Lancaster University has fallen 13 places in the latest Guardian University Guide, dropping from 14th to 27th in the UK.
The university is no longer the highest-ranked institution in the North West in the new table as the University of Manchester rose from 35th to 20th.
The Guardian University Guide 2027 ranks 123 universities across the UK and assesses them using measures focused on the student experience, including teaching and feedback, student-to-staff ratios, spending per student, entry qualifications, continuation rates, value added and graduate career prospects.
Lancaster recorded an overall Guardian score of 62.9 out of 100, compared with 69 out of 100 in last year's table.
That represents a drop of 6.1 points, alongside its 13-place fall in the overall rankings.
However, the latest figures show that Lancaster's teaching satisfaction has remained broadly stable.
The university recorded 88.1 per cent satisfaction with teaching in the 2027 guide, compared with 88.2 per cent last year.
Its latest figures also include a student-to-staff ratio of 12.6, while 82 per cent of graduates were recorded as being in graduate-level employment or further study 15 months after completing their course.
The Guardian's methodology places particular emphasis on the experience students receive during their degree rather than research performance alone.
The guide's measures are combined to produce an overall score out of 100, meaning changes in individual indicators can affect a university's position from one year to the next.
Despite the fall in its overall position, Lancaster continues to record strong results in individual subjects.
English Literature ranks highly for teaching satisfaction, with Lancaster sixth in the UK for students satisfied with teaching in the subject.
Business and Management is also ranked 20th nationally, while Lancaster graduates in the subject are ranked 10th in the UK for graduate prospects.
The latest results come as thousands of prospective students prepare to make decisions about where to study, with university league tables providing one of several measures used when comparing institutions.
Lancaster's 13-place fall means the university is no longer within the Guardian's top 20, although it remains in the top 30 nationally and continues to sit above a number of major UK universities in the table.
Elsewhere in Lancashire, Edge Hill University fell from 46th to 60th in the UK, while the University of Lancashire climbed 21 places from 98th to 77th in the latest Guardian rankings.
The result also differs from Lancaster's performance in another major league table.
In the Complete University Guide 2027, Lancaster retained its 10th-place position in the UK, with no change from the previous year.
It was also named the top university in the North West in that table.
The Complete University Guide assessed 164 institutions using measures including student satisfaction, research quality, graduate prospects, entry standards, continuation rates and student-to-staff ratios.
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A total of 12 universities from the North West featured in the regional rankings.
While Lancaster topped the list, other Lancashire institutions also appeared.
Edge Hill University was ranked 58th nationally and recorded strong subject-level performances, while the University of Central Lancashire was placed 90th in the UK.
The contrasting results underline how different university league tables can produce significantly different outcomes depending on the measures and methodology they use.
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