The Guardian League Table 2024 | Must-know for Students

• Publisher: The Guardian News and Media Limited, United Kingdom
• Latest ranking publication date: 07 September, 2024
• Publication frequency: Annual
• Geographic focus: UK
• Ranking type: University rankings.
• Year of first publication: 2008
• 122 universities in ranking

All three of the top UK university rankings (the others are The Good University Guide & The Complete University Guide) get their data from the same sources, the National Student Survey, the Higher Education Statistics Agency, and the Research Excellence Framework... So the difference is in the importance granted to each factor, i.e. the weight. The Guardian uses 8 criteria to evaluate a university which can be divided among 4 general factors:

• Entry Standards 15%
• Student Experience (NSS results for teaching 10% & assessment & feedback 10% + Student to Staff Ratio 15%)
• Expenditure per Student 5%
• Student Outcomes (Value Added 15%, Career Prospects 15%, Continuation 15%)

Out of the three big league tables, The Guardian allots the most weight to student experience and outcome: 80% in total compared to the 56.5% and 65% of the other rankings. But The Guardian’s ranking does not consider research evaluation at all. To that end, however, there is no lack of global university rankings which include, or focus entirely on, research, though perhaps not so many regional rankings.

External databases/data providers used

HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency)/JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) NSS (National Student Survey)

Criteria Classification

• 0% Academic Performance
• 80% Teaching/Student Experience/Non-academic output/Student Outcome
• 20% Other (Entry Scores/Spending)

• Research publications and citations
• Academic reputation - survey or other
• Student Survey
• Internationalization (% of foreign staff/students/exchange)
• Employer reputation survey or Salary data

Methodology

https://www.theguardian.com/education/article/2024/sep/07/methodology-behind-the-2025-guardian-university-guide

Rating

5.0 / 5.0

Popularity

Google results for: The Guardian "University League Table": 315000

PROS

• large percentage of data based on student experience and outcomes

CONS

• research not factored into ranking

Practical use

The University League Tables are a great reference for students and their parents when it comes time to choose a university for further study. Their corresponding subject rankings can be even more helpful than the general one, pointing to specific schools whose programs in your chosen field of study have a reputation for student success and satisfaction. For all of the UK League Tables it is worthwhile comparing their results with results from global rankings where the academic performance of a university is taken into account, and no more so than in this particular case.

Criticism

One major bone of contention with all of the UK University League Tables is that universities which specialise in part-time studies (like the Open University and Birkbeck, University of London) are usually omitted from or have very poor results in these rankings. At the same time, those same institutions often rank very highly elsewhere. In 2019 Birkbeck decided to withdraw from these rankings because, as they explained, when they did appear, their teaching model drove them down in the rankings, despite the high quality of their staff and curriculum.