Edge Hill University

Edge Hill University

Motto	In Scientia Opportunitas In knowledge there is opportunity
Type	Public
Established	2006 - gained University Status 1885 - teacher training college
Chancellor	Prof Tanya Byron
Vice-Chancellor	Dr John Cater
Students	10,110 full-time
Location	Ormskirk, Lancashire , England
Affiliations	Universities UK
Website	www.edgehill.ac.uk

Edge Hill University is a campus-based university situated in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England. Founded in 1885, its motto is In knowledge there is opportunity. Edge Hill has been shortlisted three times for the Times Higher Education University of the Year award, most recently in 2011. It has three faculties: Arts and Sciences, Education, and Health and Social Care.

History

Edge Hill College was opened on 24 January 1885 on Durning Road, Edge Hill, Liverpool, named after the district in which it was sited. It was the first non-denominational teacher training college for women in England. By 1892, Edge Hill was one of only two colleges in England combining teacher training and degree course study.

As student numbers increased, Edge Hill quickly outgrew its surroundings. The institution was handed over to the Lancashire Education Committee, with the foundation stone for the present Ormskirk campus laid on 26 October 1931. Between 1939 and 1946, the college was evacuated to Bingley, in Yorkshire, and the Ormskirk site was requisitioned for use as a military hospital.

Edge Hill became a mixed college, admitting its first male students in October 1959, when it had about 500 students in total. The institution has since expanded rapidly; with further developments at Ormskirk and the absorption of the former Sefton School of Health Studies, in 2011 there are over 25,000 students including over 9,000 studying full-time.

In 2005, Edge Hill was granted Taught Degree Awarding Powers by the Privy Council. On 18 May 2006 the institution became Edge Hill University.

Campus

Edge Hill has its main 160-acre (650,000 m²) campus in Ormskirk in West Lancashire. Liverpool is the nearest city. A number of new buildings have been erected in recent years, the latest being additional Halls of Residence finished in September 2012. A focus on sustainability has resulted in environmental awards such as a commendation in the 2011 Green Gown Awards made by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges. Amenities include restaurants and cafes, a bar and nightclub named The Venue, two theatres, a general shop, a large library and IT suites with 24hr Internet access. The sports complex was included in the Pre-Olympic Games Training Guide and was used by the teams from American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau has their training camp in preparation for London 2012.

The Woodlands campus is based in Chorley, Lancashire and offers continuing professional development programmes and part-time study.

Wirral Education Centre offers HLTA training and foundation degrees in Supporting Teaching and Learning. Woodford Lodge in Cheshire is the base for education-related foundation degrees and HLTA training in Cheshire. Part-time Primary QTS programmes, HLTA training and education-related foundation degrees can also be studied at the Training and Development Centre in Shrewsbury.

It is one of only two universities that have won a Green Flag Award for maintaining an attractive, safe and welcoming campus.

Recent developments

LINC (Learning Innovation Centre)

Learning Innovation Centre

The £3m LINC opened in 2000. It gives students 24 hr access to 220 high-speed, internet connected PCs and satellite TV and houses the University's TV Studio, radio production, digital design, editing and multimedia production facilities.

Sport and Physical Activity: The Wilson Centre

Opened in 2001, and named after the former Chairman of Edge Hill's Board of Governors, Bob Wilson, this £4.3m facility houses the University's Department of Sport. It features specialised laboratories for sports psychology, physiology and biomechanics, and a dance studio.

Faculty of Education

Faculty of Education

Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra opened the £9m Faculty of Education building in 2004. The facilities include 24 teaching rooms, a 300-seat lecture theatre ICT equipment and a model school classroom.

Media and Computing

Edge Hill's £4m Centre for Media, Information Systems and Technology opened in 2004. The building also houses the Newsroom, a 25-workstation print and radio journalism production resource and sound studio. Other facilities include specialist Apple Mac studios, mini-disc recording facilities; video-editing, digital media design software and video decks and a 3D animation studio. The building has been redesignated as Media and Computing.

