employment or further study, from HESA data for 2003-04. Only occupations that normally need a degree were included.

Completion: the percentage of students at each university who are expected to graduate, including those who transfer to other institutions to complete courses, mainly from HESA data for 2003/04 and earlier years.

Click here for the Good University Guide rankings 2007

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