Glasgow Caledonian University

Glasgow Caledonian University

File:The Caledonian University Coat of Arms.jpg
Latin: Universitas Glasguensis Caledonian
Motto	For the common weal
Type	Public University
Established	1993
Students	17,045
Undergraduates	13,670
Postgraduates	3,375
Location	Glasgow , Scotland
Affiliations	EUA WHO
Website	http://www.gcal.ac.uk/
File:Gcu-logo-final.png

Glasgow Caledonian University is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland.

Glasgow Caledonian began in 1875 as a small college with 110 students. Since then it has grown and diversified into one of the largest universities in Scotland with over 17,000 students as of 2007. Glasgow Caledonian University was constituted by an Act of Parliament on 1 April 1993 as a result of a merger between Glasgow Polytechnic and The Queen's College, Glasgow.

The current Principal and Vice Chancellor is Professor Pamela Gillies, who has been in post since March 2006.

Magnus Magnusson was University Chancellor up until his death in January 2007. Baron Macdonald of Tradeston was installed as his successor in October 2007.

History

The Queen's College, Glasgow

The origins of The Queen's College, Glasgow date back as far as 1875 when the Glasgow School of Cookery was established. In 1908, the Glasgow School of Cookery merged with the West End School of Cookery, which had been established in 1878, to form the Glasgow and West of Scotland College of Domestic Science, which was colloquially (but affectionately) referred to by Glaswegians as "The Dough School".

Glasgow Polytechnic

Glasgow Polytechnic was originally planned by the Corporation of Glasgow as two separate colleges on adjacent sites in central Glasgow: the College of Science and Technology and the College of Commerce. Before opening in 1971 a new polytechnic institution of higher education had been agreed and the Glasgow College of Technology opened to students with the objective of offering Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) degrees at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The Scottish Office and the local authority were both opposed to the creation of further Central Institutions in Scotland and the legislation enabling the creation of Polytechnics was specific to England and Wales. The new institution was constituted under a a set of Instruments and Articles of Governance derived from that of the Polytechnics but specific to Glasgow: it had an Academic Board and a Governing Council establishing considerable academic independence but ultimately answerable to the Corporation of Glasgow. The formal opening of the College took place in 1972.

The College was under the governance of Glasgow Corporation until 1975 when the newly created Strathclyde Regional Council became the funding body and a new constitution was put in place. In 1985, ownership passed from the Regional Council to an independent board of governors who received their funds directly from the Scottish Education Department. In subsequent years, the institution changed its name three times for promotional purposes: Glasgow College (1987); 'Glasgow College - A Scottish Polytechnic; and Glasgow Polytechnic (1991).

Glasgow Caledonian University

In 1992, The Secretary of State for Scotland approved the merger of Glasgow Polytechnic and The Queen's College, Glasgow to form Glasgow Caledonian University, which opened on 1 April 1993.

The aim of the new university was to offer non-elitist, high quality education and training to a wide and diverse range of students. It sought to collaborate with commercial and industrial organisations and other providers of education. The university initially offered more than 140 undergraduate and postgraduate courses within 3 faculties and 22 departments.

The original 3 faculty structure was made up of:

• Health;
• Science and Technology and
• Business.

In 2002 the structure was changed and the following schools were established:

• The School of Built and Natural Environment
• Caledonian Business School, the largest business school in Scotland; consisting of six divisions: Accounting, Finance & Risk; Cultural Business; Fashion, Marketing & Retailing; People Management & Leadership; Public Policy; Strategy, Innovation & Enterprise.
• The School of Engineering and Computing. As of summer 2007 the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences and the School of Engineering, Science and Design merged into one school. The school has an affiliated college in Oman; the Caledonian College of Engineering. The School is made up of three divisions: Computing and Creative Technologies, Communication, Network and Electronic Engineering and Energy Systems Engineering.
• The School of Health and Social Care consists of five divisions; Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Radiography and Social Work
• The School of Life Sciences has three departments; Biological & Biomedical Sciences, Psychology and Vision Sciences. The Department of Vision Sciences is the home of the only Optometry and Dispensing Optics programme in Scotland.
• The School of Law and Social Sciences offers a variety programmes including the LLB, and is home to a number of research centres such as the Scottish Poverty Information Unit, Caledonian Heritage Futures Network and the Centre for Equality and Diversity.
• The School of Nursing, Midwifery and Community Health is one of the largest nursing education providers in Scotland, and is currently the designated Secretariat of the Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centres for Nursing and Midwifery Development.