Performing Arts

The £5m Performing Arts Centre opened in 2005. It includes two theatres, a fully sprung dance studio, six drama studios, seminar rooms and enhanced facilities for music. It also features production studios for activities such as set and costume design, and a professional, working performance space, The Rose Theatre.

Faculty of Health and Social Care

Faculty of Health and Social Care

Completed in December 2007, this £14m energy-efficient building provides 7,000 m² (75,000 sq ft) of teaching and learning space and an 860-seater lecture. It also includes the Clinical Skills and Simulation Centre, which mocks up hospital ward environments with industry standard equipment for hands-on learning.

Business and Law School

The £8m Business and Law School, opened in January 2009, houses Business, Law and Criminology students. The building includes a lecture theatre and 'moot' room, which is a mock-up of a courtroom.

Founders, Graduates and Chancellors Courts

Founders' Court

Opened between 2009 and 2012, the University's newest on campus accommodation comprises self-contained self-catering flats with en-suite bathrooms, a shared kitchen and living area and flat-screen TVs.

Gymnasium

Opened in September 2010, the Gym is fitted out with four badminton courts, basketball and gymnastic equipment. The ground floor contains the reception of the on-campus sports centre, Sporting Edge and a Starbucks coffee bar.

Durning Centre

Completed in July 2010, this purpose built building now houses the key support service teams, such as IT, Facilities Management and Capital Developments. The Facilities Management helpdesk is located on the ground floor, which acts as a one-stop shop for all Facilities Management services including maintenance, housekeeping, post services etc. for both staff and students.

The Hollies

The Hollies

Opened in 2010, The Hollies is a red-brick house built in the 1920s which has, until recently, been used as offices. The house has now been renovated to provide en-suite accommodation in 12 single bedrooms and a family room for visiting guests and lecturers to the Ormskirk Campus.

Milton House

Opened in 2011, Milton House was originally built as a two-storey detached Edwardian villa, and has now used as the University's Health and Wellbeing Centre, providing a GP, dentist, counselling sessions and welfare and wellbeing services.

The Student Hub

The Hub

This £13.5m building opened in 2011 a central student provision, containing retail and catering outlets and IT facilities, as well as providing new accommodation for the Edge Hill Students' Union. The building was formally opened by Her Royal Highness the Countess of Wessex on 15th October 2012.

The Arts Centre

The Performing Arts building and adjacent Rose Theatre were extended in 2012, adding social spaces and a bistro to enhance facilities for students and public performance. The Arts Centre includes a 250-seat professional theatre (The Rose Theatre), a 100-seat Studio Theatre, several smaller performance spaces, landscaping to support outdoor performance, and specialist teaching spaces including studios for dance, design, music and sound, and rehearsal. Programming for the public includes drama, dance, physical theatre, comedy, visual art, literature and music. Artists performing at the opening celebration included Kyla La Grange, Edge FWD, Compagnie des Quidams, Mischief La-Bas, Brian Lobel and Andy McKeown.

