Times ranks Lancaster top university in North West
Lancaster University has shot up the rankings to be placed 19th in the UK and the top institution in the North West by The Times Good University Guide 2009.
Lancaster is one of the biggest movers in the table, jumping eight places from 27th last year.
The Times Good University Guide 2009, published by Harper Collins, ranks 113 universities in the UK according to eight criteria, including student satisfaction and research quality.
Top of the table are Oxford and Cambridge, with Lancaster University the highest scoring in the North West.
Lancaster’s ranking at 19th is ahead of Manchester University at 27th, Liverpool at 34th and the University of Central Lancashire at 63rd.
Lancaster’s score included 78 per cent for student satisfaction, 5.4 out of 7 for research quality, 92.5 per cent for the number of students completing their courses, 68.8 per cent for the numbers of good honours graduates and 60.9 per cent for graduate prospects.
Other categories included student/staff ratio, services and facilities spending and entry standards.
This latest league table follows similar success in other national rankings this year, including the Guardian and Independent league tables which place Lancaster in the top 10 and 12th nationally and top in the North West.
Lancaster is a member of the 1994 group of small research universities including York and Leicester which also jumped up the table.