Lancaster shortlisted for Sunday Times University of the Year award
The top two universities in the Northwest are honoured in this year’s Sunday Times University Guide, published on Sunday September 10th. The University of Manchester wins the coveted Sunday Times University of the Year title, narrowly beating four other shortlisted universities, among them Lancaster.
Top in the Northwest
| Rank | Name | Sunday Times UK ranking 2006 | Sunday Times UK ranking 2005 | % student satisfaction | Academic peers’ ranking | Head teachers’ ranking |
| 1 | University of Manchester | 15 | 18 | 69.5* | 8 | 14 |
| 2 | Lancaster University | 21 | 28 | 72.3 | 31 | 53 |
| 3 | University of Liverpool | 31 | 29 | 70.8 | 32 | 21 |
| 4 | University of Salford | 67 | 68= | 68.0 | 53 | 98= |
| 5 | University of Central Lancashire | 79 | 73 | 70.3 | 82 | 78= |
| 6 | St Martin’s College | 83= | 77 | 67.2 | 96= | 56 |
| 7 | Manchester Metropolitan University | 85 | 75 | 68.3 | 68= | 64= |
| 8 | Liverpool John Moores University | 86 | 89 | 69.8* | 72= | 60= |
| 9 | University of Chester | 97 | 82= | 70.5 | 102 | 91= |
| 10 | Edge Hill University | 102 | 97 | 70.8 | 88 | 70= |
| 11 | Liverpool Hope | 113= | 109 | 66.9 | 89= | 91= |
| 12 | University of Bolton | 115 | 107= | 72.0 | 104 | 95= |
* 2005 data
Lancaster rises to its highest ranking since 2002 and is shortlisted for the title of Sunday Times University of the Year for the first time.
The Sunday Times says : “In just 40 years, the university has established itself as one of our finest research universities, ranking ninth in the last research assessments for breadth and depth of world-class research. Students rate their experiences at Lancaster highly. The university ranks 23= in a Sunday Times analysis of the most recent national student survey on satisfaction with teaching quality and learning resources.”
A major development programme has resulted in new centres of excellence for ICT and for science, and the university has added a new student village to its edge-of-town campus. A partnership with the University of Liverpool will bring a “satellite” medical school to Lancaster this year.
As well as Manchester and Lancaster, the competition shortlist for the Sunday Times University of the Year award also featured King’s College London, St Andrews and Exeter, with the latter made official runner-up to Manchester.
The Sunday Times University Guide 2006 was compiled using data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa), the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, the national funding councils and the institutions themselves.
Each university and higher education college is ranked in the league table according to the total mark it achieved across nine distinct areas: teaching excellence; student satisfaction; headteachers and peer assessments; research quality; A/AS-level grades achieved by entrants; graduate employment; first and 2:1 degrees awarded; student/staff ratios; dropout rates.