Consumer body highlights ‘unverifiable’ rankings claims made by Scottish universities

Consumer body highlights 'unverifiable' rankings claims made by Scottish universities

Claims made by three Scottish universities about their rankings and reputation are unverifiable, according to a consumer body.

Which? analysed comparative claims made by UK universities and found that at least six make unverifiable claims on their website, in likely breach of advertising standards.

The three Scottish institutions are Aberdeen University, Heriot-Watt University and the University of the West of Scotland.

A ‘comparative claim’ in this context is where a university compares its performance with competitors by saying, for example, that it is world-leading in a certain field or more prestigious than rival institutions.

Heriot-Watt University describes itself as “one of the world’s leading universities for pioneering research informed by the needs of business and industry”.

This claim was not supported by accessible facts and figures on the website, and Heriot-Watt is ranked 351st-400th out of 1,103

The University of Aberdeen asserted that it is “ranked consistently among the world’s top universities”, without any information to verify this.

The University of the West of Scotland claimed that it ranked in the top three per cent of universities worldwide, but came 501st-600th out of 1,103 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

Alex Hayman, managing director of Which? University, said: “It is critical that prospective students can trust the facts that higher education institutions are putting forward. However, we’ve found numerous examples of universities falling short.”

A UWS spokeswoman said: “We always make sure that any comparative claims and statements made on our website are transparent and verifiable and are in line with the ASA Code.”

A spokeswoman for Heriot-Watt said: “We recognise that we have to be vigilant in how we communicate with potential students. However, we stand by our reputation as one of the world’s leading universities for pioneering research informed by the needs of business and industry.”

A spokesman for Aberdeen University said that the university ranks in the top 200 in both the Times Higher Education World University Rankings as well as the QS World Rankings.

However, he added that it had altered its website. He said: “We can say with confidence that the University of Aberdeen is highly ranked in the world, and we do not believe that the description of being a top university is misleading.”

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