Oxford Brookes University

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Oxford Brookes University
Oxfordbrookesuniversity.jpg
Motto Excellence in diversity
Established 1865
(Oxford School of Art)
1970
(Oxford Polytechnic)
1992
(Oxford Brookes University)
Type Public
Chancellor Shami Chakrabarti, CBE
Vice-Chancellor Prof. Janet Beer
Academic staff 1,471[1]
Admin. staff 1,410[1]
Students 18,425[2]
Undergraduates 14,165[2]
Postgraduates 4,260[2]
Location Oxford, England, United Kingdom
51°45′15.36″N 1°13′21.72″W / 51.7542667°N 1.2227000°W / 51.7542667; -1.2227000Coordinates: 51°45′15.36″N 1°13′21.72″W / 51.7542667°N 1.2227000°W / 51.7542667; -1.2227000
Campus Urban, Suburban
Colours             
Affiliations University Alliance
Universities UK
Association of MBAs
Association of Commonwealth Universities
Website brookes.ac.uk
Oxford-Brookes-University-Logo.svg

Oxford Brookes University is a new university in Oxford, England. It can trace its origins to 1865. Formerly known as Oxford City Technical School (1891) and Oxford Polytechnic (1970), it was renamed in 1992 to honour its former principal, John Brookes. The university's Department of Architecture is one of the largest in Britain.

Contents

History[edit]

Oxford Brookes started in 1865 as the Oxford School of Art, located in a single room on the ground floor of the Taylor Institution at St. Giles.[3] In 1870 the School of Science was added and in 1891, under the administration of the City Council's Technical Instruction Committee, it was renamed the Oxford City Technical School, incorporating the School of Art, which remained distinct. Plans were made to relocate to the former Blue Coat School for Boys on St. Ebbes. In 1934 the School of Art and the Technical School were merged, and John Henry Brookes, Head of the School of Art and Vice Principal of the Technical School, was appointed the first principal of the merged institution.[4] By 1950 the college had 4000 students. A new campus was built on a site offered by the local Morrell brewing family. Renamed "Oxford College of Technology", it opened on the new site in 1956.[4] Its first residence hall was established in 1960 and the college relocated to Headington in 1963. In 1970, it became Oxford Polytechnic, and in 1992, following enactment of the Further and Higher Education Act it became Oxford Brookes University, the only one of the new universities to be named after its founder.[citation needed]

In October 2003 Oxford Brookes University became the first university in the world to be awarded Fairtrade status.[5]

In 2007 Professor Graham Upton retired as Vice-Chancellor and his successor, Professor Janet Beer, was inaugurated in September. In July 2008 Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty replaced Jon Snow as Chancellor of the university.

Although not a part of Oxford University, it is among the eight external institutions whose members are eligible for long-term temporary membership in the Oxford Union.[6] This arrangement pre-dates the establishment of the university, with a number of Oxford Polytechnic students becoming members in the mid-1980s.

Oxford Brookes is the sixth largest employer in Oxfordshire, providing over 2,800 jobs across the university.[7]

Campuses[edit]

Oxford Brookes University has three main campuses and a fourth in Swindon.

Headington campus

The Headington campus is in, a residential area of Oxford. It consists of the Gipsy Lane site, which is the main teaching site, the Marston Road site, being the school of Health and Social Care, and the Headington Hill site across the road from Gipsy Lane, where the Students' Union, the School of Arts, the Drama Studio and main halls of residence are located. It has seven halls of residence: Crescent Hall, Cheney Student Village, Clive Booth Hall, Clive Booth Non-Ensuite (formerly Morrell Hall), Warneford Hall, Paul Kent Hall.

The Headington Hill Hall
Wheatley campus

The Wheatley campus is set near Wheatley in the Oxfordshire countryside, seven miles south-east of the city centre, and is where business, IT, mathematics and engineering are taught.

Harcourt Hill campus

The Harcourt Hill campus is situated on Harcourt Hill on Oxford's western perimeter, two and a half miles from the city centre. Education, Philosophy, Religion, Theology, Media and Communication, and many other subjects are taught here. It has two halls of residence: Harcourt Hill Hall and Westminster Hall. A regular devoted bus service links the campus to other campuses at Headington and Wheatley.

