| Staffordshire University | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Create the difference |
| Established | 1992 - gained University status 1971 - North Staffordshire Polytechnic |
| Type | Public |
| Chancellor | Baron Morris of Handsworth |
| Vice-Chancellor | Professor Michael Gunn LLB[1] |
| Admin. staff | 1,375 |
| Students | 15,190[2] |
| Undergraduates | 11,795[2] |
| Postgraduates | 3,395[2] |
| Location | Staffordshire (Stafford; Stoke-on-Trent; Lichfield), Shropshire (Shrewsbury), United Kingdom |
| Campus | Urban and Rural |
| Website | http://www.staffs.ac.uk/ |
Staffordshire University is a university in the county of Staffordshire, England, from which the university takes its name. It has two main campuses based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent and in the county town of Stafford, with other campuses in Lichfield and Shrewsbury.[3]
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In 1901 industrialist Alfred Bolton acquired a 2-acre (8,100 m2) site on what is now College Road and in 1906 mining classes began there. By 1907 teaching of pottery classes followed, being transferred from Tunstall into temporary buildings. In 1914 the building now known as the Cadman Building was officially opened as the Central School of Science and Technology by Rt. Hon J A Pease MP, President of the Board of Education. A frieze over the entrance depicts potters and miners.
In 1915 a department was established for the commercial production of Seger cones (used to measure and control the temperatures of ceramic furnaces) based upon research completed by the principal, Dr Joseph Mellor. Grants from the Carnegie UK Trust, the second in 1924, were used to develop the ceramics library and in 1926 the name of the institution was changed to North Staffordshire Technical College. By 1931 extensions to the Cadman Building ran along Station Road and housed the Mining Department. A grant was awarded from the Miners’ Welfare Fund to fund the building work. The new extension also housed the library, which by now had 35,000 volumes. By 1934 the college consisted of four departments: Engineering (nearly 800 students), Pottery (just over 600 students), Mining (just under 500 students), and Chemistry (under 300 students).
In 1939 new engineering workshops were occupied for the first time and the land opposite the Cadman Building was purchased. By 1950 Victoria Road changed its name to College Road and the site now extended over 12 acres (49,000 m2). The Mellor Building and ‘Experimental Production Block’ (now Dwight Building) were constructed giving the North Staffordshire College of Technology by 1960.
Various faculty movements and further building work resulted in North Staffordshire Polytechnic being formed in 1971 with the merger of Stoke-on-Trent College of Art, North Staffordshire College of Technology (both based in Stoke-on-Trent), and Staffordshire College of Technology in Stafford. The Polytechnic later (in 1977) absorbed a teacher training facility in Madeley.
The Polytechnic was able to develop traditional strengths of the component institutions, e.g. ceramics (Stoke-on-Trent),[4] computing (Stafford)[5] and sports education (Madeley). However, the mining department closed as result of the decline of coal mining in the 1980s. New subjects were developed, for example, in the 1970s North Staffordshire Polytechnic was amongst only a handful of third-level institutions in the UK to offer International Relations as a dedicated degree. The 1992 UK government Research Assessment Exercise placed the International Relations Department as the highest-rated in the institution.
In September 1988 the institution changed its name to Staffordshire Polytechnic. In 1992 it became Staffordshire University, one of the New Universities.
Staffordshire University consists of two primary campuses, four smaller campuses,[6] and extensive links with National, European and Transnational academic institutions.
The Two main campuses (Stoke-on Trent and Stafford) and the Lichfield campus all have purpose built Business Villages; which consist of fully furnished small office spaces with full internet access included.[7]
The main campus is in Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent, and primarily offers law, business, sciences, applied computing, arts, design, journalism and media production courses. These are split into two areas, one on College Road, and the other on Leek Road. A new Science and Technology facility is under construction as part of a major redevelopment adjacent to Stoke-on-Trent railway station.[8] A large section of the campus is supported by AirNet, the university's free wireless connection.
A public film theatre is situated on the side of the Flaxman building on College Road, and shows mainstream and independent films on a regular basis to an audience of up to 180 people, as well as being used for large lectures.[9] In 2006, a new TV studio facility was opened by former BBC Director General Greg Dyke in the Arts, Media and Design faculty building on College Road, Stoke.[10] The new £1 million development features up-to-date technology and industry specification equipment.
Staffordshire University also participated in the Stafford Film Festival, held at its Stafford venue, until the County Council ceased to show sufficient interest and effort in organising the 2009 festival. Festival organisers are planning to create a new festival at the Stoke campus to replace it.
