RAE 2008 (Research Assessment Exercise) was published on 18th Dec 2008. A total of 132 institutions were rated. Top 10 Ranking: 1 Institute of Cancer Research 2 Uni of Cambridge 3 London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine =4 London School of Economics and Political Science =4 Uni of Oxford 6 Imperial College London 7 Uni College London 8 U of Manchester 9 U of Warwick 10 U of York Cambridge is ranked 2nd, while Oxford and LSE are =4th in the UK. However, a few top research universities can not make it to the Top 10 in this year's ranking, such as Durham, Edinburgh, St Andrews and Bath. Do you think this is a reputable ranking and it can reflect the academic reputation of a top university?
My university is in the middle even though it is one of the best ones in the world for a certain subject. The research assessment is a load of bollocks. It just tells you how much research is taking place in that particular university. So for example universities with large business and economics departments won't stand a chance against cancer research university etc. Performance and art universities might release new Hollywood stars every year but how much research into acting can they possibly do?
I agree with mightyb. The list can only be subjective or at least contructed against a specific set of criteria which might be money invested in research for example.
Yes, I think so. It's a well-established, widely recognised, carefully researched and well respected ranking table, certainly. The only thing slightly open to question, I think, is that the top-rated "Institute of Cancer Research" isn't actually a "university" as such. Technically, it isn't even a college of a university. But I suppose when what's being assessed is research standards and productivity, you can't really object too much to the additional inclusion of research institutes.