Elite universities have failed to score highly in a new mock league table that ranks universities according to the standard of teaching, according to Times Higher Education (THE).

The rankings aim to show how league tables would be altered if the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) were to focus on students, rather than research, which the government is making a “concerted effort” to implement.

Loughborough University topped the new league table. It also scored highly on the recent Guardian league table, topped by Cambridge, which does not award any points for research.

The move to score universities according to their standards of teaching offered to students – as suggested by a government White Paper – has been a contentious issue, particularly the possibility of linking universities’ ability to raise tuition fees to scores achieved.

It is part of a wider attempt by the Government to give students more and better information about what they can expect from their courses and to provide universities a financial and reputation-based incentive to improve teaching standards.

The rankings suggest that the TEF would shake up the established hierarchy perpetuated by other more traditional league tables.

THE’s data team modelled the potential results of the proposed TEF for 120 UK universities using the three supposed core aspects of teaching performance: graduate employment, student retention and student satisfaction.

The new framework’s criteria will mean it will disadvantage the elite institutions of British higher education, which have traditionally maintained their pre-eminent status on account of the strength and scale of their research.

The usual “golden triangle” – of Oxbridge and London – was far less successful than usual. In its place a “Midlands triangle”, consisting of Loughborough, Aston and De Montfort, took the top spots.

The theoretical league table does not totally eradicate members of the Russell Group, however. Cambridge, which still gained the highest absolute score overall, came twelfth in the new ranking, whilst Oxford appeared at 28th.  Neighbour Oxford Brookes came seven places higher.

Rankings editor for THE Phil Baty said that the TEF “could send shockwaves not just through the UK but across the world.

“Some household names – major international university brands – previously judged to be world-class based mainly on their proven research excellence, will suddenly be exposed to the world as failing to deliver the expected results for their students – surely their most important stakeholders”.

He added that, “The metrics used may continue to be highly controversial and will continue to be debated but they will bear the powerful stamp of government approval so they will be taken seriously as a reference point around the world”.

Baty, however, acknowledged that while the TEF has “huge potential for disruption” to the old order, “the prestige that comes from a long history of research excellence, membership of the elite Russell Group and selective entry standards will continue to attract students internationally”.

An institution’s performance in the forthcoming TEF will be communicated to students and employers via the rating they will be awarded. They will be judged to “meet expectations”, or to be “excellent” or “outstanding”.

The Russell Group has warned that it would be “wrong to attach any weight” to THE’s proposed rankings, since they are based only on one year’s data compared to three which the government would prefer. They also claimed that the methodology employed “doesn’t meet Office for National Statistics standards”.

If the TEF does indeed end up affecting students’ choices, Russell Group institutions are likely to suffer the most, since they attract a significant proportion of international students and the fee revenue that comes with them. Any dent to their reputation could lead to a considerable reallocation of resources within the higher education sector.