FOR international students, trying to navigate the huge amount of statistics-based headlines about UK universities might seem an almost impossible task. While prospective students in the UK have access to more anecdotal evidence and parental advice than almost any individual student could handle, international students need to mostly rely on statistics and yearly rankings.
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We’ve decided to break down the stats for one of the fastest-growing universities in the UK, Birmingham’s Aston University, below. Aston has had a good year when it comes to the sort of statistics about its performance that matter to students, such as the quality of teaching available, student satisfaction, work experience and employability after graduation.
The Teaching Excellence Framework was introduced by the UK Government to focus on the standard of teaching, student experience and employability of graduates from UK universities and the approach marks a departure from the traditional emphasis on research, which was commonplace in major university rankings.
In June 2017 Aston University was awarded a Gold rating under the new system, meaning that the university delivers “consistently outstanding teaching, learning and outcomes for its students.” The TEF Panel found that Aston provided outstanding facilities, including around key assessment periods, and that Aston students had the “highest levels of engagement,” with their studies.
Professor Alec Cameron, the Vice-Chancellor of Aston University, said that the introduction of the Teaching Excellence Framework had opened up the discussion as to, “what it means to be an elite university today.”
Professor Cameron said emphasised that the Aston University approach took into consideration that student outcomes and student satisfaction are among the most important factors for students choosing a place to study.
A study by The Economist, one of the most prestigious English language news outlets in the world, found in August 2017 that Aston University was rated behind only the University of Portsmouth in terms of the amount students from Aston actually earned five years after graduation, in comparison to what other estimates suggested they were likely to earn.
Aston students actually earned £2,966 more than expected, meaning that according to The Economist study the value added by a degree from Aston beats not only all of the Russell Group universities but Oxbridge, too. Professor Helen Higson, Vice Chancellor at Aston, said: “Aston does one thing particularly well, and that’s getting students into jobs.”
Perhaps, as The Economist’s experts themselves conclude, it can be better to study what goes on in Portsmouth and Aston than in Oxford and Cambridge.
Chemical engineering, Business Computing and IT, Psychology, Sociology and Spanish courses at Aston received 100% satisfaction in feedback from students through the National Student Survey 2017.
Overall, Aston University received a place amongst the Top 25 in the annual national survey of students and was placed above average for overall satisfaction.
For specific questions asked in the national survey, Aston was ranked 5th in the UK when asking students how ‘intellectually stimulating’ the course was, 7th for ‘I have been able to contact staff when I need to’, 9th for ‘the course is well organised and running smoothly’, and 10th for ‘the IT resources and facilities have supported my learning well’.
In September 2017 Aston was ranked amongst the Top 200 universities globally for graduate employability, having jumped 76 places in its reputation ranking amongst employers. Employers who responded to the survey were asked to identify which institutions had provided the most innovative, competent and effective graduates.
Nearly 70 percent of Aston undergraduates carry out work placements as part of their degree programmes, and more than 82% of our graduates are in a graduate-level job or in further study within six months of graduation, according to The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017.
The stats show that when you’re trying to decide which university to go to start studying for your further career, there’s no need to be confused with oblique references to research which many students will never have the chance to benefit from. No one is saying that universities should cease to play a central role in incubating new ideas and innovation, but realism plays a part, too.
Students who want to benefit from studying at a good quality UK institution on a daily basis through the teaching they receive, the resources made available to them and their employability once they have graduated should definitely consider universities such as Aston.
This editorial was sponsored by Aston University, to find out more about their courses take a look at their profile.
