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University of the West of Scotland

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University of the West of Scotland
File:UWS Logo.gif
TypePublic
Established1897
ChancellorSir Robert Smith
PrincipalProfessor Seamus McDaid[1]
Chairman of the CourtProfessor Bob Beaty
Students13,040 (2006)[2]
18,000+ (2007 est.)[3]
Undergraduates11,395 [2]
Postgraduates1,635 [2]
Location
Paisley
,
Renfrewshire
,
Scotland
Websitehttp://www.uws.ac.uk/

The University of the West of Scotland operates across four campuses in the west and south-west of Scotland: Paisley, Ayr, Hamilton and Dumfries.

Founded in 1897 it has offered a changing profile of mainly vocational courses. The institution was granted University status in 1992, as The University of Paisley. The University currently has approximately 18,000 students and 1,300 staff on around 100 undergraduate and postgraduate courses spread across seven schools.

International student numbers have greatly increased in recent years (e.g. a 40% increase in students from China in academic session 2005/06) due, in the main, to partnerships with foreign universities.

History

In common with other colleges that became Central Institutions that have in turn become Universities, the University of the West of Scotland was influenced by, and constructed from long-standing and diverse educational predecessors.

These include the Philosophical Institution, (1808) of which Thomas Coats (local industrialist) was a keen member and benefactor and the School of Arts, (1836), which was succeeded by the School of Design (1846). In 1852 Schools of Design in Britain were renamed Schools of Art, then renamed again as Schools of Art and Science.

The renamed College funded a new building with gifts from local industrialists (including Peter Brough, and Thomas Coats). An architectural competition was held and Princess Louise laid the foundation stone in 1897. From the early 1900s the college was a centre for teaching the London University external degree programme.

The College had a financial struggle to retain its independence from central and local Government as Paisley Technical College and School of Art (from 1904).

Central Institution Status meant closing the school of Art (ceding students to Glasgow School of Art) but it had become a financial necessity. It became Paisley Technical College, a Government funded Central Institution in 1950.

In the 1960s a large physical expansion took place on the main 20 acre (81,000 m²) Paisley town centre site. Paisley in common with other Central Institutions and the former Polytechnics offered a range of degrees under the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA).

In 1992 (along with English Polytechnics and most Scottish Central Institutions) it was granted the title University. This prompted a merger with Craigie Teacher Training College in Ayr, an incorporation of Nursing colleges, and the setting up of a joint venture with the University of Glasgow on a new campus site in Dumfries.

Merger with Bell College, Hamilton

On 1 August 2007, the University of Paisley merged with Bell College, a higher education college based in Hamilton.[4][3] On 30 November 2007. The Privy Council approved the name : University of the West of Scotland for the merged institution. [5]

Although the name change was (perhaps understandably) resisted by many in the town of Paisley the merged intitution now operates over a very wide area and four substatial campus sites and the new name better describes this geography.

The merged institution serves over 18,000 students[4] and is the largest of Scotland's New Universities. The Principal and Vice-Chancellor is Professor Seamus McDaid (Vice-Chancellor of the old University of Paisley) and the Vice-Principal with responsibility for "merger implementation"[1] is Professor Alex MacLennan (former Principal of Bell College).[4]

Schools

The University of the West of Scotland is organised into seven schools:[6]

The University offers over 100 degree courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level. It also carries out research and consultancy work for industry. Many courses at the University of the West of Scotland have an emphasis on vocational skills and offer students the option of spending a year working in industry and home or abroad.

References

  1. ^ a b "Senior Officers". University of Paisley. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  2. ^ a b c "Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2005/06". Higher Education Statistics Agency online statistics. Retrieved 2007-04-05.
  3. ^ a b "Merger forms regional university". BBC News. 2007-08-01. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  4. ^ a b c "Scotland's biggest, modern university has arrived". University of Paisley. 2007-08-01. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  5. ^ "Merger to create new university for Scotland". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
  6. ^ "Schools & Departments". University of Paisley. Retrieved 2007-08-01.

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