The biggest university in the country can also claim to be the best, with the
naming of the University of Manchester as the 2006 Sunday Times
University of the Year.
In teaching and research — and the small matter of student experience —
Manchester makes a potent case to prospective students. That’s why 62,000
applied to study here this year, 10,000 more than any other university.
No university in the country — Cambridge and Oxford included — has had more
subjects given excellent teaching ratings in the past 15 years. There have
been 36 in all. Manchester has a formidable reputation spanning most
disciplines, but most notably in the life sciences, engineering, humanities,
economics, sociology and the social sciences.
The university, synonymous with Rutherford and the splitting of the atom, is
still pushing back the frontiers of knowledge today. It earns more than
£170m a year from its research work and has more than 1,600 research-active
staff. Six research institutes were established within months of the 2004
merger between the Victoria University of Manchester and the University of
Manchester Institute of Science and Technology as the new university put
down a marker in research terms.
Up to 15th in our main league table, the university is making waves in
academia. Our peer review survey, where the opinions of leading academics
are canvassed, ranked Manchester eighth in the UK. So it is not just
students who want to be here.
“I’ve never been in a university before where people ring up and say, ‘I know
you haven’t advertised a job, but would you create one for me’,” says
Professor Alan Gilbert, the Australian vice-chancellor brought in by
Manchester to drive through the merger.
It is the biggest current project in British higher education and has defined
the parameters within which the new institution is operating. But all eyes
are on the future. “We have been lucky that there is a real sense of
engagement,” says Gilbert.
The bottom line is that Manchester aims to be a world top 25 university by
2015, a vision set out in its Manchester 2015 Agenda. Which is all fine on
paper, but what does that mean for the university’s 40,000 undergraduate and
postgraduate students? “There will be tangible benefits for students,” says
Gilbert. “The main benefit will come from the sheer excitement of being here
and the commitment of the university to being world-class in all it does.”
At the top end, the university aims to recruit five Nobel laureates by 2015,
three of them by the end of next year. With one such appointment made —
Joseph Stiglitz, an authority on global poverty appointed to lead the
university’s Brooks World Poverty Institute — and another imminent,
Manchester is well on the way to meeting this objective. It also aims to
double the number of Fellows of the Royal Society and top scientific and
scholarly staff by 2010.
By the time of the 2008 research assessment exercise, the university hopes it
will be able to demonstrate that at least half of its research is of
international quality. That means turning ratings from 5 to 5*.
Improving its research profile is one of nine formal objectives that
Manchester aims to achieve by 2015. The others include widening
participation and to offer a more effective service to the community.
Unusually for a vice-chancellor, Gilbert accepts that one measure of progress
will come through academic league tables. Manchester has already progressed
in The Sunday Times table, rising three places to 15 this year, just short
of its highest ever position.
In competing with Oxbridge and other leading universities, Gilbert does not
accept that Manchester has to adopt some of the social inbalances that
characterise many of these institutions. This is enshrined in the Manchester
leadership programme, designed to boost students’ skills in project
management, communication, conflict resolution and teamwork. There are two
elements to it. One is a degree course unit, and the other requires students
to undertake 60 hours of volunteering.
“It’s all about recognising their own social and political responsibility —
and starting to give something back while they are still students,” says
Gilbert.
“Elitism is a losing strategy for the future. A meritocratic admissions policy
is indispensable. We have to understand educational deprivation and
recognise outstanding people who will blossom into international quality
leaders in whatever they do.”
To this end, Manchester has established one of the most generous bursary and
scholarship schemes to counter the rise in annual tuition fees from this
month to £3,000. The headlines have been dominated by the 10 President’s
Awards, each worth £10,000 a year to recognise outstanding academic
achievement. But there are also smaller awards worth between £1,000 and
£5,000 to help those from homes with incomes under £26,500, plus 300
subject-specific awards based on academic achievement (usually AAA at
A-level). Overall, a third of undergraduates will benefit, which could mean
about 8,000 students.
While Gilbert is bullish about the need for increased fees — “the best deficit
funding of anything you will ever make” — he is confident that the scheme
will preserve the university’s reputation for social inclusiveness. “It’s an
entitlement, not a quota. Show us that you can benefit from Manchester and
you are not in competition for a bursary — you will get one.”
For all Manchester’s persuasive academic credentials, however, an equal (and
some might argue bigger) draw is the location. The university is one of
three practically side-by-side.
“Our big competitive advantage was best summed up by the president of the
students’ union, who said he came here because Manchester was the coolest
place in the world. It is an extraordinary city,” says Gilbert. “I have
never been in a place that knows where it is going more clearly.”
Manchester beat off strong competition to lift our University of the Year
title, most notably from Exeter, which was in the running for the award for
the third year in the past five. Exeter’s excellent record merits special
recognition as runner-up this year. Students here are some of the most
satisfied in the country, ranking it on the fringes of the top 10. High
entry standards and low dropout rates further entrench its standing.
Continuous development includes £100m set aside to update the Cornish campus
and £1m to be spent annually on scholarships and bursaries to attract the
cream of A-level candidates.
Our Scottish University of the Year, St Andrews, also makes the shortlist for
the national title, which it won outright in 2002. St Andrews’ profile
rocketed when Prince William became its most famous undergraduate. Having
graduated last summer, he leaves behind a hugely popular institution —
applications are up 10% this year on top of last year’s 20% rise.
It has the highest number of admissions from England of any Scottish
institution and, for the third consecutive year, St Andrews has not entered
clearing. With Edinburgh and Glasgow, it broke ranks this year to enter the
national student survey (NSS) and was vindicated by being placed third for
student satisfaction, behind only the University of Buckingham and The Open
University.
In fact, non-participation in the NSS led to the exclusion of excellent
universities such as Warwick from our deliberations for the University of
the Year award.
King’s College London makes our shortlist for the first time. Ranked 13 for
the third consecutive year, it has easily the highest ranking among London
full-time colleges for student satisfaction. Coming to the end of a £500m
facelift, King’s has modern facilities to match the best.
Research has a strong tradition and so it follows that teaching does as well.
The medical school at King’s is one of the largest and most respected in the
world, and the university is proactive in its recruiting students from
non-standard background, particularly in law and medicine.
Lancaster University completes our shortlist, offering teaching excellence
with strong corporate links. The university works closely with employers and
many degrees include work placements or a year’s study abroad.
One of the success stories of 1960s, Lancaster’s collegiate system belies its
20th-century roots and it has a reputation to match any of the older
universities.
Additional reporting: Zoe Thomas
