University of Portsmouth slips in The Times' latest education league tables as Chichester surges up the ranks

THE University of Portsmouth has slipped down the ranks in The Times’ latest education rankings.
By Tom Cotterill
Published 18th Sep 2020, 00:01 BST
Updated 18th Sep 2020, 10:41 BST

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Graduates throw their mortar boards in the air during a University of Portsmouth graduation ceremony at The Guildhall, Portsmouth. Photo: Melanie Leininger (142225-18)Graduates throw their mortar boards in the air during a University of Portsmouth graduation ceremony at The Guildhall, Portsmouth. Photo: Melanie Leininger (142225-18)
Graduates throw their mortar boards in the air during a University of Portsmouth graduation ceremony at The Guildhall, Portsmouth. Photo: Melanie Leininger (142225-18)

In recent years Portsmouth had recorded an upward trend in its national standings for education and student provision.

But this year’s The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021 has seen the city institution slump from 56th nationally to 72nd.

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The decline mirrored a similar result earlier this month in the Guardian’s Best University League Table, where Portsmouth recorded a dramatic fall from 21st position in 2019 to 66th.

University of Portsmouth students pictured inside one of the sites buildings before the coronavirus pandemic.University of Portsmouth students pictured inside one of the sites buildings before the coronavirus pandemic.
University of Portsmouth students pictured inside one of the sites buildings before the coronavirus pandemic.

The latest set of results, released today, have now seen the University of Chichester continuing to pull away from Portsmouth as the top university in The News’ area, climbing from 71st to 46th place nationally this year.

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Top in Hampshire remains the University of Southampton, which is the region’s second-best behind the world-renowned University of Oxford and 15th nationally – up five places from last year.

Portsmouth remains ahead of Solent University, in Southampton, and the University of Winchester which sit at 93rd and 96th positions respectively, out of the 135 institutions recorded.

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University House, Winston Churchiil Avenue, Portsmouth. Photo Duncan ShepherdUniversity House, Winston Churchiil Avenue, Portsmouth. Photo Duncan Shepherd
University House, Winston Churchiil Avenue, Portsmouth. Photo Duncan Shepherd

The table ranks universities based on criteria including student satisfaction with their courses and quality of teaching, student-to-staff teaching ratios and the percentage of students continuing into their second year.

As previously reported, Portsmouth’s vice-chancellor, Professor Paul Hayes, blamed the university’s fall on a change in how sites were judged this year.

Describing the news as disappointing, Prof Hayes said: ‘Our decline is mainly due to the adoption of the new Graduate Outcomes Survey, which is quite different to the former Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey which we previously scored highly in.’

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The vice-chancellor insisted that the university was still one of the finest institutions to attend in the UK.

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He added: ‘The University of Portsmouth has gone from strength to strength over the past decade across a wide range of quality indicators, including excellence in teaching, internationally recognised research and innovation, and graduate job prospects.

‘Portsmouth students are among the most satisfied in the UK with their university experience, according to the annual National Student Survey, published in July. The University of Portsmouth is ranked 28th of all universities in the UK for overall full-time student satisfaction - and second in the south east.

‘We’re proud to be ranked among the best modern universities in highly trusted guides in both the UK and internationally.’

A full breakdown of the latest league table by The Times is available at: www.thetimes.co.uk/article/good-university-guide-in-full-tp6dzs7wn today

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Related topics:University of PortsmouthPortsmouthChichesterUniversity of Chichester

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