THE ‘Table of Tables’ 2017: Loughborough catching up with elite

Loughborough University is the biggest riser in this year’s Times Higher Education “Table of Tables” as it cements its place in the upper echelons of the domestic rankings.

The Midlands institution is sixth in the latest table, which is based on the combined results of the UK’s three main domestic university rankings, up from 12th last year and behind a top five that is largely unchanged from last year.

First position is taken by the University of Cambridge for the sixth consecutive year, with the institution claiming maximum points after topping The Complete University Guide, the rankings published by The Guardian, and the combined Times and Sunday Times’ Good University Guide.

The University of Oxford and the University of St Andrews hold on to second and third places, respectively, and while Imperial College London remains in fourth, it shares that position this year with Durham University, which was fifth last year.

There is more volatility in the rest of the table, with Loughborough’s rise reflecting improvements in its performance in all three domestic rankings tables, and follows THE analysis that suggested that it could also be one of the top performers in the forthcoming teaching excellence framework.

The rest of the top 10 in the Table of Tables is completed by the London School of Economics in seventh, up one place on last year; the University of Warwick in eighth, down two; Lancaster University in ninth, up two; and the University of Surrey in 10th, down three.

There are two new entrants in this year’s table, City, University of London (27th) and Falmouth University (29th), both on the back of a strong performance in the Guardian ranking. Falmouth’s inclusion means that there are now two post-92 institutions in the top 30, with Coventry University – a new entrant last year – slipping one place to 24th.

Heriot-Watt University and the University of Leicester, last year 27th and 30th, respectively, drop out of the top 30 this year.

Beyond Loughborough, the biggest risers are the University of Nottingham and King’s College London, which both climbed four places, to 20th and joint 25th, respectively.

Alongside Surrey, three other institutions slipped by three places: the universities of Exeter (joint 12th), Southampton (17th) and Glasgow (30th).

The University of Manchester again missed out on re-entering the top 30th, where it last appeared in 2013, while the University of Dundee was another near miss.

chris.havergal@tesglobal.com

Times Higher Education Table of Tables 2017: top 30 results

Each year since 2008, Times Higher Education has compiled a “Table of Tables” to offer a snapshot of how universities are viewed by national newspapers. It is calculated by giving the 30 top-ranked institutions in league tables compiled by The Good University Guide (published by The Times and The Sunday Times), The Guardian and The Complete University Guide points corresponding to their position (30 for first place, 29 for second and so on). The total scores determined the positions. We make no claims for statistical rigour and acknowledge the methodological limitations.