Universities declining. Nottingham, kcl etc

Over the last decade Nottingham,kcl and few others have been in the top 10 for a good number of years some may say a decade or more.
In recent times they've been really low in the rankings(i know rankings aren't everything). KCL is still up there internationally but UON doesn't seem to cut it for some reason(in terms of ranking).
What happened to all those years being up there with Durham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Warwick etc(maybe above for some). But now not even spoken of that highly as it once was. Im just using Nottingham as a prime example as its the one that sticks out the most to me.
Im probably not correct so if anyone has any thoughts please do comment as to why.
What happened to these universities that were once so high, yet not so much anymore. I may be completely wrong in what i have said but would like to see other peoples views so i can improve my understanding.
Sorry if the title may not be correct.


Posted from TSR Mobile

A mixture of decline in applications due to crime, expansion, prioritizing other things over rankings, etc.

It's a shame really but things are picking up I guess. Notts is slowly increasing entry reqs to a point where they can compete with those aforementioned unis.

In some courses, you can still find a semblance of what it once was like. Namely: economics, law, maths, English, maths and physics.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Thank you for your response. I don't understand why a university with such prestige and pedigree would risk itself by expanding. I know it generates more revenue but surely with the history of Nottingham it wouldn't really matter that much as students would still be adamant ofgoing there. I agree it is a great shame i hope they do come back to where they rightfully once were.

Because they prioritize financial security before arbitrary league table numbers. Not to mention that they put more emphasis on international rankings like QS.

Manchester suffers from a similar fate, but despite all of this, they are still one of the best universities in terms of reputation among employers. Both domestically and internationally. Not to mention that a lot of the league tables rankings are just laughable...

It's a shame really but things are picking up I guess. Notts is slowly increasing entry reqs to a point where they can compete with those aforementioned unis.
Posted from TSR Mobile

426 points is AAAa, so how is that a shame for an 8,000 intake a year. Let's face it, Nottingham will never rank top 10 in UK rankings again due to their size, neither will Manchester, KCL, Glasgow and probably Edinburgh. All of these will dominate the World rankings for the UK, however.

I agree, bit it irks me when people assume it's just "average" and not quite top - even though it was consistently top for decades.

I agree though. I blame it somewhat on the advent of the A*, it's created this shift in demand where the top unis are borderline 500-600 points and the other good ones are 400-500.

This is what the university Registrar had to say earlier this year:-

We all share your desire for the University of Nottingham to be at the top of both international and UK rankings. Improving the average tariff score of entrants is one part of that and we are moving in the right direction. Many other changes, all of which are core to our general strategy to improve but which also should have a positive impact on the rankings, are also in train.

I do share your concern about this issue and want to reassure you that it is something we are aware of and working hard at. In an increasingly competitive market for the best students we are having to invest more time and energy in recruitment activity and we are confident that, in the long run, matters will improve.

Incidentally, the university is not ''risking'' itself by expanding, they did so to be financially secure, and to have the funds to improve the campuses in the UK and overseas. They are on paper far stronger now than in the early 00s in terms of resources and facilities, and they have maintained top 10 status for REF research power. They are still ranked 77th in the World by QS, which is higher than Durham. The 426 points tariff is spread over 8,000 students that come in each year, it is extremely tough to get A*AA students for lesser courses as these students will look at Warwick, Durham and UCL first, then Nottingham.

i see. Fair point to make. Due to the expansion and intake of students the average tariff lowered and in-turn lowering its place in rankings.
But for lets say KCL it's quite low in the uk rankings but still internationally recognized. QS ranked at 16th in the world.

KCL is very underrated on TSR, it is genuinely a Golden Triangle university, just behind UCL. Unfortunately, government cuts have hit KCL very hard.

When a university expands, all the ratios and weightings used in UK rankings are affected, not just the UCAS tariff points average. I can see the university cutting places in future years, especially if A levels are made harder from now on (if Tories win the election).

Nottingham will be losing huge profits. They depend on a high volume of undergraduates, but the high fees won't allow this.

Nottingham can't go on pretending they can continue taking 8,000 students each year and at the same time compete with Warwick and Durham for the best students. Something has to give, otherwise they will forever slip into the same league as Leeds and Birmingham.

How? I want to apply

KCL doesn't get as much funding for medical education, even though Medical subjects are 300k courses per head. They also lack sufficient resources to retain all their staff.

They are dirt, really. I would sooner go to an ex poly than Nottingham. The city is full of crime and the Uni is full of Oxbridge failures who just want a laugh.

The city of Nottingham is indeed full of crime, but thankfully all this goes on 3-4 miles away from where the university is located. The campus is safe and lovely. And I doubt many Nottingham students these days even try for Oxbridge, their tariff points average suggests Oxbridge would be beyond them, Cambridge certainly.

The city of Nottingham is indeed full of crime, but thankfully all this goes on 3-4 miles away from where the university is located. The campus is safe and lovely. And I doubt many Nottingham students these days even try for Oxbridge, their tariff points average suggests Oxbridge would be beyond them, Cambridge certainly.

Having met quite many of them (and I still talk to a lot), many have tried to apply to Cambridge (and got rejected) and a lot of them also meet the entry requirement but decided to go Nottingham.

As for the crime, compared to many cities, Nottingham crime rates isn't that bad and it's mostly anti-social behaviour.

http://www.ukcrimestats.com/Neighbourhoods/
http://illustreets.co.uk/blog/maps-and-apps/england-crime-map-annual-crime-rates/