League table woes not a problem

This week saw the Postgraduate Graduation Ceremony take place in the Royal Albert Hall. Felix congratulates all of those who received their doctorates and wishes you well for the future of your careers, whether in academia or otherwise.

The graduation nevertheless follows the news reported last week that Imperial is now placed joint 71st with Canterbury Christ Church University on the Times Higher EducationStudent Experience Survey. This survey follows many others by different supplements and publications which inevitably place Imperial College in varying positions on varying topics for a bevy of different reasons. Regardless, this latest position warranted a discussion of the merits of the system and a look at just what is considered the problem when it comes to student experience at Imperial.

In the hope of seeing how deep the issue sits with students, this week we put out a brief message on the Felix Facebook page, asking whether you would consider recommending Imperial to a friend. Of the small handful of respondents, the response was generally muted, though one response called into question the couple of outright ‘No’ responses as what was seen to be a culture of complaint over the same recurring issues and stereotypes. Whether the problem is as simple as this is another question, however.

While the survey overall had over 13,000 respondents across universities in the United Kingdom, Imperial made up 156 of those students who took the time to respond. This is undeniably a small sample of students to draw definitive conclusions about the student experience at Imperial. If we really want to judge the issue, it is far more worthwhile to take into account other documentation and information such as that generated by the National Student Survey, and the Union’s response to this.

Perhaps it is time to stop placing as much weight as we already do behind league tables. As much a fan as I am of the constant seesaw effect that league tables has on a university (with much praise from all sides when we’re up, and deep seated contemplation when we’re down), it would be a novel approach to back away from worrying about national comparisons and taking a little time to engage and progress internally and focus on the immediate and long term effects. After all, the over-saturation of constant inspection and analysis of universities across the United Kingdom won’t cater to Imperial’s own specific needs.