The Beaconside campus in the town of Stafford offers engineering, technology and computing courses, some business courses, nursing, midwifery and mental health on the campus. The Beaconside campus consists of the Octagon building which houses the computer facilities, the JCB Schools Centre, The Beacon Building for Engineering (which was fully renovated through the spring/summer of 2008), the new Ruxton Technology Centre (named after the previous Dean of School, Professor Tom Ruxton). The Beacon Building covers an array of technology subjects such as computer games design, music, film, design technology, digital film, 3D animation, automotive, aeronautic and sports technology and a new television studio centre opened by the H. M. The Queen on 31 March 2006 as part of the university's commitment to media technology, in particular Film Production Technology and associated courses.[11]
Nursing courses are taught just around the corner from Beaconside on Blackheath Lane following the integration into the university in 1995 of the Shropshire and Staffordshire College of Nursing and Midwifery, which also has bases in Shrewsbury, Telford and Oswestry.
In 1998, in partnership with Tamworth and Lichfield College, the university opened a newly built campus in Lichfield quite near Lichfield City railway station.[12]
This part of the university is mainly for nursing and midwifery courses, and still forms part of Staffordshire University despite all three settlements being located in neighbouring county Shropshire.[13]
The university has around 5000 students studying overseas on Staffordshire University awards in China, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Greece, Spain, Nigeria, France and Macedonia.
The university is seeking to develop in partnership with Stoke-on-Trent College and Stoke-on-Trent 6th Form College and with the co-operation of the local education authority and the city council, a "University Quarter" in the urban area to the north-east of Stoke-on-Trent railway station that is already home to the university and the two colleges. The vision is that the University Quarter (located between College Road and Leek Road) will attract both students and developers and become a gateway to the city and to the region. [14]
The university offers guaranteed accommodation for all first year students, provided the university is their firm UCAS choice. [15]
All accommodation is situated close to all teaching, sporting and Union venues.
The Stafford campus has its own halls of residence, Stafford Court, comprising over 264 en-suite single study bedrooms and 290 single study bedrooms with shared facilities. The various houses take their names from villages in Staffordshire: Brocton, Derrington, Eccleshall, Gnosall, Haughton, Knightley, Levedale, Milwich, Norbury, Ranton, Shugborough and Weston. A separate block of larger flats, named after the village of Yarlet (previously Beckett Hall), is also on the same site. This comprises an additional 51 single-study bedrooms over three floors, each accommodating 17 residents, who share a kitchen, dining room and four shower rooms. All of these halls are directly opposite the Stafford campus buildings on Weston Road. All accommodation on the Stafford Campus has 24/7 Security with Stafford Court benefitting from secure access to the accommodation via a two-way intercom system and students can book the "Aston Common Room" for social events at no cost to them. [16] The post room is open from 12:30pm to 1:30pm on weekdays (excluding Bank Holidays) for students to collect their post.
Students in Stafford On-Campus accommodation have free access to the Internet, via "ResNet", which also allows access to the university network. Keycom is an optional telephone package to which residents can subscribe. A handset is provided in every room. Calls within Halls are free. The external number for the rooms is 01785 60xxxx where xxxx is replaced with the 4 digits shown on the phone socket.
The off-Campus accommodation at Stafford is called "Beaconside Village", and is ex-RAF accommodation. Beaconside contains 54 semi-detached houses arranged around a communal green area, and provides 161 reasonably sized bedrooms. It is situated 1 km from the teaching campus.
These properties do not have Keycom or ResNet facilities, however many have had Virgin Media or other services installed by previous occupants. [17]
At Stoke, Halls of residence are primarily situated on the Leek Road Campus. The shared-bathroom accommodation was sponsored by various local potteries, and halls are therefore named after them, for example Royal Doulton, Coalport, Minton, Spode, Aynsley and Wedgwood Halls.
The on campus en-suite accommodation is contained within Clarice Cliff Court, comprising seven halls of about 30 students over three floors, each named after female ceramicists: Rachel Bishop, Eve Midwinter, Jessie Van Hallen, Charlotte Rhead, Jessie Tait, Millicent Taplin and Star Wedgwood. Along with the halls and en-suite, Staffordshire University also offers 32 houses known as the Leek Road Houses which inhabit up to 6 people each. [18]
Students in Stoke-on-Trent on-campus accommodation have free access to the Internet. Keycom is an optional telephone package to which residents can subscribe.
