Higher education institutions caught making potentially misleading claims

A number of universities are presenting unverifiable marketing claims making it difficult for prospective students to make informed choices, according to a new Which? University investigation.

 

Almost a year after the advertising watchdog upheld a number of complaints about  misleading information in higher education, the consumer champion found several universities are making unverifiable and potentially misleading claims.

 

Which? University carried out a review of comparative claims made by UK institutions and found that at least six universities included examples of unsubstantiated or unverifiable claims about their standing on their websites, in likely breach of advertising standards.

 

The review found a number of unjustified claims, which were not clearly verifiable including:

 

  • Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University described 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 or figures on the website and Heriot-Watt University is ranked 351st-400th out of 1,103 institutions in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2018. Following a letter from Which? University, Heriot-Watt explained that its links with business support its claim, which it stands by.

 

  • Aston University explained that it was, “ranked within the top 35 universities in all university ranking tables.” However, there was no information included to substantiate the claim. Aston explained to us that this statement referred to employability metrics rather than its overall ranking position. It agreed this was ambiguous and has removed the claim from its website.

 

  • University of Aberdeen claimed to be, “ranked consistently among the world’s top universities,” but did not verify this claim on its website. The University has told us that it will enhance its website to provide clearer qualification regards supporting information.

 

  • Newcastle University included a Key Facts document on its website that stated it was in the top 1% in the QS World University Rankings. It came 141st in the current table, putting it in the top 15% of ranked institutions. Following a letter from Which? University, Newcastle has removed this from its website.

 

  • Ulster University stated that it “is in the top 3% of universities in the world” when it came 501-600th out of in the 1,103 Times Higher Education World University Rankings in 2018, putting them in the mid-tier of those rankings. Ulster University responded to say that its position in the top 2% of Universities in the world is based on the total number of higher education institutions worldwide, rather than the number ranked in each of the global rankings.

 

  • University of the West of Scotland claimed that it “ranked in the Top 3% of Universities Worldwide” in its Google search descriptor. Which? University does not believe that this claim was sufficiently transparent or verifiable. UWS also came 501-600th out of 1,103 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2018. University of the West of Scotland responded to explain that where comparative claims are made on its website it always ensures that it has sufficient data to back up any claim and makes the basis of the claim clear.

 

The estimated figure for the total number of universities in the world varies and not all universities are formally ranked. The QS World University Rankings rank 1000 institutions and Times Higher Education World University Rankings rank 1103. Which? University is concerned that, in isolation, a “top 3%” claim could be misunderstood and it would be more transparent to say a university had been ranked in the top 600 in the relevant table.

 

Which? University is particularly concerned about these comparative claims, given it is less than one year since the Advertising Standards Authority issued its comprehensive advice in November 2017 to universities about such claims and its rulings which upheld complaints about comparative claims made in university advertising. Where universities are making comparative claims about their relative performance, these should be verifiable and provided with sufficient qualifying information to ensure that prospective students are not misled.

 

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.

 

“We want universities to act responsibly in line with the ASA’s guidelines as thousands across the country prepare to apply for the next step of their education in the coming weeks and months.”

 

For more than five years, Which? University has been helping students to make more informed decisions about their higher education choices. It is a free and independent website to help students make more informed decisions about higher education, featuring more than 30,000 courses and 281 universities and colleges to search and compare.

 

Rights of reply

 

Which? University has notified all universities believed to be potentially misleading students and received the following responses, and has notified the ASA.

 

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A spokesperson from Newcastle University said:

“Despite being informed by the QS that our position “puts us in the Top 1% of World universities” it is not a particularly meaningful statistic and that’s why we now use “Ranked in the Top 150 by QS 2019”.

“We are launching a new website next month and have removed this old reference which pre-dates the ASA ruling.”

 

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Aston University:

At Aston University we take facts and figures seriously, and we don’t set out to mislead or confuse prospective students or other interested parties.

The ‘top 35’ ranking message identified by Which? as potentially misleading does in fact refer to our position in employability rankings – the graduate prospect/career prospect metrics that make up the Sunday Times, Guardian and Complete University Guide – rather than the overall ranking position.

This time last year we were top 35 for Graduate/Career Prospects in all of the league tables that include employment outcomes as part of their methodology (the QS and THE do not include it as part of their methodology).

Having reviewed the statement we accept that it is ambiguous in its current form and have removed it from our website.

 

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A spokesperson for Heriot-Watt University said:
“We stand by our reputation as a world-leading university for pioneering research informed by the needs of business and industry.

”Heriot-Watt has a proud history of producing first-class research and innovation, related to the needs of business and with global significance. In the Research Excellence Framework 82% of our research was assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent and we were ranked 1st university in Scotland and 9th in the UK for research impact. Our global significance and reputation can be demonstrated through numerous examples, where our research in close partnership with business and industry, has transformed their effectiveness.  This is why global companies like Shell, Total, Renishaw, Chevron, BAE Systems and many more choose to partner with us.

