The University of Kent has dropped out of the top 50 in the country in the latest league tables.

The Times and the Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019, which will be published this weekend, shows the institution has plummeted 24 places over the past year.

As a result, it has dropped to ninth in the South East, behind the likes of Oxford, Southampton, Surrey, Buckingham and Portsmouth.

A spokesman for the university attributed its fall in the rankings to its "low" score in student satisfaction.

"Kent’s performance in the two new National Student Survey themes of student voice and learning community was not as good as we would have wanted and, as a result, we have introduced a number of initiatives to address them in conjunction with Kent Union," he said.

"These include the establishment of a group to ensure student feedback is being used to inform change, an initiative to provide free student membership to relevant academic societies and further improvements to the existing student course representative programme."

He insisted that the quality of teaching at the institution "remains among the best in the UK".

Earlier this year, Kent also fell to 44th in the Complete University Guide League Table for 2019 – its lowest position in more than a decade.

The University for the Creative Arts – which has campuses in Canterbury, Rochester, Epsom and Farnham – has leapt 25 places to 33rd in the country, the joint highest ranking ever achieved for a modern institution.

It has climbed to fourth in the South East overall – higher than the others in Kent – and it entered the top 10 nationwide for student satisfaction with teaching.

UCA's vice-chancellor, professor Bashir Makhoul, said: “Despite the huge contributions our world-leading creative industries make to the overall economy, the value of creative education is not always given the recognition it deserves.

“As the needs of the modern workplace evolve, so too does the need to equip graduates with the skills and confidence to flourish in today’s workplace.

“Our broad portfolio, close relationship with industry, and drive to nurture creative passion and talent form the foundations of the education we offer, and are absolutely fundamental to creating modern graduates who are well-placed to tackle the challenges of the modern workplace.”

Canterbury Christ Church is now ranked 118th in the country, having fallen seven places.

In addition, it is 17th in the South East, only ahead of Bedfordshire and Brighton.

A spokesman for the university drew positives from some improvements, saying: “We have improved in six out of nine measures in the tables in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide.

“We are pleased to see our strength in widening participation recognised in the new social inclusion table, where we rank 27th out of 133 institutions.

“We remain committed to continuously enhancing the experiences of all our students, and will continue to monitor our position in the league tables to see where we can improve.”