The campus was formerly the site of Westminster College, Oxford, an independent Methodist higher education institution in Europe, which specialised in teacher training and theology. The campus was leased to Brookes by the Methodist Church, and Westminster College became the Westminster Institute of Education of Oxford Brookes University, located at the Harcourt Hill campus.

Ferndale Campus

Based in Swindon, about 30 miles (48 km) south-west of Oxford. Adult Nursing, Operating Department Practice (ODP) and a range of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses are taught at the campus. It has its own Osteopathic training clinic on site offering services to staff, students and the public.

Redevelopment[edit]

The university is redeveloping its campuses. Plans include a new library and teaching building acting as a core for the Gipsy Lane Campus and extension to the Abercrombie building for the School of the Built Environment.[8] The Students Union, originally housed in the Helena Kennedy Centre in Headington Hill will be moved to the new development at Gipsy Lane.

However, the proposals were vigorously opposed by local residents in 2009 when presented to the local planning committee, with many undesirable aspects of the large student population in Oxford being discussed. However, the plans for the new building were eventually approved and building work began in 2010.

Faculties[edit]

In September 2011 Oxford Brookes moved from 8 schools to 4 faculties:[9]

  • Faculty of Business
  • Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
  • Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Faculty of Technology, Design and Environment

Specialist study[edit]

The Centre for Development and Emergency Practice (CENDEP) in the School of the Built Environment was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize and is well known for its programme for humanitarian practitioners. CENDEP provides an academic setting for the study of cities, humanitarianism and refugees. Singer and activist Annie Lennox is patron of the Master's Course in Humanitarian and Development Practice.[10]

In 2007, The MSc in Primate Conservation was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize – a national honour recognising the outstanding contribution by the MSc programme team and the Department of Anthropology & Geography at Oxford Brookes.[11]

Automotive engineering[edit]

The Oxford Brookes School of Technology is known for its automotive and motorsports technology/engineering courses leading to undergraduate BSc(Hons), BEng(Hons) and MEng(Hons) degrees. Due to the close links between the school and several Formula 1 teams around Oxfordshire, the syllabus development for the undergraduate and post graduate courses are carried out in collaboration with F1 teams.[12] Over the decade, the school has developed a niche for producing Formula 1 design and race engineers,[13][14] who go on to build championship winning cars, participating in the FIA Formula 1 Championships. The school is also home and lead institution to Motorsport Knowledge Exchange[15] which is a Government-funded small cooperative of institutions, involved in delivering motorsport education at a variety of different levels, from technician to post-graduate.

In 2007, Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso sponsored 12 Spanish postgraduate students to study for an MSc in motorsport engineering or in race engine design within the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mathematical Sciences at the university.[16] The university boasts a teaching staff that includes Prof. Geoff Goddard, a former chief designer at Cosworth.[17]

The School of Technology at Oxford Brookes is one of the three core universities in Faraday Advance,[18] a partnership in advanced materials for transportation that develops future materials and technology for low-pollution, high-efficiency, cost-effective transport.[19] The core partners in Faraday Advance are the University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University and Cranfield University.[20][21]

The Functional Food Centre at Oxford Brookes University[edit]

The Functional Food Centre at Oxford Brookes University is the UK's first Research Centre dedicated to Functional Foods. The Centre was originally the Nutrition and Food Research Group at Oxford Brookes, founded in 2004, and was renamed in 2009. The director is Professor Jeya Henry. The centre is the largest testing centre in Europe.[citation needed], and also conducts research on areas such as satiety, dietary interventions, female nutrition and ageing.

Student Halls[edit]

There are currently 11 Student halls of which there are 4 in Headington Campus, 1 in Harcourt Hill Campus, 1 in Wheatley Campus and 3 more halls around Headington. In addition, there are two privately operated Halls of Residence which are managed in partnership with the university by housing associations: Slade Park Student Apartments and Dorset House Student Apartments.

Rankings[edit]

Several schools or programs at the university have earned recognition for quality. In architecture,[22] Real Estate Management,[23] art, economics, computer science, hotel management, automotive/motorsports engineering, history,[24] modern languages and publishing.[citation needed] The Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies is one of several programmes at Brookes that has expanded the university's reputation abroad.

