ABERTAY UNIVERSITY has been rated the worst higher education institution in Scotland in a new guide.

Thirteen really has proved to be an unlucky number for Abertay as it represents last place in the Scottish rankings of the Sunday Times University Guide 2008.

Abertay—which said the guide should be taken with a “pinch of salt”—held the same position last year but the university was saved from last place in that guide by the then University of Paisley.

However, Paisley does not feature in this year’s list after becoming the University of West Scotland, following a merger with Bell College in Hamilton.

St Andrews University, meanwhile, was named the top Scottish university.

Dundee University moved up from sixth to fifth in this year’s standings as Stirling slipped a place.

A spokesman for Abertay last night said, “League tables should be taken with a pinch of salt, as they can vary enormously according to which measures they use to rank universities.

“For example, in the Complete University Guide 2009 published by the Independent newspaper earlier this year, Abertay is ranked 68th in the UK—a very different result from the Sunday Times ranking.”

“We are sure that students thinking about choosing a university are smart enough not to base their decisions on just one league table—they will consider a whole range of things, such as whether a university offers the course they want and the quality of teaching and academic support available.”