TEACHING
QUALITY
London Metropolitan University
123
rd
NATIONAL
RANK
RANK
51.3%
FIRSTS
2:1s
2:1s
70.5%
COMPLETION
RATE
RATE
Key Stats
n/a
122nd
STUDENT
EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
79th=
RESEARCH
QUALITY
QUALITY
123rd
GRADUATE
PROSPECTS
PROSPECTS
Contact details
ADDRESS
166–220 Holloway Road, London, N7 8DB View on map >
Telephone
Email
Website
Open days
October 4 (Central House, Moorgate); October 11 (Holloway)
University Profile
Anchored to the foot of our league table, London Met is a university with a troubled recent history which has directly impacted on its standing in our table.
However, after his predecessor brought financial stability to the institution, the new vice-chancellor, Professor John Raftery has the chance to preside over an upturn – indeed, the only way is up – and bring his experience as pro vice-chancellor at Oxford Brookes for nine years to bear on student life.
London Met’s governors must hope Raftery’s talents in improving the student experience at Oxford Brookes (which annually earns some of the highest marks for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey (NSS)) can be brought to bear on the NSS scores at London Met (which are consistently among the lowest and come next to bottom among institutions in this guide this year).
Student satisfaction is just one of the eight institutional measures that contribute to our rankings in which London Met fails to shine. This summer’s graduates whose opinions fed into the new NSS results lived through a period of huge uncertainty at London Met during which
The number of courses has been cut from more than 550 to fewer than 200 today in a radical restructuring of London Met’s provision.
The completion rate has fallen to 70.5% in the latest figures (down from 72.2%), although the average number of tariff points required for entry is up slightly and spending on facilities and services per student has risen from £369 to £619 since our last publication.
The university has moved into the black with a £2m surplus in 2013 after it was able to recruit an extra 200 students when the government relaxed recruitment restrictions for universities charging below that £9,000 maximum tuition fee.
However, from next September all degree courses will cost UK and EU students £9,000, although much lower fees will apply for Foundation degrees taught at partner colleges and a Foundation year for students without the necessary qualifications for higher education will bring the average down to £8,112 – still the lowest in England.
In contrast to many other universities, London Met is increasing the size of its bursaries for students from poor backgrounds in 2015. The university has always catered particularly for groups who are under-represented at traditional universities.
More than a third of the students are Afro-Caribbean, and the proportion of mature students is among the highest in England. More than half of the UK undergraduates come from working-class homes, far above the average for the courses and entry qualifications.
London Met was the product of the merger of London Guildhall and North London universities in 2002. The university’s sites are centred on the City of London and the capital’s Holloway Road, where there is a Graduate Centre designed by Daniel Libeskind.
The university has strong business links, especially in London’s ‘Tech City’, where the university has a business accelerator which attracted a visit from Australia’s Communications Minister.
London Met was the first university in the UK to implement IBM Academic Skills Cloud to enhance the development of workplace skills. Its graduates had the highest average starting salaries in the country in 2013.
The university’s roots go back to 1848, with the Metropolitan Evening Classes for Working Men, and there is still a strong part-time programme. The Business School is one of Europe’s largest, with almost 10,000 students.
Undergraduates take year-long modules consisting of 30 weeks of timetabled teaching. Over a year, students will typically study four modules worth 30 credits each and receive a minimum of 60 teaching hours per module.
The university is in the top ten for the amount of supervised teaching time and expects first-year students to have 12 hours of teaching a week, giving the maximum possible opportunity for development and guidance. Student support services, from admission to careers advice, have been remodelled and there is a particular emphasis on academic and pastoral counselling on entry and at other key points of courses. Despite this, the projected dropout rate of 28% is now the highest in England by some distance and about 50% higher than it should be, even allowing for its student profile and course mix.
There has been increased investment in the campus, with more study zones and a £13.5m refurbishment programme, which has seen major improvements to the Faculty of Business and Law building at Moorgate and in The Cass Faculty of Art and Design, at Aldgate.
A newsroom for journalism students opened in 2012 and the refurbished library on the Holloway Road site has more computers, informal learning spaces, technobooths and teaching rooms, as well as a café.
The £30m Science Centre features a “superlab” with 280 workstations, specialist laboratories for tissue culture research and microbiology, and a nuclear-magnetic resonance room. The biomedical sciences degree leads on to an MD course from the University of Health Studies in Antigua. The six-year programme is based in London and graduates will complete the United States Medical Licensing Examination, enabling them to practise in America.
There is a new headquarters for the students’ union on the Aldgate site to add to the well-used building on Holloway Road. The university has also been working hard to reduce its carbon footprint and is among the top five universities on this measure.
Residential accommodation is limited, but many of London Met’s students live at home. There are nine fitness centres, as well as other sports facilities.
However, after his predecessor brought financial stability to the institution, the new vice-chancellor, Professor John Raftery has the chance to preside over an upturn – indeed, the only way is up – and bring his experience as pro vice-chancellor at Oxford Brookes for nine years to bear on student life.
London Met’s governors must hope Raftery’s talents in improving the student experience at Oxford Brookes (which annually earns some of the highest marks for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey (NSS)) can be brought to bear on the NSS scores at London Met (which are consistently among the lowest and come next to bottom among institutions in this guide this year).
