Loughborough is now the highest ranking university in the East Midlands, according to the UK University League Table released in the past few days.
Streaking ahead of Nottingham, Leicester and Birmingham, Loughborough has been awarded 14th place in the league table; a five-year high. For some time now, Loughborough has been steadily rising up the ranks, jumping seven places in just three years.
The league table – run by the independent Complete University Guide – is based on aggregate scores given to each university, taking into account aspects such as completion rates, spending on academic and student services as well as overall student satisfaction.
In previous years, the top spots have been immovably dominated by Oxbridge; this year is no different. The top three places are reserved for the most prodigious institutions such as Oxford, Cambridge and LSE, all of which stand far ahead of Loughborough by a hefty 200 points.
While this sounds a little demoralising, the top ten places are rather largely spaced apart. After the top three spots – all of which are within five points of each other – there is a 36-point drop to Imperial College London, then a 47-point drop to Durham who have a substantial 57-point lead on St. Andrews.
In the latest 2013 table, Loughborough runs close behind those above in the overall scores. Bath, Lancaster and UCL are all within 50 points of Loughborough; Bristol, York and Exeter universities, less than ten.
The continuation of Loughborough's ascension in the table is uncertain; while we have maintained a comfortably steadfast presence among the top 25 for at least a decade, the as-yet unknown effects of the rise in tuition fees – and subsequent brutal cuts in government funding for higher education – may be the cause of some more radical shifts in years to come.
