LEAGUE tables that put the University of Hertfordshire in the fourth division have been dismissed as 'garbage'.

A spokesman for the university, which has its law faculty based in St Albans, is ranked at 81 out of 99 universities in the UK - a drop of two places over previous years.

But the figures, compiled by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education and published in Wednesday's Daily Telegraph, have been slammed by the university spokesman who said the report was misleading and out of touch with academic reality.

He said: 'The Telegraph report is a lot of garbage based on out-of-date figures - it's right-wing nonsense aimed at rubbishing the old polytechnics, and is not borne out in the analysis by either the Financial Times or The Times, which produces the mother of all league tables.

'They rate us very highly, and we have made great strides in improving quality across the board - which is also emphasised in the Royal Bank of Scotland-sponsored Virgin report, widely read by students.

'There are some areas, such as social sciences or the performing arts where we know there is room for improvement, but we are not being complacent.

'We have a national reputation for excellence in computing, and the main test of how we are rated is that employers keep coming back to us to recruit new staff.

'Ultimately you have got to be judged on the contribution you make to the your local community.

'We have no respect for the Telegraph's analysis whatsoever.'

The figures show only four of Hertfordshire's 25 departments rated as excellent, compared to the best, Cambridge, with 24 out of 25.

Luton University scored five out of 20, but rated among the country's most improved, rising 17 places to number 66.

Each inspection takes three days and assessors judge how well departments meet their objectives and aims in six areas - the curriculum, teaching, the progress students make, the support and guidance they receive, the resources available to each department and how well the department is run.

The figures for Hertfordshire include one assessment from February this year, which gave the nursing department an approved rating.

Mathematics achieved an approved rating in 1999, but the other reports are dated between 1993 and 1998.

The law faculty, on Hatfield Road, has not been assessed since 1993 when it was part of the main university site in Hatfield - before it moved to its present site in 1995. It will be inspected again sometime between the end of next year and the end of 2003.

It has 850 part and full-time students and has improved a great deal since being assessed as 'satisfactory', the spokesman said.