Student satisfaction is just one of the eight institutional measures that contribute to our rankings in which London Met fails to shine. This summer’s graduates whose opinions fed into the new NSS results lived through a period of huge uncertainty at London Met during which
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it lost and then regained its right to recruit international students following a UK Border Agency investigation. The university saw a 40% drop in its undergraduate intake partly as a result of this in 2012.The number of courses has been cut from more than 550 to fewer than 200 today in a radical restructuring of London Met’s provision.
The completion rate has fallen to 70.5% in the latest figures (down from 72.2%), although the average number of tariff points required for entry is up slightly and spending on facilities and services per student has risen from £369 to £619 since our last publication.
However, from next September all degree courses will cost UK and EU students £9,000, although much lower fees will apply for Foundation degrees taught at partner colleges and a Foundation year for students without the necessary qualifications for higher education will bring the average down to £8,112 – still the lowest in England.
In contrast to many other universities, London Met is increasing the size of its bursaries for students from poor backgrounds in 2015. The university has always catered particularly for groups who are under-represented at traditional universities.
More than a third of the students are Afro-Caribbean, and the proportion of mature students is among the highest in England. More than half of the UK undergraduates come from working-class homes, far above the average for the courses and entry qualifications.
London Met was the product of the merger of London Guildhall and North London universities in 2002. The university’s sites are centred on the City of London and the capital’s Holloway Road, where there is a Graduate Centre designed by Daniel Libeskind.
The university has strong business links, especially in London’s ‘Tech City’, where the university has a business accelerator which attracted a visit from Australia’s Communications Minister.
London Met was the first university in the UK to implement IBM Academic Skills Cloud to enhance the development of workplace skills. Its graduates had the highest average starting salaries in the country in 2013.
The university’s roots go back to 1848, with the Metropolitan Evening Classes for Working Men, and there is still a strong part-time programme. The Business School is one of Europe’s largest, with almost 10,000 students.
Undergraduates take year-long modules consisting of 30 weeks of timetabled teaching. Over a year, students will typically study four modules worth 30 credits each and receive a minimum of 60 teaching hours per module.
The university is in the top ten for the amount of supervised teaching time and expects first-year students to have 12 hours of teaching a week, giving the maximum possible opportunity for development and guidance. Student support services, from admission to careers advice, have been remodelled and there is a particular emphasis on academic and pastoral counselling on entry and at other key points of courses. Despite this, the projected dropout rate of 28% is now the highest in England by some distance and about 50% higher than it should be, even allowing for its student profile and course mix.
There has been increased investment in the campus, with more study zones and a £13.5m refurbishment programme, which has seen major improvements to the Faculty of Business and Law building at Moorgate and in The Cass Faculty of Art and Design, at Aldgate.
A newsroom for journalism students opened in 2012 and the refurbished library on the Holloway Road site has more computers, informal learning spaces, technobooths and teaching rooms, as well as a café.
The £30m Science Centre features a “superlab” with 280 workstations, specialist laboratories for tissue culture research and microbiology, and a nuclear-magnetic resonance room. The biomedical sciences degree leads on to an MD course from the University of Health Studies in Antigua. The six-year programme is based in London and graduates will complete the United States Medical Licensing Examination, enabling them to practise in America.
There is a new headquarters for the students’ union on the Aldgate site to add to the well-used building on Holloway Road. The university has also been working hard to reduce its carbon footprint and is among the top five universities on this measure.
Residential accommodation is limited, but many of London Met’s students live at home. There are nine fitness centres, as well as other sports facilities.
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Detailed Statistics
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE
CATEGORY
SCORE
RANK
Ranking
-
123 (121)
Student experience
74.1
122nd
Research quality
3.3
79th=
Ucas entry points
239
121st
Graduate prospects
46.1
123rd
Firsts and 2:1s
51.3
119th
Completion rate
70.5
120th
Student-staff ratio
21.5:1
109th=
Services/facilities spend (£)
619
121st
World ranking
-
701= (651=)
VITAL STATISTICS
Undergraduates
(Full-time)
12,355
Undergraduates
(Part-time)
1,935
Postgraduates
(Full-time)
1,920
Postgraduates
(Part-time)
1,895
Applications/places
18,575/4,295
Applications/places ratio
4.3:1
STUDENT CITIES
Obie Opara, students’ union president
Two campuses in a lively area of London, and lots of help to settle you in.
Buildings are quite spread out, so it will be a while before you know your way around
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Cost of living
Nightlife
Transport
Culture
ACCOMMODATION
FEES
UK/EU fees
£9,000
Fees (international)
£10,000
Finance website
Graduate salaries
£21,199
BURSARIES/SCHOLARSHIPS
>
Household income below £25K, a bursary of £1,000 a year.
>
Progression bursary of £1,000 for students on Extended degree / year 0 courses who progress to year 1.
SPORT
Sports points/rank
39.5, 112th
Sport website
Student satisfaction
82.2%
81.0%
80.8%
78.6%
77.8%
77.5%
75.5%
74.8%
74.7%
74.7%
74.5%
71.3%
70.2%
69.3%
68.3%
56.9%