Glasgow Caledonian University offers programmes in all of the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) funding groups except medicine, dentistry and teacher education. In May 2002, it launched the first Scottish Centre for Work Based Learning.

Currently the university has approximately 15,000 students, 1,500 staff, 25% of students studying part-time, 66% of students over the age of 21, and more than 700 international students from over 70 countries.

Glasgow Caledonian's reputation

Since being awarded University status in 1992, the University has gained lots of success. In the 2007 league tables Glasgow Caledonian was one of the very few post 1992 Universities to rank within the top 50 in at least one of the League tables. For the past three years running Glasgow Caledonian has been voted as the best student experience for International Students in Scotland.The report found that the areas of specific strength at Glasgow Caledonian University are seen to be the expert lecturers (93.6% positive), technology (91.9% positive) quality learning spaces (89% positive), the library (87.6% positive), transport links (97.4% positive), counseling (87.4% positive) and the student support (90.5% positive). In 2008 the University won the Times University award for outstanding international student support/

The University has had mixed reviews on the League tables,however it can be suggested that the University has been one of the most successful post 1992 Universities. The Times good university guide 2009 stated that 'With Glasgow Caledonian's accent firmly on widening participation in higher education, the university will always struggle in league tables such as ours, but it is well-regarded by employers, and applications have been healthy'. Below are the most recent University rankings for Glasgow Caledonian. The league tables contain 113 Universities in the whole of the UK.

University League table rankings as of 2009.
Times Newspaper 2009	68
Independent Newspaper 2009	61
Guardian Newspaper 2009	55

Physiotherapy was rated Excellent for teaching, and Caledonian now boasts among the most extensive health programmes in Britain.

A string of other subjects (mainly on the science side) were considered Highly Satisfactory. Business is another big area, the Caledonian Business School boasts more undergraduates than any other institution in Scotland, with over 1,000 in each year group.

The university is the only University in Britain who offer risk management as a Degree. The Caledonian also offers highly specialist degrees, such as tourism management, fashion marketing, leisure management and consumer protection.

Also 97% of students who have attended the University would recommend Glasgow Caledonian.

Campus

Glasgow Caledonian is located on a single campus site in the Cowcaddens area of Glasgow. The university used to have three campuses: Park Campus located in Glasgow's West End, Southbrae Campus leased from and adjacent to Jordanhill College of Education, and the current City Campus. However, Park Campus was sold to the University of Glasgow in January 2001 and Southbrae was given back to Jordanhill after the lease had expired.

The campus is based in the city centre of Glasgow and is a five minute walk from the Buchanan Galleries. The campus contains various lecture theatres, seminar rooms and laboratories. Recently the University also opened it's ‘virtual hospital’ where students can develop their clinical and interpersonal skills in an environment that simulates real work experience.

The University campus also contains a health and recreation centre which aims to provide a comfortable environment where staff and students of all ages and fitness levels can join in activities. It has three separate gym areas, each one designed to cater for different types of users. There are also two halls where a range of classes, such as yoga, football, circuit training and muay thai boxing take place. The Arc also offers many stress relief and healthy living services such as, reflexology, Alexander technique and Swedish massage. The health and recreation center was opened by Thabo Mbeki who named it in honor of his father .

Caledonian Court is the student accommodation which is based within the Campus. The University provides rooms for 660 students sharing self-catering flats with between six and eight bedrooms. 340 rooms have private en-suite facilities. Caledonian Court is served with broadband internet connections, and there are rooms equipped for students with special needs or disabilities.

