UK universities ‘can’t say they’re in top 1%’

BRITISH universities are set to lose the right to say they are among the ‘top one per cent’ of institutions in the world following complaints to the advertising watchdog.

The University of Reading has already agreed to remove the claim from its website and marketing materials and dozens more vice- chancellors are expected to face challenges.

The move is a blow for UK universities as claims of global superiority are increasingly influential for recruitment, particularly among foreign students.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) approached Reading after a complaint from a member of the public last month who argued that the one per cent claim was misleading and could not be substantiated.

The problem has arisen because Reading, along with other universities across the country, bases its claims on featuring among the top 200 institutions in the Times Higher Education (THE) world rankings and the QS world rankings out of the estimated 20,000 worldwide.

Both of the global tables list more than 900 universities, and the ASA told Reading that being in the top 200 of both or either table does not substantiate the argument they are ranked in the top one per cent worldwide. This is because the THE and QS rankings do not purport to be based on every single public and private university, higher education institution and institution offering degrees worldwide.

Therefore, the ASA has insisted to officials that the ‘top one per cent’ claim cannot be extrapolated from using these two rankings and an estimation of total numbers.

Reading is in joint 188th place in the top 200 of the latest QS World University Rankings, published yesterday – down from 175th last year.

Charles Heymann, the University of Reading’s head of corporate communications, said: ‘The ASA now needs to investigate every single other UK university which claims it is in the top one per cent in the world, rather than waiting for individual complaints to be made.

‘It’s odd if the ASA turns a blind eye to possible breaches of its own code.’

A spokesman for the ASA said: ‘ We approached the University of Reading about the complaint and they were unable to provide any evidence to substantiate the claim and because of that, they agreed to remove the claim without the need for a formal investigation.

‘We would expect all institutions making similar statements in their marketing communications to hold substantial data to qualify their claim.’