For instance, in the Times's 2000 league table, Bristol is ranked fourth with 937 points out of 1100, whereas Nottingham is 12th with 903. Ranking may widen the differences Instead of helping to improve the quality of education as a whole, rankings may increase the difference between the good and bad universities. Those universities rated well get increasing numbers of top student applicants and private and state funding. The poorly ranked universities predictably get progressively poorer quality students and decreased funding. 2 Poorly ranked universities therefore find themselves caught in a vicious circle that makes it dif- ficult for them to improve their standing and may even lead to some of them becoming financially unviable.
Rankings are clearly a hurdle to achieving national equality in education.
With time, university rankings may have an even greater influence on how we perceive certain institutions. Doing away with them completely may not be possible, so it would be better to change them to focus on what is critical to the student experience in the educational process. Ranking just the top 10 or 20 institutions would also prevent any polarisation of institutions and increased inequality in our educational system. Government regulation over this sector, which is normally run by private enterprises, would also help to ensure that the rankings were fair to all universities.