University of Gloucestershire
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| University of Gloucestershire | |
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| Motto | In animo et veritate (In Spirit and Truth) |
| Established | 2001 - gained University Status 1834 - Mechanics' Institute |
| Type | Public |
| Endowment | £1.77m[1] |
| Chancellor | George Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton |
| Vice-Chancellor | Patricia Broadfoot |
| Students | 8,745[2] |
| Undergraduates | 6,730[2] |
| Postgraduates | 1,665[2] |
| Other students | 350 FE[2] |
| Location | Cheltenham and Gloucester, United Kingdom 51°53′16″N 2°05′20″W / 51.887909°N 2.088797°WCoordinates: 51°53′16″N 2°05′20″W / 51.887909°N 2.088797°W |
| Campus | semi-urban |
| Website | www.glos.ac.uk |
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The University of Gloucestershire is a university primarily based in Gloucestershire, England, spread over five campuses, three in Cheltenham, one in Gloucester[3] and one campus in London[4]. The current Vice-Chancellor is Professor Patricia Broadfoot, who succeeded Dame Janet Trotter on 1 September 2006.
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[edit] History
The university is the recent successor of a large number of merged and name-changed institutions of further and higher education[5]. Its history began with the Mechanics' Institute founded in 1834[6]. From 1992, Cheltenham & Gloucester College of Higher Education (CGCHE) was permitted to award first and postgraduate degrees and 1998 it achieved Research degree awarding powers. However, it was only in 2001 that the University of Gloucestershire was awarded university status. Its history spans nearly two centuries.[7]
[edit] Recent history
The university's undergraduate courses include Business Management[8], Computing[9], Media, Art & Communications, Geography[10], Biology[11], Social Science, Education and Sports.[12]
The University of Gloucestershire has pursued an environmental sustainability strategy since 1993, and was the first UK university to meet the ISO 14001 environmental management standard.[13] In 2008 it was declared the greenest University in the UK. [14] The University of Gloucestershire is also an active participant of the ERASMUS programme and the only UK university to be part of the BCA Programme offering semester abroad, most notably with the USA.
In October 2008, the University was subject to a journalistic investigation on student initiation rites, after the BBC obtained a copy of a secretly-filmed video featuring students with bags over their heads drinking and vomiting,[15] overlooked by another student dressed in what the press described as a "Nazi officer uniform".[16] A further incident resulted in a Rugby club member vomiting on board a bus, following what a local newspaper called a "booze-fuelled initiation ceremony".[17]
Simon Pegg, the comic actor and director who plays Scotty in the 2009 revamp of Star Trek, received an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Gloucestershire on the 4th of December 2008, for his contribution to the arts.[18]
[edit] Location and campuses
The university currently has currently over 9,500 full and part-time students, and has four campuses located in Cheltenham and Gloucester and one campus in London. Each campus is equipped with IT and library resources. There are four faculties in the university, with three faculties being located on a single campus and one split between a Cheltenham campus and a London campus.
Decisions taken by the University to close the Pittville Campus and the London Campus (see below) have been condemned by the University and College Union (UCU) as resulting from bad management [19]
[edit] Pittville Studios
Pittville Studios is located on Albert Road and is the home of the Faculty of Media, Art and Communications. Founded as Cheltenham School of Art over 150 years ago[20], the studios have a mix of different art, design and media courses using industry standard materials and facilities. The Faculty of Media, Art and Communications at Pittville Studios promote creativity within a rigorous academic framework. Halls of Residence are available in Regency Halls, located near the town centre, and Pittville Halls, located in campus, all with en-suite single study bedrooms.
However, in October 2009, the University announced that the campus was to be closed by 2011 due to 'financial difficulties' of the University. All courses held here are to be moved to other campuses.[21]
[edit] Francis Close Hall
FCH is based in the restored historic buildings at Francis Close Hall, nearest to Cheltenham's town centre, being just a short walk away from Cheltenham's lively bars, clubs, friendly terraced streets, department stores, specialist shops, community cafes, diners and restaurants. The campus has a mix of Humanities, Education and Natural & Social Science subjects. Halls of Residence is available in Shaftsbury hall (on campus), Hardwick Halls and Regency Halls, all featuring ensuite single study bedrooms. Further accommodation includes St Georges, Maidenhorn and Whitehart.
