Oxford University, one of the leading Universities in the world, has suffered an unprecedented fall in its rankings according to the latest postings of the Times Higher Education Magazine. The raking is based on a collaboration effort between the magazine and the careers and education group.

The survey showed that Oxford University has fallen from second place in 2004 to fifth place behind Harvard, Yale, Cambridge and University of London. Actually, the 800 year old Oxford University is barely holding fifth place placing as they are tied with Imperial College of London. The following is a list as of 2009 of the top 10 rated universities in the world according to the Times Higher Education Magazine.

• Harvard
• Cambridge
• Yale
• University College of London
• Oxford
• Imperial College of London
• University of Chicago
• Princeton
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• California Institute of technology

Commentators on the study noted that the main reason for Oxford’s decline to its lowest rating since the beginning of the study is that the university did not perform as well than the others on research excellence. The rankings were posted just recently and showed an overall increase in the strengths of the major UK universities. Overall, Britain still maintains 18 places in the top 100 universities worldwide. Retiring Vice-Chancellor Dr. John Hood commented that the university would require a cash injection of just over a billion dollars to bring it back up to a world-class facility.

The List

To develop their list, Times Higher Education Magazine carried out a survey of 9,386 universities worldwide. They interviewed 3,281 employers by asking them which university’s graduates they prefer to employ. This was then combined with a staff to student ratio to come up with a final figure. In the end, Oxford amassed a total of 97.8 points down from its previous 98.1 in 2004. An in-depth analysis of the results showed that the university achieved full marks for academics, thus maintaining their international reputation, but fell short on the quality of their research.

Another startling result from the survey is the sharp rise in the quality of the Universities in China and Korea. This was a revelation to the management of the Oxford University as they now realize their dominance is under threat. Wendy Pitt of the Russell Group of Universities commented that the writing on the wall is clear. Countries such as China and Korea are investing heavily in research within their leading universities. As a result, these universities are coming sharp on their heels.

Some commentators however contest the results of the study. They state that statistics can be twisted to suit any political endeavor. However, one thing cannot be denied, the results are surely a warning sign of developing trends within the education industry that the new players are gaining ground. As a result, Oxford must lobby for more financial aid from the government in the next budget review or calls for an increase in fees to offset the cost of new research.