University of Wolverhampton

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University of Wolverhampton
Motto: Innovation and Opportunity
Established: 1969 (as Wolverhampton Polytechnic)
Type: Public
Chancellor: Lord Paul
Vice-Chancellor: Caroline Gipps
Students: 23,470[1]
Undergraduates: 18,935[1]
Postgraduates: 4,535[1]
Location: Wolverhampton, UK
Website: http://www.wlv.ac.uk
University of Wolverhampton

The University of Wolverhampton is a British university, located on four campuses across the West Midlands and Shropshire. The main campus is located on Wulfruna Street in Wolverhampton.

The university currently offers over 340 undergraduate and postgraduate courses, and was the first to offer degrees in Interactive Multimedia Communication and British Sign Language.

Contents

[edit] History

In 1992 Wolverhampton Polytechnic was granted university status and thus became the University of Wolverhampton. The following year the first stage of construction was completed on the Priorslee Hall site at the Telford campus; this became home to both business and computer aided design students.

1994 saw Wolverhampton become the first UK university to be awarded the Charter Mark for excellence in customer service. In 1995 two local nursing colleges (The United Midlands College for Nursing & Midwifery and the Sister Dora School of Nursing) amalgamated to form the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the Walsall campus.. Wolverhampton Science Park - a collaboration between the university and the local council - opened in 1996. Its aim was to forge a link between local businesses and the university's research departments.

The final years of the 20th century saw a huge amount of development and expansion for the university. Two new state-of-the-art learning centres were opened at the Telford and City campuses in 1998. These learning centres were a fusion of traditional libraries with high-tech facilities, aimed at providing a greater range of accessible materials for students. The following year the university opened the Arena Theatre on the City campus along with the new SC building in Telford. The SC building became home to two new projects: DELTA and the Competitiveness Centre. DELTA was a new department aimed at the propagation of the latest information and communication technologies in education, whilst the Competitiveness Centre had the same goal, but for local businesses.

In 2000 the university announced plans to spend £60m on a seven-year plan to rebuild and revitalise its campuses. This redevelopment aimed to solve its problems with lack of space, and to make it a learning environment truly fit for the 21st century. This included the building of a new School of Health at the Wolverhampton campus. The School of Health building also houses the research-focused, Centre for Healthcare Improvement.

One of the most distinctive degree courses offered at Wolverhampton is the BSc (Hons) in Complementary Therapies, studying human physiology, reflexology, aromatherapy and clinical practice (ie, setting-up a complementary therapy business). Several graduates have gone onto work for the National Health Service, using complementary techniques in conjunction with standard medical practices.

The University, along with the University of Birmingham, is among the first four universities to offer the Postgraduate Diploma in Physician Assistant studies in the United Kingdom.

University of Wolverhampton
University of Wolverhampton
School of Computing and Information Technology
School of Computing and Information Technology

[edit] Controversy

In 2002, the university paid out £30,000 in an out-of-court settlement to Mike Austen [1], a dissatisfied law student, who sued on the grounds of multiple misrepresentations and multiple breaches of the student contract. The news gathered worldwide attention and set a precedent in the UK for students' consumer rights. The settlement was reached after a string of allegations about very serious coursework and examination errors, prejudiced marking, severe overcrowding, and very poor teaching standards. [2]

In July 2006 in a swimming pool at the university's Walsall campus, a disabled rugby player drowned whilst not being supervised properly by lifeguards and managers, an inquest jury ruled. [3]

In a Times column dated 29 February 1988, the writer Bernard Levin cited the then Wolverhampton Polytechnic as an example of how student unions were allegedly dominated by the political hard left.

[edit] Student Union

The Student Union employs over 150 people throughout its services and across the campuses, two thirds of which are students working part-time through their studies.

[edit] Quality, Awards and Rankings

In 2005 three staff were awarded National Teaching Fellowships. In 2008 a University of Wolverhampton academic has been ranked number one in the world in a list of leading researchers in the field of ‘informetrics’[4].

As of The Guardian's University Guide 2008, out of all the universities ranked (excluding specialist universities), it received 40.81 out of 100, being placed 111 out 120.[5]

In The Times Good University Guide 2008, the institution was ranked second to last (112 out of 113). [2]

[edit] Campuses

  • City (North)
  • City (South)
  • Compton Park
  • Telford
  • Walsall
  • The university used to have a campus in Dudley

[edit] Schools

  • Applied Sciences
  • Art & Design
  • Computing & IT
  • Education
  • Engineering & the Built Environment
  • Health
  • Humanities, Languages. & Social Sciences
  • Legal Studies
  • Sports, Performing Arts & Leisure
  • University of Wolverhampton Business School

[edit] Alumni


The broadcaster/journalist Jeff Randall and the author Howard Jacobson both lectured here. Jacobson's experience formed the basis of his novel Coming from Behind, set at a "fictional" polytechnic in the Midlands.

Sir Geoff Hampton, who received a knighthood in 1998 for masterminding a turnaround of the nearby Northicote School, is currently a Professor at the university.

[edit] Holders of Honorary Degrees

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2006/07 (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet). Higher Education Statistics Agency. Retrieved on 2008-04-12.
  2. ^ University Rankings League Table | Good University Guide - Times Online

[edit] External links


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