The University of Lincoln drops in Times UK university rankings

Goodbye first rate education, hello the University of Lincoln

1 year ago

Lincoln University has placed 55th out of 134 UK universities in The Times official university ranking for 2024. The university has dropped two places since last year’s ranking of 53rd, a disappointing outcome.

The Times Good University Guide is one of the most highly regarded rankings in the country, having a huge effect on the university’s reputation. In building the league table, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) collects data on entry standards, student-staff ratios, completion rates, first-class and 2:1 degrees, and graduate prospects to form the rankings.

After receiving The Times Modern University of the Year title in 2021 with consistently good rates of student satisfaction, the University of Lincoln received a huge boost in ranking which has subsequently started to falter.

This year, student satisfaction rates ranked at 54 for students’ assessment of teaching quality and 40 for the wider undergraduate experience, however the article still comments on how “the university has yet to return to its pre-pandemic heights”.

Lincoln’s performance in the latest Graduate Outcomes survey however improved slightly based on the proportion of graduates in highly skilled jobs or postgraduate study 15 months on. This took the graduate prospects ranking up to 79 (75.1 per cent).

But the category in which Lincoln ranked the lowest was entry standards at 86. The university’s efforts to create an inclusive and diverse environment have not gone unnoticed however, placing 37th in the social inclusion index with the university’s share of the most underrepresented group being 8.5 per cent. The article cites the over 40 subjects with pre-course transition events and foundation years for students whose qualifications fall short of the standard entry requirements and praises the university for attracting 18.1 per cent of students from deprived areas.