簡介：Two more universities have joined the Italian ranking this year, but the total is still nearly a dozen down on the 2007 Guide, when languages were at their peak at degree level. Applications were down by over 20 per cent in March 2012 to below 250. Only 65 students started degrees in Italian in 2011, although many more will have included it in broader language degrees. A total of 37 universities still offer Italian in some form. A relatively high proportion of the places are filled in Clearing. Most students have no previous knowledge of Italian, although they are likely to have taken another language at A level. The low numbers can make for big swings in the annual statistics: in last year’s Guide, for example, starting salaries had dropped by more than ￡1,000, but they have recovered their value in the latest edition and average almost ￡20,000. Cambridge, which has extended its already considerable lead over Oxford this year, has the best employment record, as well as the most satisfied students, the highest entry standards and the top grades in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, when 80 per cent of its submission was judged to be world-leading or internationally excellent. Durham, in 4th place, and Strathclyde, in 17th, come close to matching Cambridge’s employment successes, while Manchester, in 11th, is the nearest challenger on student satisfaction. Although there were fewer than five applications to the place in 2011, entry standards are still high. The top two average more than 500 points at entry and more than half of the 23 universities in the ranking top 400 points. There is a high response rate and scores have generally been good in the National Student Survey. No university failed to satisfy at least seven out of ten final-year undergraduates. St Andrews has rejoined the table this year as the top university in Scotland, while Cardiff remains ahead of Swansea in Wales. There are only three post-1992 universities left in the table, with Portsmouth the clear leader despite slipping six places.