Seminars & workshops

Bernard Kingston regularly meets with senior university staff (often the Vice-Chancellor and members of the university executive group and those responsible for data returns, planning, marketing, careers, admissions, etc). He gives seminars on university league tables and The Complete University Guide.

Typically a seminar is in two parts. The first part comprises an overview of university league tables from their inception in the early 1990s through to the current scene, consideration of the future of university league tables and a detailed look at The Complete University Guide material and processes.

The second part looks specifically at the datasets, including time series where available, specific to the institution being visited. These are based on a portfolio of statistics and other information prepared and sent in advance of the visit.

The format of these meetings and seminars can, of course, be tailored to suit the individual institution.

If you would like to discuss the possibility of Dr Kingston visiting your university or college, please send him an email or telephone 0114 230 5759.

What previous seminar and workshop attendees have had to say

"Your talk was very useful in that university staff have managed to ignore league tables for years and assumed their students did likewise!" (V-C in the South)

"Thank you for the excellent seminar that you gave at the university earlier this week. I found it very useful and I am sure that it will enliven the continuing debate within the university." (V-C in the North West)

"Thank you for coming to see us about league tables. You won't be surprised to know that we all found it very valuable indeed." (V-C in the North East)

"Thank you very much for coming to the university today and giving such an interesting and thought-provoking seminar." (Head of Strategic Development in the North West)

"I am writing to thank you very much for giving up your time to visit us. The content of your presentation clearly stimulated much discussion and it is clear that the group who attended the seminar found it informative and thought-provoking." (R&S in the East)

"Thanks very much for such an informative presentation in front of a challenging audience. Everyone I have spoken to has gone out of the way to say how useful it was." (Director of Planning in the North West)

"Thank you for coming to the university last week to brief us on the creation of the league tables. I personally found the session very useful and I know colleagues here agreed that your presentation gave us a far better understanding of the compilation and interpretation of the tables." (DV-C in the Midlands)

"We very much enjoyed your seminar and would like to invite you to come to the university again to discuss issues related to the league tables." (P-V-C in the North West)

"Thank you very much for coming to talk to us last month about league tables. We all found the seminar stimulating and useful." (V-C in the Midlands)

"Thanks for such a clear and interesting explanation of the construction of the league tables." (Prof in the North West)

"Thank you again for a very interesting and extremely useful session yesterday." (Communications Manager in the East)

"I would like to thank you for coming to the university last week to lead the seminar on league tables. I know that people greatly appreciated your involvement and very much enjoyed the seminar." (V-C in the Midlands)

"We were pleased that you joined us at our recent away day for the discussion on league tables. Your presentation was both enlightening and thought-provoking. Your candour and openness to suggestions of ways to improve the quality and timeliness of the data was very much appreciated." (V-C in the North West)

"The university is very grateful to you for giving up your time to come and discuss the various league tables with us. The small group who were present for your talk were much encouraged by your openness and willingness to engage in dialogue on the base data being used." (DV-C in the North East)

"Thank you very much indeed for your presentations at both the conference and the committee. I think both went really well and the audiences found the information extremely useful. The employer representatives on the committee are keen to share the information with their colleagues to ensure that they can use it in a more discerning way in the future." (Head of Careers Service in London)

"Many thanks for coming to the university. I enjoyed your talk and learned a lot from it." (V-C in the East)

"First of all, my thanks to you for coming over to discuss League Tables with members of my senior team; it was much appreciated." (V-C in the North West)

"Many thanks for the session you presented for us yesterday. It was very well received here and has given us a number of issues to consider." (Academic Registrar in Wales)