Canterbury Christ Church University

Canterbury Christ Church University
Motto Veritas liberabit vos
(The truth shall set you free)
Established 2005 - gained University Status
1962 - teacher training college
Chancellor The Archbishop of Canterbury ex officio[1]
Vice-Chancellor Dr Robin Baker CMG FRSA
Students 17,980[2]
Undergraduates 13,570[2]
Postgraduates 4,405[2]
Other students 65 FE[2]
Location Canterbury, Broadstairs, Tunbridge Wells, Chatham and Folkestone, Kent, UK
Colours Cardinal Red and Purple
                       
Affiliations Church of England
Website http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/

Canterbury Christ Church University is a university in Canterbury, Kent, England. Founded as a Church of England college for teaching training it has grown to full university status and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2012. The focus of its work is in the education of people going into public service. The University retains its status as an Anglican foundation.

Contents

History

Canterbury Christ Church College (CCCC) was founded in 1962 by the Church of England in order to meet the needs of church schools at a time of teacher shortage. Classes were originally held in the Priory next to St Martin's Church, a building which has seen many uses including the private residence of a Bishop of Dover and also the residence for the Principal of CCCC. The founding Principal was the Revd Dr Frederick Mason.

The campus for the, then, Christ Church College Canterbury (nickname - Cephor) was constructed at North Holmes Road, Canterbury, on land which had once been used for orchards and domestic buildings of the adjacent St Augustine's Abbey, part of Canterbury's World Heritage Site. The campus is a low-rise development centred around a courtyard adjacent to the college chapel of Christ in Majesty. The chapel roof, formed of four isoceles triangles in glass, is a distinctive local landmark. The buildings are largely named for former archbishops of Canterbury.

In the early 1970s, the first degree programme, the Bachelor of Education, was established. In 1977 the College began to offer joint honours degrees in other subjects. In the late 1980s the College was substantially enlarged by the addition of Health Studies.

In 1995, the College was awarded the power by Privy Council to grant its own degrees for taught courses, upon which the name was changed to Canterbury Christ Church University College. This form of the name was adopted to avoid confusion with Christ Church University, New Zealand.

In 2000 the Broadstairs campus was opened and in 2004 the Medway campus, where the main building is named Rowan Williams Court.

Awarded the title of University in 2005, which recognised the successful delivery of degree programmes. With the title came a new name; Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU).

The Archbishop of Canterbury was later appointed, by virtue of office, as Chancellor, the honorary head of the institution. The inauguration of the University and the installation of Dr Rowan Williams as Chancellor took place in a ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral, in December 2005.

The University has developed rapidly since its inception in 1962 and now has nearly 20,000 students based at campuses across Kent, in Canterbury, Broadstairs, Folkestone, Medway and Tunbridge Wells. As well as being the largest centre of higher education in Kent for the public services – notably teacher training, health and social care, and the emergency services – the university also offers an extensive range of academic and professional programmes, from credit bearing higher education entry certificates through to doctorates and research degrees. Policing and Law courses have also been delivered both for UK and overseas law enforcement agencies. The University gives academic validation to ordination and post-ordination training courses for Anglican clergy delivered by the dioceses of Canterbury and Rochester.

In 2007 the University attracted publicity due to its controversial policy to forbid civil partnership ceremonies to take place at its properties.[3] This decision by the University's governing body has now since been reversed.[4]

In 2009, the University was granted power to award research degrees by the Privy Council.

In 2011, Canterbury Cathedral hosted a ceremony as Professor Robin Baker CMG became the first Vice-Chancellor in the UK to be installed by The Most Revd and Rt Hon Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.

Faculties

Teaching and research work is grouped within the five faculties each led by a Pro-Vice Chancellor and/or a Dean of Faculty, who reports directly to the Vice-Chancellor.

Campuses

The University has five campuses across Kent, located in Canterbury, Medway, Broadstairs, Tunbridge Wells and Folkestone.

In addition to the original Canterbury site at North Holmes Road the University has three other significant sites in the city - Augustine House, Hall Place Enterprise Centre and The Sidney Cooper Gallery. It also has a further four campuses in Kent - at Broadstairs, Tunbridge Wells, Folkestone and Medway, (as part of the Universities at Medway partnership).

In 2000, Canterbury Christ Church acquired the lease of the Sidney Cooper Gallery in Canterbury city centre, originally established as an art school by the renowned cattle painter Thomas Sidney Cooper in 1868. Canterbury Christ Church art students moved into the building in December 2002, taking it back to its original use as an art school. In 2004, the refurbished gallery space opened to the public. The gallery exhibits Canterbury Christ Church staff and student work, as well as work by local, national and international artists. The Grapevine Gallery and cafe opened to the public in September 2006, selling affordable artwork by students and staff, as well as providing internet cafe facilities.

