Please find below the most commonly asked questions that UUK receives relating to quality, accreditation and recognition together with their answers.
Which are the best universities or best courses?
There are various indicators of university and college performance but the UK does not have an official system of university rankings. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (on behalf of all the UK funding councils) produces a set of performance indicators for teaching and research, but these do not rank universities and colleges. The Quality Assurance Agency assesses the quality of teaching, but again does not rank universities. Several newspapers produce rankings using a variety of sources (including the above) for their data. However, these may not have had input or support from the universities themselves. Those publishing 'league tables' include the Guardian, Times, Times Higher Education and Sunday Times.
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Does Universities UK publish league tables?
No we don't. The UK university sector is very diverse and this makes rankings both difficult and very subjective.
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How is the teaching quality in UK universities assessed?
The Quality Assurance Agency for higher education (QAA) reviews the quality of teaching and learning. Further information can be found on their website.
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How is the quality of research in UK universities assessed?
The UK funding councils review the quality of research through the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). The current and last RAE will take place during 2008. This system of assessment is being reformed and the replacement system will be known as the Research Excellence Framework.
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How do I know if a university or colleges is accredited and that it offers recognised degrees in the UK?
The Department for Business, Innovation and and Skills’ website lists all institutions offering courses leading to degrees from recognised UK universities. It also provides warnings about
bogus degrees.
Any college recruiting students from abroad needs to be registered on the
Home Office Sponsors' Register.
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We hope you have found these questions and answers useful. Please note that if you do not find the answer to your question within this section or the other FAQs please contact us using our enquiry form.