University of Birmingham’s Post-Covid Curriculum Overhaul Boosts Rankings and Student Satisfaction

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted campus life and exposed gaps in the student experience at the University of Birmingham.

The Guardian

The reform introduced several career-oriented elements. First-year students now receive instruction on building a LinkedIn profile, and a new optional “extra-year” pathway lets undergraduates study subjects such as artificial-intelligence, data science or environmental sustainability outside their primary degree. The university also launched Ad Alta—named after its Latin motto “striving for excellence”—which integrates employer and graduate input. The programme, begun for the 2,000 undergraduates who started in the 2025-26 academic year, develops academic-study skills, places students on real-world challenges for external organisations in the second year, and culminates in a research essay or design project plus a distinct “Birmingham Award” on the degree certificate.

The Guardian

• The Guardian University Guide placed Birmingham 14th overall, its highest position in nearly a decade and the first time in the top 20 since the pandemic.

The Guardian

• In the QS World University Rankings, Birmingham rose to 68th globally, reflecting stronger research output.

The Guardian

• Student satisfaction, measured by the Office for Students’ National Student Survey, improved from a 37th-place ranking four years ago to a top-five standing in several subjects, including computer science, physics, music, drama and dance.

The Guardian

• Data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency show that nearly nine out of ten recent graduates would choose to study at Birmingham again.

The Guardian

Longworth emphasized that improving the whole institution’s approach to student experience required clear targets and collective responsibility across academic and professional services. Matt Hiely-Rayner, compiler of the university guide, attributed the rapid rise in rankings primarily to the turnaround in NSS results, describing the improvement as “very rapid.”

The Guardian

• “Covid really hit that, of course,” — Deborah Longworth

The Guardian

• “It’s partly a recognition that so many more young people go to university than when I did. I graduated in the 1980s and one in 10 people went to university then, and now it’s around one in four, one in three. So things are different,” — Adam Tickell

The Guardian

• “Generally the results from the NSS are the biggest change for Birmingham. In the past it may have been doing less well but its results have improved a great deal, and very rapidly,” — Matt Hiely-Rayner

The Guardian

• “We set a very clear and persistent message that student experience in the round is the whole institution’s job. Every professional service unit, every academic unit, whether you’re the head of college or the head of a school, it’s everyone’s job. We gave ourselves really clear targets. We said this is not good enough. We need to do better for our students,” — Deborah Longworth

The Guardian