Former polytechnics have been rising up the rankings in university league tables

Former polytechnics have been rising up the rankings in university league tables. 

In The Guardian’s 2021 University League Table, the University of the West of England (UWE) took 21st place, up by seven from the 2020 League Table. UWE was formerly called Bristol Polytechnic. 

Coventry University, which also used to be a polytechnic, took joint 46th place in The Times’ Good University Guide 2021, up from 50th last year. 

Discussing Coventry University’s rise in the rankings, The Times noted: “One of the most dynamic and innovative modern universities, Coventry moves up our table again this year and earns a shortlisting for our University of the Year award, having being named our Modern University of the Year three times between 2014 and 2016 and University of the Year for Student Experience in 2018.” 

Coventry was ranked 23rd for student experience, joint 26th for teaching quality and 40th for graduate prospects.

Following the passage of the Further and Higher Education Act of 1992, polytechnic colleges became independent tertiary tier universities which were capable of awarding degrees. 

Originally, polytechnics focused on providing applied education for professional work with concentration on advanced engineering and applied science. However, they soon found that vocational degrees concerned with humanities grew in popularity. 

The rise of polytechnic rankings coincides with a growing number of university applicants, with a record 40.5% of all 18-year-olds in the UK applying to go to university, according to UCAS.

The University of Oxford took the top spot in The Times‘ League Table “because of its work on the coronavirus vaccine and its efforts to improve social mobility”.