University of Glamorgan: Difference between revisions

The University of Glamorgan is a university in Trefforest, near Pontypridd, Glamorgan, Wales.

History

It was founded in 1913 as a School of Mines to serve the large coal mining industry in the south Wales valleys. It later became Glamorgan Polytechnic, then The Polytechnic of Wales, before becoming The University of Glamorgan in 1992.

In recent years, the university has started up many new successful undergraduate degree programmes, several of which have quickly earned a reputation for excellence, including creative writing and journalism, forensic and police sciences and nursing and criminology. A degree in Astrobiology (about how life can form on a planet and the biology of aliens) is announced for 2005/2006.

Presently it has around 18,222 students on campus [1], with around 15,118 of them being undergraduates and has a reputation for friendly and teaching-focussed staff. 3,104 students do not study direct at the campus however.

Campuses

The University has presently three campuses, these are Trefforest (Main Campus), Glyntaff and Tyn Y Wern; although there will shortly be five with the acquisition of Merthyr Tydfil College and a new Cardiff campus located by Queens Street train station.

• Trefforest Campus - the main campus plays host to the bulk of academic departments and facilities including the indoor sports centre and students union. It is easily accessed from Trefforest railway station from either Cardiff or the Rhondda, regular bus services or the A470. Built on a hillside, the campus grounds include part of the site of an old industrial railway line, so that at the end of the staff car park is a sealed off railway tunnel. The other entrance is in the car park of Dewi Sant hospital, near Pontypridd Station [2]
• Glyntaff - is the home of the Law School and the School of Care Sciences, and also boasts its own library specially geared to the study of Law and nursing
• Tyn Y Wern - (pronounced "tin er wern") is located a few miles down the A470 in Trefforest Industrial Estate and hosts the sports fields

Campuses

The University has presently three campuses, these are Trefforest (Main Campus), Glyntaff and Tyn Y Wern; although there will shortly be five with the acquisition of Merthyr Tydfil College and a new Cardiff campus located by Queens Street train station.

Trefforest Campus plays host to the bulk of academic departments and main facilities including the sports centre and students union. The campus located at Glyntaff is the home of the Law School and the School of Care Sciences, and also boasts its own library specially geared to the study of Law and nursing. The Tyn Y Wern (pronounced "tin er wern") is located a few miles down the A470 in Trefforest Industrial Estate and hosts the sports fields.

Facilities

There are two halls of residence, both within the Trefforest campus. Firstly is Glamorgan Court, which is the newest, all the rooms in the hall buildings are arranged into clusters of six en-suite bedrooms with a shared kitchen. The other halls are Neuadd Philip Evans & Philip Squire (UA/UB/UC/UD), which have kitchens on each floor, communal toilets and showers. Each building also has a lounge with a TV.

The Students Union is also on the Trefforest campus. The Student Union is the home to a number of sports teams, sports clubs and societies as well as Leek, the student newspaper and GlamTV, the student TV station for Glamorgan (and the only student TV station in Wales).

Educational facilities include a 24-hour PC lab, wireless internet access in specified areas, world class equipment for nursing courses (including life sized dummies that simulate human beings, from breathing to giving birth), a TV studio, an on-campus radio studio, two theatres, an art gallery, and more.

Reputation

The University of Glamorgan is one of the most cutting edge higher educational institutions in the United Kingdom. Several of its courses are among the highest ranked in their field, and the equipment of some departments (most notably the Nursing School) is second to none in the UK. Despite these strengths, the University has a relaxed admission procedure, recruiting a significant proportion of its students through Clearing (i.e. at the last minute, and without being the students' first choice). The somewhat rural location of Trefforest, the post-92 university status, and occasionally bleak league table results (the university can leap 50 places up and down from one year to the next, depending on criterion changes) contribute to the difficulties in recruiting high profile students. There is also a marked difference in teaching quality between departments and courses - while some are world class and highly rated by HEFCE, others are much less successful. Glamorgan claims great successes in admitting "risky students" (i.e. students who are not guaranteed to pass with flying colours) and through good quality teaching, encouragement and nurturing make them succeed

Awards

• Glamorgan is the first university in Wales (and only the 8th in the whole of the UK) to have been awarded the nationally recognised Investor in People status, the UK's premier award for staff training and development
• In 2000, The Daily Telegraph reported that Glamorgan is in the top five of modern universities for teaching quality

Expansion: 2005 thru 2007

Currently the University is undergoing a major expansion and reorganising campaign. There are plans for a new campus for creative industries in the heart of Cardiff, which is opening in September 2007, at the former BT offices near Cardiff Queen Street railway station. The University is currently in the process of merging with Merthyr Tydfil Further Education College. Many of the buildings are being refurbished as well, including Cynon Building which houses the "Glamorgan Business School". Plans for mergers with University of Wales Institute, Cardiff and Newport were brought up by the Welsh Assembly, however rejected by Glamorgan at this stage.

References

• "Figures of Students Studying At Glamorgan" , retrieved 15/05/2006
• "Station Name: PONTYPRIDD GRAIG", Nick Catfo 04/09/2005. Retrieved 15/05/2006

External links

• University of Glamorgan website
• Centre for Astronomy & Science Education
• University of Glamorgan Student Union website
• Leek - student union newspaper.