Shropshire Star

Harper Adams University scores top 30 place in UK guide

Shropshire's agricultural university has been named in the top 30 of a new guide to UK universities, including first place for its funding for services.

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Harper Adams University

Harper Adams University has been announced as one of the top 30 institutions in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2022.

The guide also rated Harper Adams first in the country for its level of spending on student facilities such as careers, sport services, and health and counselling, and joint first for its graduate prospects ‘on track’ – which measures how well recent graduates feel their current activity fits with their future career plans.

Overall the university – which also holds its position as the highest-placed 'modern university' – rose 13 places to 28th in this year’s rankings.

The Complete University Guide compiles rankings on 130 universities across the country and has been published for more than 25 years, examining institutions on a range of measures. These include spending on both academic services and student facilities, entry standards and student satisfaction, the quality and intensity of research, the student-staff ratio, the level of completion and the prospects for graduates.

Harper Adams University vice-chancellor, Dr David Llewellyn, said: “It was great to see Harper Adams climb up the Complete University Guide 2022 and into the top 30 institutions in the UK.

Specialist

“We have, once again, held the position of the guide’s highest placed Modern University which is a testament to the hard work of our staff and students and the high quality of the education that we provide.

“We will be doing all we can, in the years ahead, to maintain our strong performance, the support we provide for our academic community and the excellent work we undertake with the industries and professions in our specialist field to ensure that our students receive the very best experience when studying at the university.”

Simon Emmett, CEO of IDP Connect, owners of the guide, said: “Many of this year’s students are expecting higher grades from teacher-led assessments and therefore have higher ambitions for their higher education choices. More prospective students are keeping their options open and leaving their university decision-making to much later compared to other years.

“The 2022 CUG league tables will serve as a valuable guide to even more actively researching students this year. My hope is that these rankings will help them make the right decisions as they consider their higher education options.”

Among other ratings for Harper Adams this year, the university has seen a rise of eight places in the guide’s Mechanical Engineering subject tables – making it the second-placed regional university for the West Midlands. It is also joint second in the UK in these rankings for its graduate prospects being rated as ‘on track’ by recent graduates as they begin their careers.