In 2003-2004, two major buildings were acquired in Canterbury – a large office block formerly known as Clarkson House was demolished and replaced by Augustine House, a new building that was designed by architectural practice ADP, and is the home of the University's integrated library and student support services. The project was completed in 2009.

Also in 2009, the University built a sports centre. The Christ Church Sports Centre is a newly built, state-of-the-art facility featuring a fully equipped sports hall, fitness suite and sport and exercise studio.

The specialist facilities also support students on Physical Education and Sport and Exercise courses, providing a venue for performance analysis and research.

Hall Place, a 16th century building in Harbledown, has been renovated and renamed Hall Place Enterprise Centre. It is home to the Centre for Enterprise and Business Development, a gateway for business support and access to academic resources and training programmes for small businesses. [5]

North Holmes Campus

North Holmes Campus in Canterbury is the original site for the University, which was established in 1962 as a teacher training college. It now offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across four faculties: Arts and Humanities; Business and Management; Education; Health and Social Care and Social and Applied Sciences. The University is the largest centre of higher education in Kent for the public services, notably teacher training, nursing, social care and policing. The nearby redundant church of St.Gregory has been developed as performance centre for the University's choirs and musical ensembles.

University Centre Folkestone (UCF)

In February 2004, Canterbury Christ Church opened The Sidney de Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health in Folkestone as part of the town’s new Creative Quarter. The Centre, which is the first higher education venture in Folkestone, researches the link between arts and health.

The Folkestone People’s History Centre was opened in November 2005. The Centre is a joint initiative between Canterbury Christ Church, the Folkestone Creative Foundation, local Folkestone historians and historical societies, archaeological services, Kent County Council Arts and Libraries and the Local Education Authority.

The University Centre Folkestone was opened in September 2007 in partnership with the University of Greenwich.

Canterbury Christ Church offers a range of programmes at UCF which can be studied full time and part time. These include Performing Arts; Visual Art and Professional Practice; Early Years Education; Entrepreneurship (combined with a creative subject); and Professional Development by Work Based Learning. UCF is based at the refurbished 30,000sq ft Glassworks, a redundant industrial building. The Glassworks is owned by the Creative Foundation, a charity established by local businessman Roger De Haan with aims to regenerate Folkestone through the arts. The Glassworks is part of Folkestone’s new "Creative Quarter", a regeneration area being established around the Old High Street and Tontine Street.

Medway Campus

Medway Campus opened in October 2004 as part of the Universities at Medway partnership, which includes the three universities; Canterbury Christ Church University, the University of Kent and the University of Greenwich.

Programmes in health, social care and early years are provided here. The campus is home to the university's Centre for Health and Social Care and has been equipped with a mixture of teaching space, specialist facilities and staff offices. The two buildings on this campus are Rowan Williams Court (RWC) and Cathedral Court (located within the Compass Centre), which offer lecture theatres, seminar rooms, open access learning area, and skills laboratory for health care at RWC. Cathedral Court is newer and smaller, located within the Compass Centre, and has similar facilities to RWC.

Students and staff also have access to the new Learning Resources Centre, which has been created in the former Drill Hall and is used by all students from the Universities at Medway partnership.

Broadstairs Campus

The range of teaching and learning facilities are in three purpose-built buildings including areas with acoustic and sound isolation specifications and a simulated hospital ward. Digital media students benefit from digital video and sound production facilities, editing suites, specialised computer animation resources, web and multimedia authoring systems. Music students utilise the campus’s 24 track recording studio, music computing suite and performance facilities.

Salomons, Tunbridge Wells Campus

The University acquired Salomons from the NHS in 1995. The Campus, just outside Tunbridge Wells, comprises a substantial mansion, set in parkland.

Salomons has retained and built on its strong links with the Health Service, local authorities, businesses and schools and offers an extensive range of programmes, consultancy and research.

The Centre for Leadership and Management Development provides postgraduate Certificate/Diploma/Masters in leadership and management development as well as bespoke programmes in this field. It is also contracted by external organisations for consultancy work.

The Centre for Applied Psychology offers Postgraduate programmes including a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and a PhD in Psychology, Arts and Health. It also provides training for local NHS Trusts.

The Centre for Careers and Personal Development provides a qualification in Careers Guidance and Masters in Careers, Education, Development and Guidance. It also produces career guidance material.

The Centre for Education Leadership and School Improvement (CELSI) provides a Masters in School Leadership and a Masters in Leadership and Management for Learning. The team is developing study support schemes for disaffected pupils and a method to assure the quality of study support.

See also

References

External links