In 2001 there was surprise when Oxford Brookes's history department was ranked above Oxford University's history department for research quality in the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), although it may have been a result of the smaller sample size (12 academics entered to 135 at Oxford).[25] In the most recent RAE in 2008, Oxford Brookes was ranked 17th for history, while Oxford University was ranked fifth.[26][27]

The Department of Architecture is one of the largest in Britain and is consistently ranked in the top five schools in the UK.[28] In the most recent 2008 survey by the Architect's Journal it was ranked fourth overall.[29]

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, land and property programmes at Oxford Brookes University placed second in the UK in The Times Good University Guide League Table for 2005. The Department of Real Estate and Construction was assessed by the Quality Assurance Agency in 1998 and was awarded the excellent mark of 23 out of 24.[30]

Research by TNS in 2010 ranked the university's hotel management course within the best top 10 hotel management schools in the world.[31]

Brookes provides one of the largest Online MBA programmes in the world (30th) as ranked by the Financial Times Listing.[32]

In the QS World University Rankings 2011/12, Oxford Brookes was ranked in the 401-450 bracket.[33] This was the first time the university had obtained a major global ranking.

UK University Rankings
2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993
Times Good University Guide 48th 55th[34] 49th[34] 54th[35] 53rd 51st[36] 48th= 51st 48th[37] 52nd 52nd 53rd 51st= 56th 57th= 57th= 67th= 66th=
Guardian University Guide 35th 48th 42nd 48th 48th[38] 53rd[38] 55th 54th[39] 51st[40] 26th[41] 24th[37][42]
Sunday Times University Guide 47th 51st 47th 50th 53rd[34] 53rd[43] 54th=[44] 53rd[44] 53rd[43] 53rd[43] 55th[43] 56th[43] 53rd[43] 54th[43] 54th[43]
Independent / Complete 59th[45] 53rd[45]
Daily Telegraph 53rd[46] 31st
FT 53rd[47] 60th[48] 59th[49] 59th[50]

In 2012 Oxford Brookes came 15th in the People & Planet 'green league' table of universities and received a first class award for its environmental credentials.[51][52]

Partnerships[edit]

Oxford Brookes University's partnership with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) allows ACCA students to earn a BSc (Hons) in Applied Accounting with the submission of a Research & Analysis project work while taking their ACCA examinations.

Tsinghua University will recognise the Oxford Brookes University BSc Applied Accounting degree, which has been successfully developed in conjunction with ACCA and which enables students who have completed two parts of the ACCA qualification to apply for the Oxford Brookes degree.[53]

Munich Business School is the German partner institution of the university.

The university is also in partnership with the Budapest (Hungary) based institution of International Business School, Budapest (Nemzetközi Üzleti Főiskola). IBS students can attend courses which, besides the Hungarian degree also provides OBU BA degrees in different subjects, such as Marketing, Communications, etc.[54]

The university is also affiliated with Nilai University College in Malaysia. Affiliated subjects are computing, accounting & finance, business management, marketing management and hospitality management. All the subjects mentioned above are 3+0 programs.

Notable alumni[edit]

