THE GUARDIAN
UK universities will have their international reputations dented and face possible closure because of continuing funding pressures, according to an authoritative league table that named Imperial College London as second in the world.
Imperial overtook Oxford and Harvard universities and was behind only the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the annual Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) world university rankings.
But the overall table made grim reading for UK institutions, including Cambridge dropping from second down to fifth, as 52 out of the 90 British universities received lower rankings this year.
The rating of only 20, including Imperial, improved, while University College London remained ninth overall.
Ben Sowter, QS’s senior vice-president, said some UK universities could be forced to close because of current funding policies, while the sector was beginning to “lose its footing” in critical metrics such as staff-to-student ratios, job outcomes and academic reputation.
“The cumulative effects risk pushing UK higher education into a downward spiral towards irreversible decline,” Sowter said, noting that more than 50 UK universities had recently announced job cuts.
“These cuts have been directly linked to drops in enrolment resulting from recently announced policies. It’s not hard to see how this could lead to the gradual erosion of UK higher education,” he added.
“As faculty positions vanish due to falling student enrolments – and universities that depend on the economic impact of international student mobility face increasing financial difficulties – some institutions may well be forced to shut down.”
Prof Hugh Brady, Imperial College London’s president, said his institution’s ranking was a “fantastic” reflection of the energy of its staff and students. The university has expanded in recent years to include a new campus at White City in west London.
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