Halls of Residence

The original Halls of Residence were 'named Stanley, Clough, Lady Margaret and John Dalton 'in honour' of the Derby Family and 'of three individuals famous in the history of Lancashire and of Education' (Anne Jemima Clough was a pioneer of higher education for women, having founded Newnham College, Cambridge)' (A Vision for Learning, p25.) Five Halls, opened in 1963 by Princess Margaret, are named after Lady Openshaw, Katherine Fletcher (Chairs of Governors), EM Butterworth, Margaret Bain (Principals) and Eleanor Rathbone, a noted social reformer. Lancashire hall, now demolished, was originally built to house male students. Forest Court added 300 bedrooms in the early 1990s. More recent Halls include Founders Court, named after the institution's founders Crosfield (William Crosfield); McDairmid (S. McDairmid); Matheson (Thomas Matheson); Smith (Samuel Smith (1836–1906)), Balfour (Alexander Balfour); Sinclair (WP Sinclair); and Sarah Yelf (the first Principal); and Graduates Court, named after alumni: Ainsworth (Joe Ainsworth), Annakin (Ethel Annakin), Maconie (Stuart Maconie), Normanton (Helena Normanton) and Pryce (Jonathan Pryce). In 2012 Chancellors Court was opened, adding Halls named after individuals associated with the institution including Chairs of the Board of Governors: Blake, Booth, Bradshaw, Fulton, Millner, Pinfold, Tomkins, and Wilson as well as Byron (Tanya Byron, the first Chancellor of the University), and Williams (politician Shirley Williams). Additional Halls added in 2013 are, in Chancellors Court: Binns (Sir Arthur Lennon Binns), Boyce (J.S.B Boyce), Lord (Sir Percy Lord), and Meadon (Sir Percival Edward Meadon); and in Founders Court: Dewhurst (M. K. Dewhurst), Fenemore (Mildred Fenemore), Feuchsel (Harriet D Feuchsel)and Holt (George Holt (merchant)). The number of rooms is 1,702.

Chancellor and Pro-Chancellors

The University Chancellor is Professor Tanya Byron, a clinical psychologist, journalist, author and broadcaster. The Pro-Chancellor is Michael Pinfold, who also serves as Chair of the Board of Governors.

Senior Staff

Vice-Chancellor: Dr John Cater Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic): Professor Bill Bruce Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Resources): Steve Igoe [[Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Arts and Sciences: Professor George Talbot Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Education: Robert Smedley Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Health and Social Care: Seth Crofts Pro Vice-Chancellor and University Secretary: Lesley Munro

Coat of Arms

Edge Hill University Coat of Arms.

Edge Hill University commissioned a new coat of arms to mark the institution's university status in 2006. The coat of arms consists of a shield, a crest, a badge and a motto and contains many images and symbols that represent Edge Hill's history and values.

The University's physical origins are represented by the red rose of Lancashire in the shield, where it is currently located and the Liver bird in the crest, which refers to its original location in Liverpool.

The colours green and heliotrope (purple) are that of the suffragette movement, symbolising the University's early commitment to the equality of women through its beginnings as a women-only college.

The coat of arms contains a sun, symbolising illumination and enlightenment; a quill to represent learning, and peacock feathers meaning beauty, power and knowledge. A lion represents strength, bravery and magnanimity, and a stag suggests wisdom, regeneration, peace and harmony.

The University's motto – "In Scientia Opportunitas" – translates as "In knowledge there is opportunity".

The Mace

Commissioned in 2007 from silversmith Clive Burr.

The Mace is the symbol of the University's authority to award degrees. Edge Hill University commissioned its mace in 2007, from silversmith Clive Burr. Inspired by the University Coat of Arms and the campus architecture, the mace took six months to produce, and is crafted from sterling silver. At the head is an 18-carat yellow gold dome enamelled by Jane Short, with a hand engraved inscription of the University motto running around the silver edge. The main body has a hand engraved decoration running around it, the design inspired by the acanthus leaves and stone columns of the entrance of the original University building.

Academic profile

Courses

Edge Hill University's undergraduate courses include BA/BSc and LLB degrees, health pre-registration qualifications and teacher training degrees.

Postgraduate provision includes PGCEs, Masters programmes, an MBA, MPhil and PhD research degrees and MRes programmes.

There are also extensive opportunities for professional development at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Students

According to the Higher Education Statistical Agency, student numbers in the 11/12 academic year comprised 10,110 full-time and sandwich students and 13,240 part-time students (including mainly those following off-site, in-company and professional development programmes).