Main article: List of alumni of Oxford Brookes University

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Oxford Brookes University Annual Accounts 2010/11 (Report). Oxford Brookes University. 31 July 2011. p. 22. http://www.brookes.ac.uk/Documents/About/Annual-accounts/2010---2011-(PDF)---accounts1011/. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "2011/12 students by Institution". Higher Education Statistics Agency. 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2013. 
  3. ^ "History". Oxford Brookes University. Retrieved 21 April 2013. "Oxford Brookes University began life as the Oxford School of Art in 1865, when it occupied one room on the ground floor of the Taylor Institution in the centre of the city." 
  4. ^ a b Curran, Jane (23 September 2009). "Oxford Brookes: What's in a name?". BBC Oxford. Retrieved 2012-08-04. 
  5. ^ "About Fairtrade Universities and Colleges". The Fairtrade Foundation. Retrieved 2012-12-12. 
  6. ^ "Microsoft Word - Union Rules.doc" (PDF). Retrieved 29 October 2011. 
  7. ^ Oxford Times Top 100 Employers in Oxfordshire (March 2011), p.40
  8. ^ "Initial Masterplan document". Oxford Brookes University. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011. 
  9. ^ "Oxford Brookes Academic Faculties". Oxford Brookes.University. Retrieved 23 November 2011. 
  10. ^ "Annie Lennox". Oxford Brookes.University. Retrieved 29 October 2011. 
  11. ^ "SSL News » Blog Archive » MSc in Primate Conservation awarded prestigious Queen's Anniversary Award". Ssl3.brookes.ac.uk. 16 November 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2011. 
  12. ^ RBS Williams Formula 1[dead link]
  13. ^ "Times UK Online". Timeshighereducation.co.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2011. 
  14. ^ MacLeod, Donald (2005-12-20). "Denise Morrey: Engineer steps up a gear". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2010-05-20. 
  15. ^ Motorsport Knowledge Exchange
  16. ^ "Oxford Brookes in pole position for F1 success". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 29 October 2011. 
  17. ^ "The Official Formula 1 Website". Formula1.com. 23 February 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2011. 
  18. ^ "Domain Registered By Safenames Ltd". Faraday-advance.net. Retrieved 29 October 2011. 
  19. ^ [1][dead link]
  20. ^ [2][dead link]
  21. ^ [3][dead link]
  22. ^ [4][dead link]
  23. ^ http://www.ricscourses.org/Pages/Premier.aspx?ID=82&DCode=82
  24. ^ "article: Oxford's history blow". BBC News. 14 December 2001. Retrieved 29 October 2011. 
  25. ^ Curtis, Polly. "Oxford University beaten at history by Brookes". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 December 2012. 
  26. ^ "RAE 2008: The Results". Times Higher Educational Supplement. Retrieved 29 December 2012. 
  27. ^ "RAE 2008: The Results (by subject) (p. 40)". Times Higher Educational Supplement. Retrieved 29 December 2012. 
  28. ^ Architects' Journal 4 May 2006 page 84
  29. ^ [5][dead link]
  30. ^ http://www.ricscourses.org/Pages/Premier.aspx?ID=82&DCode=82/
  31. ^ http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/03/05/2011/337974/Oxford-Brookes-is-UK39s-top-school-for-hospitality-mangement-according-to.htm
  32. ^ http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/online-mba-2009 Online MBA 2009 Listing, Financial Times, 2009.
  33. ^ http://www.topuniversities.com/institution/oxford-brookes-university
  34. ^ a b c Watson, Roland. "Times University Guide". The Times (London). Retrieved 2010-05-20. 
  35. ^ Watson, Roland. "The Times Good University Guide 2007 – Top Universities 2007 League Table". The Times (London). Retrieved 2007-11-03. [dead link]
  36. ^ Asthana, Anushka. "The Times Top Universities". The Times (London). Retrieved 2007-11-03. [dead link]
  37. ^ a b Clare, John (2003-06-25). "The Table Of Tables". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 2010-05-20.  Text "The Telegraph]] " ignored (help)
  38. ^ a b "The Guardian University Guide". The Guardian (London). 2010-06-08. Retrieved 2010-06-08. 
  39. ^ "University ranking by institution". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2007-10-29. 
  40. ^ "University ranking by institution". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2007-10-29. 
  41. ^ "University ranking by institution 2004". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2009-01-19. 
  42. ^ "University ranking by institution". The Guardian 2003 (University Guide 2004) (London). Retrieved 2010-05-20. 
  43. ^ a b c d e f g h "University ranking based on performance over 10 years" (PDF). The Times (London). 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-28. 
  44. ^ a b "The Sunday Times University League Table" (PDF). The Sunday Times (London). Retrieved 2007-11-03. 
  45. ^ a b "The Independent University League Table". The Independent (London). 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2010-05-20. 
  46. ^ Archer, Graeme (2007-07-30). "University league table". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 2007-10-29. 
  47. ^ "The FT 2003 University ranking". Financial Times 2003. 
  48. ^ "FT league table 2001". FT league tables 2001. 
  49. ^ "FT league table 1999-2000". FT league tables 1999–2000. 
  50. ^ "FT league table 2000". FT league tables 2000. 
  51. ^ "Green League". People & Planet. 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012. 
  52. ^ "Case study 6: Oxford Brookes University". Green League Report. Oxford: People & Planet. 2012. p. 16. 
  53. ^ http://www.accaglobal.com/news/releases/2409519
  54. ^ http://www.ibs-b.hu/portal/page/portal/IBSHome

External links[edit]

Universities and colleges in South East England
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Further education colleges
Sixth form colleges
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