The Times Good University Guide: Where Worcester ranks

The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023 has been released online today, ranking 135 universities across the UK.

Worcester’s university dropped 24 places, from 86th to =110th, a rank that places it ninth among universities in the West Midlands.

A spokesperson for the university said that a high number of students in education and health courses is the reason behind this fall.

They said: “The University of Worcester has one of the very highest proportions of students training to work in the NHS and in schools of any university in the UK.

“These students, across the country, have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic and scores in the National Student Survey fell substantially, including at Worcester.

“While some areas at Worcester have done very well, including biological sciences, law and sport science, the sheer weight of numbers in education and health have produced a big fall in Worcester’s normally strong results.”

A high number of health and education students is responsible for the drop, a spokesperson said. (Image: A high number of health and education students is responsible for the drop, a spokesperson said.)

The University of Warwick came out on top amongst West Midlands universities, ranked ninth nationally.

This score means that Warwick’s 100 per cent record as a top ten university in The Times’ guide remains unbroken.

Meanwhile, the University of Birmingham rose 16 places to tenth in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, putting it on the shortlist for this year’s University of the Year.

Coventry University also achieved great success, being awarded gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework for “consistently outstanding” student support services.

Across the UK Oxford edged out St Andrews and Cambridge to reclaim top spot.

The Times’ league table is made up of eight indicators, including graduate prospects, student satisfaction, and research quality.

At Worcester, 85.2 per cent of students completed their courses.

Graduate prospects for those leaving the university are relatively high, with 74.6 per cent going on to professional jobs or graduate-level study.

The results of the National Student Survey show scores of 74.2 per cent and 71.9 per cent for teaching quality and student experience respectively.

The university spokesperson added: “We are confident that our National Student Survey scores will recover very strongly next year.”

Full interactive league tables can be found at https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/good-university-guide-in-full-tp6dzs7wn while a 96-page supplement will be published in the weekend’s The Sunday Times.