Bolton University is Britain's third worst, says Sunday Times (From The Bolton News)

Bolton University is Britain's third worst, says Sunday Times

2:22pm Friday 21st September 2007 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
•  

THE University of Bolton has been ranked worst in the North-west - and one of the worst in the country - by a "definitive" newspaper guide.

The town's university features bottom of a list of 12 regional institutions, to be published in the Sunday Times University Guide 2007 this weekend.

It ranks 121 out of 123 universities nationwide in what the newspaper claims to be "the definitive guide for prospective students".

The University of Bolton - which was awarded university status in 2004 - has fared badly against the nearby Universities of Manchester, Salford, Liverpool and Edge Hill, among others.

University of Bolton Deputy Vice Chancellor, Dr Peter Marsh, said: "We take all newspaper rankings with a pinch of salt and advise all students and their parents to do the same.

"The Times newspaper's 2008 Good University Guide ranks us joint-first in the region for student satisfaction, eighth in the region overall and 93rd across the UK.

"Clearly there is great confusion for everyone. We advise potential students and their families to attend open days and see universities for themselves. That is the way to make a valid judgement."

The University of Lancaster topped the Sunday Times regional table with a national ranking of 18, compared to Bolton's 121. The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge topped the national table, gaining the maximum overall score of 1000. Bolton gained 316 points overall but achieved a 74.4 per cent score in the guide's student satisfaction ratings - almost one per cent higher than the national average.

It last year featured at 115 out of 119 universities included in the 2006 guide.

Figures released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency earlier this year showed that more students quit courses at the University of Bolton than any other university in England and Wales.The 31.7 per cent drop-out rate falls well below the 22.2 per cent benchmark rate set by the agency, which released annual statistics in July.