What causes these jumps in league tables?

With this thread I'm not saying that league tables are the be all and end all of what makes a good university.

I'm quite curious as to what makes these large jumps in league table places happen. For example, in computer science Aston went from 50th place to 34th. Surely that is quite a large jump to make for one year? For the same subject, Swansea also jumped from 39th to 23rd. Are these universities likely to make the jump back down the league tables? Or did they really improve that much within one year.

The league tables I'm using are these: http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=computer%20science

Reply 1

arfah

17

I don't get it either. Cardiff was number 13 for medicine now it's behind Oxbridge on 3rd place. Don't know how that works out.

Reply 2

lenfam

OP

1

Original post by arfah

I don't get it either. Cardiff was number 13 for medicine now it's behind Oxbridge on 3rd place. Don't know how that works out.

Unless your going going to say, oxbridge, imperial, LSE or a few others, these jumps kinda make me uncertain as to how much league tables actually mean.

Reply 3

chazwomaq

18

A big problem with these league tables is that no confidence intervals are specified. A jump of 16 places sounds huge, but maybe those 16 places are so close they are statistically indistinguishable. They you would expect random jumps up and down year on year within a range but unrelated to any actual change in quality.

Reply 4

lenfam

OP

1

Original post by chazwomaq

A big problem with these league tables is that no confidence intervals are specified. A jump of 16 places sounds huge, but maybe those 16 places are so close they are statistically indistinguishable. They you would expect random jumps up and down year on year within a range but unrelated to any actual change in quality.

Hmmm, that actually sounds quite reasonable. Thanks for providing a possible explanation. :h:

Reply 5

Plagioclase

21

A new research assessment exercise (RAE) was carried out late last year, but they're only carried out once every 7 or so years so that could cause jumps. They also use student satisfaction as a metric and that can vary hugely year on year. Entry standards and graduate prospects are probably less variable but they still will change. Put them all together and you can get significant shifts.

Reply 6

ageshallnot

21

Original post by lenfam

With this thread I'm not saying that league tables are the be all and end all of what makes a good university.

I'm quite curious as to what makes these large jumps in league table places happen. For example, in computer science Aston went from 50th place to 34th. Surely that is quite a large jump to make for one year? For the same subject, Swansea also jumped from 39th to 23rd. Are these universities likely to make the jump back down the league tables? Or did they really improve that much within one year.

The league tables I'm using are these: http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=computer%20science

If you compare it with the previous table http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=computer+science&y=2015 you can see where the differences are.

Reply 7

nulli tertius

21

Original post by ageshallnot

If you compare it with the previous table http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=computer+science&y=2015 you can see where the differences are.

The OP should bear in mind that some of the metrics used in league tables do not appear in the charts. For example CUG counts academic services spend, but the figures for this are hidden on the main chart.

Just another thought on the uselessness of league table. According to the 2014 and 2015 league tables Aston had exactly the same average entry grades, 362. Which is more likely, that this coincidence occurred or that the data was missing and the compilers simply carried through the previous year's figures?

Reply 8

ageshallnot

21

Original post by nulli tertius

The OP should bear in mind that some of the metrics used in league tables do not appear in the charts. For example CUG counts academic services spend, but the figures for this are hidden on the main chart.

Just another thought on the uselessness of league table. According to the 2014 and 2015 league tables Aston had exactly the same average entry grades, 362. Which is more likely, that this coincidence occurred or that the data was missing and the compilers simply carried through the previous year's figures?

Both very good points.

Reply 9

Joinedup

20

Seems to be discounted by many on TSR but it's actually quite likely that mid table unis are just all very similar on the main metrics used to compile tables.

What causes these jumps in league tables?

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