Russell Group of Universities

The Russell Group of Universities is a self-selected group of large research-led British universities. The group presents itself as a kind of Ivy League, representing the interests of Britain's prestigious universities. However this claim is untrue as a number of prestigious institutions (such as the universities of York, Durham and St Andrews) are not members - despite reports in the national press to the contrary!

The main distinguishing feature of the members of the group is not their excellence, either in teaching or research, or their prestige, but rather it is their size. In terms of total research funding in 1998/9, the top 17 are Russel Group institutions. Cardiff comes in 19th, with non-Russell Group institutions Leicester in 18th and Queen Mary in 20th, Overall, the Russell Group had over 60% of the total research income of HE institutions in the UK. From the examples above, York comes in 24th, Durham 28th, and St Andrews 36th. LSE - which is very much out of place in the Russell Group in terms of its size - is down in 37th with less than half the research income of Cardiff, and the only Russell Group member not to make the top 20. However the gap between the largest and smallest institutions in the Russell Group is huge, even ignoring LSE. The so-called 'Golden Triangle' of institutions (Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, and Imperial College - UCL and Imperial apparently forming a single point on the triangle) have 40% of the research income of the Russell Group, while Cardiff has less than a quarter of the income of fourth-placed Cambridge.

The group's purpose is to represent the views of their institutions (especially in lobbying government and parliament) and to commission reports to support their case. Their concerns are to lead the UK's research effort; to maximise income; to attract the best staff and students; to reduce government interference; and to exploit their collaborative advantage.

Although these may be the group's aims some institutions outside the group continue to outperform some of its members. For example York is well established in the top ten for teaching and research quality, attracts high calibure students and staff and would almost certainly be considered at least as good as a large proportion of the Russell Group. This is why it is not correct to state that the Russell Group attracts the best staff and students and leads the UK's research effort as the quality of research should preside over the quantity.

The group is so named because meetings take place at the Russell Hotel in Russell Square, London, generally shortly before Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals (CVCP) meetings in Tavistock Square.

Table of contents

1 The members 2 See also 3 External link

The members

• Cardiff University
• Imperial College, London
• King's College, London
• London School of Economics
• University College London
• University of Birmingham
• University of Bristol
• University of Cambridge
• University of Edinburgh
• University of Glasgow
• University of Leeds
• University of Liverpool
• University of Manchester
• University of Newcastle upon Tyne
• University of Nottingham
• University of Oxford
• University of Sheffield
• University of Southampton
• University of Warwick

See also

• 94 Group (smaller research-led universities, including York, Durham, and St Andrews)
• Aldwych Group (Student Unions of the Russell Group universities - generally opposed to Russell Group policies such as higher tuition fees
• British university
• Coalition of Modern Universities (Group of the ex-polytechnics)
• Red Brick university

External link

• Information on HERO