Rankings of universities in the United Kingdom

[4] The ranking uses ten criteria, with a statistical technique called the Z-score applied to the results of each.

Unlike other annual rankings of British universities, the criteria do not include a measure of research output.

[15][16][17] When size is taken into account, LSE ranks second in the world out of all small to medium-sized specialist institutions (after ENS Paris) and St Andrews ranks second in the world out of all small to medium-sized fully comprehensive universities (after Brown University) using metrics from the QS Intelligence Unit in 2015.

[1][19] The disparity between national and international league tables has caused some institutions to offer public explanations for the difference.

LSE for example states on its website that 'we remain concerned that all of the global rankings – by some way the most important for us, given our highly international orientation – suffer from inbuilt biases in favour of large multi-faculty universities with full STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) offerings, and against small, specialist, mainly non-STEM universities such as LSE.

Sir Alan Wilson, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, argues that the final average has little significance and is like trying to "combine apples and oranges".

[25] Further worries have been expressed regarding marketing strategies and propaganda used to chase tables, thus undermining universities' values.

[28] Writing in The Guardian, Professor Geoffrey Alderman makes the point that including the percentage of 'good honours' can encourage grade inflation so that league table position can be maintained.

For example, the Institute of Education, University of London (now part of UCL), was not usually listed in the undergraduate rankings despite the fact that it offered an undergraduate BEd and was generally recognised as one of the best institutions offering teacher training and Education studies (for example, being given joint first place, alongside Oxford University, in the 2008 Research Assessment 'Education' subject rankings, according to both Times Higher Education and The Guardian).

These universities, however, often make a strong showing in specialist league tables looking at research, teaching quality, and student satisfaction.

In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, according to the Times Higher Education, Birkbeck was placed equal 33rd, and the Open University 43rd, out of 132 institutions.