The Modernisation of Higher Education in Europe: The EU Contribution inquiry put seven questions out for consultation, with one asking for views on ¡°the proposed introduction of a European universities league table - the U-Multirank tool¡±.

U-Multirank, developed by academics and funded by the Commission, intends to reflect institutional diversity: a report on its pilot was published this summer.

It aims not to produce a league table, but to allow students, policy-makers, employers and universities to choose their own criteria to compare institutions.

But the 1994 Group of smaller research-intensive universities says in its response to the Lords that it is ¡°concerned about the potential impact of a new European universities league table¡±.

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The ¡°highly complex¡± ranking will ¡°confuse applicants and will act to the detriment of research-intensive institutions, particularly those in Britain¡±, it argues.

The mission group says that existing league tables such as the Times Higher Education World University Rankings demonstrate the ¡°high quality and global reach of higher education in the UK¡±.

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However, critics argue that many existing rankings favour universities in English-speaking nations.

The 1994 Group also claims that while established rankings use data collected annually, ¡°U-Multirank will base its 2013 results on the reference year 2008-09¡±.

Adam Tyson, head of the Commission¡¯s Higher Education Unit, said at U-Multirank¡¯s launch this summer that the project was part of a policy to counter the ¡°homogenisation of higher education¡±.

He said existing rankings push institutions ¡°towards a single model of a research-intensive university, because that is the way you climb the rankings¡±.

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U-Multirank is led by the Centre for Higher Education, a German thinktank, and the Center for Higher Education Policy Studies at the Netherlands¡¯ University of Twente.

john.morgan@tsleducation.com.