There are many different ways that the rank of UK universities in 2009 has been calculated. We've already included one – the 2009 UK Good University Guide – and for balance, we thought we'd include the UK University Ranking 2009 from The Guardian.

The UK University Ranking 2009 rates 46 subject areas at 149 universities using the following criteria:

    * Teaching quality, as rated by final-year students in the National Student Survey (NSS)
    * Feedback (assessment), as rated by final-year students in the NSS
    * Spending per student
    * Staff/student ratio
    * Job prospects
    * Value added - comparing students’ individual degree results with their entry qualifications
    * Entry qualifications (UCAS tariff score)

It is really important to note that this ranking of universities guide actually takes account of student feedback, specifically the satisfaction of students, in key areas such as teaching. This guide is here to help students and in particular undergraduates. Therefore, universities guide aims to rank universities based on teaching and not research ratings.