[edit] The Park
The Park is home to the Business School, providing education for business, management, law, marketing, computing, leisure, tourism and hospitality. Undergraduate, postgraduate, professional and research students from nations around the world come together to make The Park a vibrant place to study. The Park is the largest of the campuses and holds the most events. Halls of Residence are available in the Park villas, Challinor, Eldon & Merrowdown and Eldon & Merrowdown Annexe located on and next to the campus.
[edit] Oxstalls
Oxstalls campus is located in the heart of Gloucester, only five minutes drive from the city centre. The campus reopened in 2002 (having been previously used for Computing and Business courses in the late 1980s/early 90s) and has quickly gained a reputation for its friendly and sociable atmosphere where students and staff mix together.
The Faculty of Sport, Health and Social Care is located at Oxstalls campus. This Faculty brings together a range of programmes and activities that embrace what is often described as the Government's 'modernisation agenda' of public services. At the heart of this agenda is an inter-professional approach to policies in sport and physical activity, health, social work, social care, community regeneration, education and social exclusion. Halls of Residence are available in Oxstalls Halls (on campus), Ermin Hall and Upper Quay all with ensuite single study bedrooms.
[edit] The London Campus
The London Campus was established thirty years ago as the Urban Learning Foundation (ULF) with the aim of enhancing the quality of initial teacher training. In September 2003, the ULF became part of the University of Gloucestershire. The London Campus offers a one year Postgraduate Certificate in Primary Education [22] and is the base for the North East London Graduate Teacher Programme (Primary)[23]. The university also arranges and supervises Teaching Placements in urban schools for students from other colleges around the country. Accommodation is available all year round and can be booked for periods ranging from one night to one year.
£8.3 million pounds was spent refurbishing the London campus. Following the refurbishment, it reopened in February 2009.[24]
The university announced the closure of the London Campus in September 2009. Times Higher Education quoted a spokeswoman as saying "We have decided to consolidate our business in Gloucestershire, reducing operational costs."[24] This, as with Pitville Studios was another casualty of issues related to the funding cap on recruitment by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the 'financial difficulties' of the University of Gloucestershire.
[edit] The evolution of the current university (some milestone institutions)
- 1834 – Cheltenham Mechanics' Institute
- 1840 – Gloucester Mechanics' Institute
- 1847 – Cheltenham Training College (Church Foundation)
- 1852 – Cheltenham School of Art
- 1920 – St Paul's College of Education
- 1920 – St Mary's College of Education
- 1967 – Gloucestershire College of Education
- 1979 – College of St Paul and St Mary
- 1980 – The Higher Education part of Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology
- 1990 – Cheltenham & Gloucester College of Higher Education
- 2001 – University of Gloucestershire
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://www2.glos.ac.uk/offload/departments/fandp/finstat0607.pdf
- ^ a b c d "Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2006/07" (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet). Higher Education Statistics Agency. http://www.hesa.ac.uk/dox/dataTables/studentsAndQualifiers/download/institution0607.xls. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
- ^ Campus Tours
- ^ London Campus
- ^ University timeline
- ^ Mechanics' Institutes
- ^ University history article
- ^ Business Management course
- ^ Computing course
- ^ Geography degree course
- ^ Biology degree course
- ^ Undergraduate Courses, University of Gloucestershire
- ^ Sustainable Development, University of Gloucestershire
- ^ And the greenest university is ... Gloucestershire The Guardian 3 July 2008 Retrieved 10 November 2009
- ^ University to probe initiations, BBC News, 2 October 2008
- ^ Student dressed as Nazi in initiation ceremony, Daily Telegraph, 2 October 2008
- ^ Initiation ceremony students could be expelled, Gloucestershire Echo, 3 December 2008
- ^ Simon Pegg receives Honorary Fellowship, University of Gloucestershire, 4 December 2008
- ^ Bad management to blame for proposed job losses at University of Gloucestershire, says union 9th October 2009
- ^ University timeline
- ^ BBC News : 'Cuts' force media campus closure
- ^ PGCE(Primary)
- ^ London campus courses
- ^ a b [|Newman, Melanie] (2009-09-28). "Gloucestershire to shut London outpost". Times Higher Education. TSL Education Ltd. http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=408423&c=1. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
[edit] External links
- University of Gloucestershire website
- University of Gloucestershire Students Union website
- University of Gloucestershire Academic Staff Union website
- University of Gloucestershire Support Staff Union website
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