Carlton House, Caledonia Road, Queen Anne Street Flats, Cromwell Court, Church Street and Sovereign House are situated off campus. They are all within 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) of the Stoke Campus, and are reserved for postgraduate and returning (second and third year) students. As with the on-campus accommodation, each room is equipped with a ResNet connection and a Keycom telephone link.[19]
Each of the halls has a large car park, free for students to use.
Private sector housing in Stoke-on-Trent is very affordable with prices ranging from £38-£55 a week (exclusive of bills) for rooms in shared basic terraced houses.
The Shelton area of Stoke is where many students choose to live after their first year. The area has many houses which are used by students - each fairly big in size.
Although the area may appear slightly run down and shabby most of the private accommodation is very good and provides students with good access to the university facilities. The proximity of Shelton to the university and the large quantity of student accommodation has effectively turned it into a mini-student village.
Alternatively there are also the popular College Court Halls - which are privately run and operate in a similar way to halls. The Halls are situated opposite to Hanley Park and are within close range to the university. The Halls are also newer than most accommodation in the area ; they also provides students with a large common room with access to SKY television. The cost of College Court is higher than that of houses in Shelton, but as all bills are included it is actually cheaper than Clarice Cliffe and the majority of Shelton terraces.
Private sector accommodation in Stafford tends to be about £10 per week more expensive than in Stoke, but is still very affordable.
The university is noted for its science departments; in 2002 Psychology was among the top ten in the country, while Molecular Biochemistry and Organismal Biosciences were rated as 'excellent' by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. The Science Faculty together with most of the university also does consistently well in the National Student Survey and measures of graduate level employment after graduation.[20]
The School of Computing was originally situated at Blackheath Lane on the edge of Stafford in GEC's former Nelson Research Laboratory. It offered one of the first BSc courses in computing in the United Kingdom and its first major computer was a second hand DEUCE. The School of Computing has now moved to a purpose-built building on the Beaconside campus and the newly refurbished Brindley Building in Stoke, and continues to offer one of the best respected computing degrees in the UK. The Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Technology (FCET) is a Cisco Networking Academy.[21]
The university was the first institution to introduce a single honours degree in Film, Television and Radio Studies in 1990. A new Media Centre was opened by Greg Dyke in 2005, comprising radio studios, television news desk and broadcast journalist suite.[10] Courses in print, broadcast and sports journalism are nationally accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists and the Broadcast Journalism Training Council.
The Forensic Science degrees (Forensic Science, Forensic Science and Criminology and Forensic Science and Psychology) were accredited by the Forensic Science Society (FSC) in 2007, one of four universities whose courses have been acknowledged for teaching services and high academic quality.[22] The Forensic theme is continued with a specialist Forensic Biology degree and on the Stafford Campus the Faculty of Computing Engineering and Technology was one of the first university faculties in the UK to offer undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the new field of Forensic Computing.
The university's world ranking is 1354 in 2010, according to webometrics.info.[23]
| 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1993 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guardian University Guide | 69[24] | 55 | 67[25] | 74 | - | 85[26] | 81 | 91[27] | 87 | ||||||||||
| Times Good University Guide | 81= | 74= | 67[28] | 64 | 75 | 80= | 85= | 86 | 81= | 82 | 75 | 75 | 83= | 88 | 88 | 77= | 76 | 75 | 91 |
| Sunday Times University Guide | 95 | 77= | 79 | 81 | 79 | 81 | 79= | 76 | 75 | 75 | 76 | 88 | |||||||
| The Complete University Guide | 80[29] | 80 | 80[30] | 80 | |||||||||||||||
| The Daily Telegraph | 80[31] | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| FT | 77 | 88 | 79 | 90 |
| UK University Ranking for graduate prospects and employability | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Times Good University Guide | ||||
| Guardian University Guide | 52 | 49 | 42 | |
| The Complete University Guide |
Staffordshire University Students Union aims to represent students at the university. Constitutionally it is governed by the student body via referendums, who annually elect a union council which is responsible for the organisation of the Union. The day to day operation of the union is handled by five Sabbatical Officers and four non-portfolio Executive Officers, who are held to account by the Council. All officer positions, bar the five sabbatical officers, work on a part time basis. [32]
Also the many famous artists produced by the former art schools of Stoke-on-Trent can be regarded as alumni, as the university is the successor institution.
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