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Three in four have fallen in the global league table

BRITISH universities have slipped down the global league table, with three in four falling in the last year.

Experts blamed ‘consistent decreases’ in teaching capacity and the impact of the universities’ research’.

Oxford continues to be the top rated British institution but has fallen from fourth to fifth place in the QS World University rankings. Cambridge remains in seventh position, with imperial College London in eighth – up one place from last year. Meanwhile, University College London is tenth – a drop of two places.

Of the top ten UK universities, four have dropped in rank. Overall, 63 of the 84 British universities in the global table have fallen.

the data was collected before the pandemic and there are fears that UK universities could fall further in the rankings next year as social distancing rules – which will differ worldwide – alter teaching.

researchers said the drop in rankings by British universities was driven by increased student numbers that have not been matched by ‘sufficient’ rises in staff levels.

As a result, students ‘will struggle to receive personalised attention from faculty’.

the rankings, published by consultancy QS Quacquarelli Symonds, rate the world’s top 1,000 universities. the positions are based on data including staff-to- student ratios and numbers of international students. these are combined with the views of academics and employers. the league table published today shows rankings for the year ahead.

A QS spokesman said: ‘A record 541,240 students were accepted on to UK undergraduate courses in 2019 – ensuring that each of these students receives a personalised educational experience requires generous investment in teaching.’

Of the 84 UK institutions in the table, 67 have seen their faculty/ student ratio score decline over the last year.

the UK still retains 18 institutions in the global top 100 – unchanged since 2017. the US dominates the top of the rankings with Massachusetts institute of technology (Mit) at number one.

Universities must tell students the extent to which courses will be ‘delivered online’ in 2020/21 and whether this will impact fees, the Office for Students has warned.