THE vice chancellor of the University of Bolton has hit out at tables which placed it near the bottom, saying the way it is measured is 'nonsense' and like rating 'the quality of wine at a restaurant which serves soft drinks'.

The University of Bolton was placed 125th out of 129 universities in this year's The Complete University Guide — despite its student satisfaction figures, which measure the course, and university, being amongst the top in the country.

Professor George Holmes said that the university was being measured in areas which it did not specialise. He said it is a teaching-intensive university and not a research university, but is still scored with its research counting towards its overall ranking.

The guide ranks the University of Bolton as 125th overall, its entry standard as 125th, student satisfaction as 36th, research as 118th and graduate prospects 115th. The overall score incorporates those measures.

Professor Holmes said: "There are 129 universities listed.

"Is it really right to judge the overall standard of a restaurant by the wealth of its customers, its entry grades — or the standard of service and food?

"Should we be measuring the quality of the wine list for restaurants that only serve soft drinks? We are a teaching-intensive university, not a research university, so why does the score for something we actively don’t do count in our overall profile?

"Is it surprising that the richest customers arrive at the restaurant then go home in the most expensive cars? Job prospects are highest for those with the best entry standards.

"The so-called tables do the publisher and the reader a massive disservice. They are rubbish."

The university's student satisfaction rates, which measure how happy students are with their course teaching, was the same as Cambridge University. Bottom was the London School of Economics.

The Complete University Guide says its total score is calculated "by our independent and trusted methodology, comprising entry standards, student satisfaction, research assessment (quality and intensity), graduate prospects, student–staff ratio, academic services spend, facilities spend, good honours, and degree completion".

Dr Bernard Kingston, chairman of TheCompleteUniversityGuide.co.uk, said: "It is 10 years since TheCompleteUniversityGuide.co.uk launched its online university league tables, and they have proved their accuracy, independence and robustness over the decade."