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Quality of life at Kent among the best in UK

The quality of life for staff at the University of Kent is among the best in the country, according to a new survey. The University has been ranked 13 out of 121 in the first-ever Halifax-Times Higher Education university quality-of-life index. The survey has been specially designed to help academic staff looking for new jobs, and considers aspects such as the price of local housing, local crime rates and the quality of the schools in the area. In addition, it factors in two further aspects specific to individual universities - the average salary and the proportion of staff on permanent contracts.

University Vice-Chancellor Professor Julia Goodfellow said: 'This is excellent news. I always feel very privileged to be here - it really is a wonderful place to live and work. It is a great vote of confidence in the University as well as the region.'

This is the latest in a series of accolades for the University of Kent, which was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education. It was voted among the top ten universities in the UK for course satisfaction in the recent National Student Survey.

Kent can also 'claim to be Britain's only international university', according to The Sunday Times in its 2007 University Guide, which referred to the University's expanding Brussels campus and its involvement as one of five partners in the bilingual University of the Transmanche.

The Guide also flagged up the sharp rise in student applications to Kent, and praised student facilities, describing the Kent Union-run nightclub as being 'one of the best student clubs in the country'.

Contact: mediaoffice@kent.ac.uk

Story published at 12:02pm 7 March 2008