Reputation and rankings

The Times Higher Education shortlisted Edge Hill University for the University of the Year award in 2011, 2010 and 2007. Liverpool City Council added the University to its Freedom Roll of Association in December 2011. Rated in the top six of all UK higher education providers for the quality of its courses and lecturers in the WhatUni? Student Choice Awards. Edge Hill was recently named the safest campus to live at in the North West and the fifth-safest in the country by The Complete University Guide. Data released by UCAS in June 2012 showed that Edge Hill was top in the North West and in the top four nationally for the largest percentage increase in applications to study in 2012/2013. Applications figures had increased by 7% compared to the same point in 2011.

In the National Student Survey 2012, Edge Hill University achieved an overall satisfaction level of 83%. The University has been positioned first, second or third within the North West region for Overall Satisfaction in all National Student Surveys.

Scores and national and regional rankings for specific subject areas include:

Subject area	Average score	England rank	North West rank
Computer Science	4.25	3	1
Dance	4.36	5	2
History	4.10	39	2
Imaginative Writing	4.25	2	1
Physical Geography and Environmental Science	4.32	4	3
Psychology	4.48	12	1
Social Work	4.25	12	3
Sociology	4.44	20	4
Academic Studies in Education	4.12	24	2

The average score is out of five and taken from eight possible graded areas of the survey.

Faculties

The University has three Faculties:

Faculty of Arts and Sciences

The Faculty comprises Departments of:

• Biology
• Business (Edge Hill Business School)
• Computing
• English and History
• Geography
• Law and Criminology
• Media
• Performing Arts
• Psychology
• Social Sciences
• Sport and Physical Activity

Faculty of Education

The Faculty delivers initial teacher training programmes for all age phases, together with Continuing Professional Development for all aspects of the school workforce. The most recent Ofsted Initial Teacher Education inspection report (2011) awarded Grade 1 in all 33 possible cells covering all phases of initial teacher training: Primary & Early Years, Secondary and Post-Compulsory Education and Training.

Faculty of Health and Social Care

The Faculty delivers pre-registration training for nurses, midwives, operating department practitioners and paramedics; qualifying social work degrees; and professional development in the fields of health and social care.

Graduate School

The Graduate School supports research students on MPhil and PhD programmes and their supervisors.

SOLSTICE (eLearning)

SOLSTICE is a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), established in April 2005. SOLSTICE enhances student learning and the learning environment through investment in technologies and facilities for learning and research into the student experience to inform policy and practice, promoting a student centred approach to support online and blended learning, and the use of learning technologies.

Student life

Sport

Edge Hill has many different sports teams competing in the BUCS leagues. Teams include: Track & Field, Basketball, Netball, Football, Hockey, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Badminton and Pool. All teams play their home games on Wednesday afternoons at the University's sport venues and other private venues in the local area such as Ormskirk R.U.F.C.

Sporting Edge, a sports complex open to the public, is based on the campus.

Alumni

• Murray Dron (TV reporter/presenter)
• Mark Edwardson (TV news presenter, BBC North West Tonight)
• Stuart Maconie (Author, DJ and televisionresenter)
• Helena Normanton QC (First woman to practice as a barrister in the UK)
• Paul Nuttall - UKIP MEP
• Ethel Snowden née Annakin (Socialist, feminist and wife of former Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Snowden)
• Jonathan Pryce (Actor)
• Joe Ainsworth (Scriptwriter for BBC drama Holby City)
• Barra Best (Journalist and weather presenter)
• Steve Sinnott (General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers)
• Sue Smith (Footballer)
• Liam Colbon (Rugby League player)
• Eric Hughes (Rugby League player)
• Simon Kerrigan (Cricketer)
• Nazia Mogra (News presenter)
• Stuart Stokes (Steeplechaser)\
• Danny Howard (Radio 1 DJ)

External links

• Official website
• Official Facebook page
• Official Twitter feed
• SOLSTICE eLearning Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Further reading

A history of the University, A Vision of Learning: Edge Hill University 1885-2010, by Mark Flinn and Fiona Montgomery, was published in 2010 (Third Millennium Publishing Ltd ISBN 978-1-906507-48-0). This follows earlier historical surveys written by Fiona Montgomery.