Aston blames fewer staff as its ranking plummets

ASTON University has blamed poor staff numbers after it plunged 19 places in a top university guide.

The university dropped to No.49 in the rankings of The Complete University Guide league table for 2018.

Last year it was ranked in the top 33 in the UK by all three major league tables.

Birmingham University, the UK’s first civic or “red brick” university, has dropped one place to 16 but remains the second-best university in the region for the seventh consecutive year.

A spokesperson for Aston University said it attributed its ranking to its performance on one measure – staff student ratio.

David Farrow, executive director of marketing, strategy and communications for Aston University, said: “We have continued to perform strongly on measures including graduate employability, for which we remain in the top 20 nationally and in the National Student Survey.

“However, whilst Aston has been very successful in recruiting students over the past three years, our recruitment of academic staff has not kept pace.

“Action to address this has already been taken and the university is investing heavily in new teaching staff.

Warwick University retains its pole position as the top university in the West Midlands and eighth in the country.