“Examples include for two consecutive years being the only UK university to reach the world-wide finals of the Amazon Alexa Challenge, hosting the Shell Centre for Exploration Science and the continued support of BP to deliver their global energy economics research, producing their annual energy benchmark reports, the BP Statistical Review of World Energy and the BP Energy Outlook.

“We are a truly global university, recognised as International University of the Year by the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018 and with major campuses in Dubai and Malaysia, working closely with business and industry across all our locations.”

 

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University of West of Scotland:
We are aware of the decisions by the ASA last year on comparative claims made by HEIs. Where comparative claims are made on our website we always ensure that we have sufficient data to back up any claim and we make sure that the basis for any claim is clear in our advertising materials. We have included references to the Times Higher Education World Rankings 2018 where we make the top 3% claim and information about how these rankings are compiled is accessible on the Times Higher Education website.

 

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Phil Hannaford, Senior Vice-Principal at the University of Aberdeen, said:
“Everyone at the University of Aberdeen works very hard to maintain and enhance our standing and reputation among the estimated 20,000 plus universities across the globe.  We are proud that we rank within the top 200 universities in both the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the QS World Rankings, and have done so for many years. These facts mean 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.  This said, we would never want anyone to believe we have misrepresented our position, so we will enhance our website, marketing and other relevant material to provide clearer qualification regards supporting information.”

 

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A spokesperson for Ulster University said:

“Ulster University’s position in the top 2% of Universities in the world is based on the total number of higher education institutions worldwide, rather than the number ranked in each of the global rankings.  This takes the boundaries of the ranges in which we are ranked in THE (Times Higher) and QS World Rankings, as a percentage of the 26,000 universities globally.

Our 87% Student Satisfaction was significantly ahead of the sector and placed Ulster as the top performing Northern Ireland HEI in the 2018 National Student Survey. This and many other notable achievements and rankings, reflect our reputation for excellence, innovation, widening participation, regional engagement, and teaching and research of the highest academic quality.”

Notes to editors

 

  • Which? University used the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2018 list as a starting point for our research and extracted the top ranked 93 UK institutions. For each of these 93 institutions, Which? University reviewed their internet homepage, any ‘about us’ and ‘key facts and figures’ type pages, as well as any relevant links emanating from these. It then checked whether any comparative claims made on those pages were verifiable and accurate.

  • Several of the claims that Which? University reviewed were in likely breach of the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing.

  • Details of university claims were sourced from:

  • Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University described 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 or figures. Heriot-Watt University is ranked 351st-400th (out of 1,103 institutions) in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2018 and joint 302nd (out of 1,000 institutions) in the QS World Rankings 2019

  • Aston University explained that its “employability rankings are recognised internationally… [and is] ranked within the top 35 universities in all university ranking tables”. However, there is no information included with the claim to substantiate it. Aston came 373rd in the QS World University Rankings 2018 and 351-400th in The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2018.

  • University of Aberdeen claimed to be, “ranked consistently among the world’s top universities,” but did not substantiate this claim.

  • Newcastle University promoted that it is in the top 1% in the QS World University Rankings but it came 141st in the current table. The QS rankings include listings for 1000 worldwide institutions, putting Newcastle in the top 15% of those rankings – not the top 1%.

  • Ulster University stated that it “is in the top 3% of universities in the world”. Ulster came 501-600th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2018 out of 1,103 putting them in the mid-tier of those rankings.

  • University of the West of Scotland claimed that it “Ranked in the Top 3% of Universities Worldwide” in its Google search descriptor. Which? University does not believe that this claim was sufficiently transparent or verifiable. UWS also came 501-600th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2018.

  • The estimated number of worldwide universities varies slightly between ranking bodies. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2018, which were released in September 2017 states there are 20,000 higher education institutions in the world.  The recognised QS and Times Higher Education rankings only formally rank 1,000 and 1103 institutions respectively.

  • Last year the ASA made six separate rulings in respect of six slightly different complaints:

  • https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/university-of-strathclyde-a17-390134.html

  • https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/university-of-west-london-a17-393188.html

  • https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/teesside-university-a17-395184.html

  • https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/university-of-leicester-a17-393534.html

  • https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/falmouth-university-a17-390070.html

  • https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/university-of-east-anglia-a17-390154.html

  • Summary of the ASA advice: https://www.asa.org.uk/advice-online/universities-comparative-claims.html

  • Which? University is a free and independent website to help students make more informed decisions about higher education, featuring more than 30,000 courses and 281 universities and colleges to search and compare. We bring together facts and statistics from official sources including UCAS and the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), and combine these with real-life insight from students and the unbiased, expert analysis you’d expect from Which?

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