Harper Adams University College joins UK top 50 list

Shropshire's Harper Adams University College has been named in the UK's top 50 and the number one in its class.

The Newport establishment features in tomorrow's Sunday Times University Guide 2012.

It is the 49th ranked university in the UK, rising 17 places from 66th on the previous year. It has been the top-ranked university college for the past five years and competes for the best students in the UK for its land-based courses.

The university has the best level of teaching in the West Midlands, with a score of 81.8 per cent according to the guide, and the lowest level of graduate unemployment in the region, with a ranking of 5.6 per cent.

Today Lorraine Westwood, director of communications at Harper Adams, said: "As a small institution it's really important to us that we give a really high quality experience to all of our students, both in terms of their experience here and what they are able to do when they graduate.

"Harper Adams students have a high employability rate and go on to find good quality work."

She added that the institution was constantly striving to improve standards and was pleased to have shot up the university league table, from 66 to 49.

"We never sit back on our laurels, we are always questioning what we do. We put the students at the centre of everything that we do.

"We work closely with employers, which is one of the reasons why we have such a low rate for graduate unemployment."

Warwick University took the crown in the Midlands for the 14th consecutive year and the only UK universities that beat it were Oxbridge, Imperial College, the LSE, University College London and the University of Manchester.

National Student Survey results show students at Harper Adams are the most satisfied with their teaching in the region, giving the university an overall score of 81.8 per cent for teaching excellence.

Every course includes a work placement year, which Mrs Westwood said probably explained why 94.4 per cent of students were in full-time employment within six months of leaving.

By Andrew Richardson