Welsh universities on the rise – but still lag far behind UK peers
Seven out of eight Welsh universities have risen by one or more places in a leading independent university guide.
But as a whole Wales trails the UK in most of the ten criteria looked at and one is in the bottom five of 131 universities ranked for the The Complete University Guide 2019.
Cambridge tops the annual league table for the eighth year in a row.
Wrexham Glyndwr University rose one place to be listed 127 of 131 universities looked at.
Cardiff University, at 33rd in the UK, remains the highest-ranked Welsh university in the CUG, this year rising four places.
Second is Swansea University (39th in the UK), which by rising five places is Wales’ biggest climber in 2019.
Cardiff Metropolitan University is down 10 places to joint 77th – the only Welsh university to decline in the ranking’s main table.
The data shows Wales languishes in the majority of the ten criteria used in the rankings, scoring below the national average.
This includes entry standards, research intensity, graduate prospects, student-staff ratio, academic services spend, student facilities spend and degree completion.
Dr Bernard Kingston, chairman of The Complete University Guide, said: “The proportion of good honours has steadily but inexorably increased at almost all universities.
“Either students are working harder, or they are being better taught, or something else is happening. But it is one of the criteria over which universities have a significant degree of control.”
Most vice-chancellors from Wales have given the ratings a cautious welcome, while Cardiff Met said its situation had changed since the data placing it ten places behind its standing last year.
“Since the raw data on which this league table is based was published, Cardiff Met has made considerable progress in further improving the student experience through investment in student-centred services, facilities and initiatives,” a spokesman said.
“Student employability continues to be a priority for the university and we have recently introduced a number of new initiatives to support graduate employability.”
Cardiff University Vice-Chancellor Professor Colin Riordan said: “This rise is down to our dedicated academic 1 Cardiff (33rd in UK)
2 Swansea (39th)
3 Bangor (=62nd)
4 Aberystwyth (65th)
5 Cardiff Metropolitan (=77th) 6 South Wales (107th) 7 University of Wales Trinity Saint David (115th)
8 Wrexham Glyndwr (127th) and professional staff, whose efforts have also seen the university secure a place in the top 100 universities in the world and top 10 in the UK in the Shanghai Rankings.”
Professor Hilary Lappin-Scott, senior pro-vice-Chancellor of Swansea University, which has now narrowed the gap with Cardiff to just six places, said: “This latest ranking reinforces is evidence of our improved performance and rapidly growing reputation.”
Bangor University Vice-Chancellor Professor John G. Hughes said: “The university continues to provide students with an excellent education and we were delighted to be the only university in Wales to receive a Gold standard in the first Teaching Excellence Framework Awards.”
A University of South Wales spokesman welcomed USW’s rise in position, adding: “We are continually working hard to improve all measures of student satisfaction.”
Wrexham Glyndwr University Vice Chancellor, Professor Maria Hinfelaar, said: “We are pleased to be among the Welsh universities who have risen in this year’s table.”