Caledonian College of Engineering in Muscat, Oman is affiliated to GCU and award GCU degrees. The Glasgow Royal Concert hall in the city center is the destination in which the Degrees are awarded.

The university is currently considering a move to the East End of the city, following the Commonwealth Games to be held in 2014.

Caledonian Court

Student accommodation at Caledonian Court provides rooms for 660 students sharing self-catering flats with between six and eight bedrooms. 340 rooms have private en-suite facilities. Caledonian Court is served with broadband internet connections, and there are rooms equipped for students with special needs or disabilities.

The student accommodation is situated in the heart of Glasgow City center and is only a 5 minute walk to the University campus. The prices at Caledonian Court range from £70 - £80 per week.

There is a security regime is in place at Caledonian Court, with security staff on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing a warden/concierge service.

There is also a communal laundry (pay as you go) for students’ use and excellent shopping facilities and social amenities are just a short walk away from the University campus.

Buchanan Galleries shopping complex, is less than 5 minutes walking distance from Caledonian Court. The world famous amenities of Sauchiehall Street and Argyle Street are basically on the doorstep.

Saltire Centre

The Saltire Centre is a £23m learning centre, situated in the heart of the university's campus. The futuristic award-winning building was opened in January 2006 aiming to integrate all learning and students services. It contains 1800 study places, 400 computers and 250 laptops across four floors. The centre houses the university's library collection, a learning café, and the students' support services

The Arc and University Facilities

The Arc is situated on the University Campus and provides modern fitness facilities. It contains two gyms and two sport halls. Fitness classes run seven days a week and the Arc is open to not just the students but the entire public.

Recently a hair and beauty salon opened being situated in the Arc.

Student Exchange Programmes

In recent years the University has started offering student exchanges for periods of 3 to 10 months aboard. The University have exchange agreements in Europe, America, Canada and Australia. Some of the exchange Universities are :

Exchange Universities.
Northern Kentucky University	USA
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania	USA
Iowa State University	USA
Ohio Northern University	USA
Middle Tennessee State University	USA
Brock University	Canada
Ryerson University	Canada
University of Winnipeg	Canada
RMIT University	Australia

Students at Glasgow Caledonian can undertake a Student Exchange in year 2 or 3 of their Undergraduate degree. In addition the University fully recognises the exchange as part of your degree. The University claims "At the end of your degree having an exchange experience on your CV will be attractive to employers; discovering a different culture, travelling, making new friends, learning a foreign language will develop you by gaining maturity, confidence and self reliance".

Applications

In January 2009 it was reported by Ucas that the majority of Universities in the UK experienced a increase in the number of applications for Undergraduate degrees. It was reported that Glasgow Caledonian had 12,568 applications by the January 15th deadline. This was a 2.7% increase from the previous year which saw the University attract 12,243 applications. Therefore Glasgow Caledonian received the fourth highest amount of applications out of all the Scottish universities behind Edinburgh University,Glasgow University and Strathclyde University. However the University received more applications than any other modern University in Scotland. The University received more applications than the likes of St Andrews University,Aberdeen University and Napier University

Notable staff and alumni

Staff

• Hugh McLachlan, Professor of Applied Ethics
• Ian Graham, Prinicpal of John Wheatley College, Glasgow
• A. Graeme Hyslop, Principal of Langside College, Glasgow
• Dr John McKendrick lecturer in Geography, Director of the Scottish Poverty Information Unit, and SPL Referee
• David Shewan Lecturer in Forensic Psychology
• Dr Alan Watson Senior Lecturer in Risk Management
• Gordon Brown UK Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party lectured in Politics from 1976 till 1980.

Alumni

• Andy Kerr, MSP former Minister for Finance & Public Services in the then Scottish Executive
• Malcolm Henderson, Political Activist
• Gary Lewis, BAFTA nominated actor who has starred in films such as Billy Elliot, Orphans, Gangs of New York & My Name is Joe
• Rhona Martin, Curling Gold Medallist in the Winter 2002 Olympic Games
• Andrew McLaughlin, Deputy Chief Economist, Royal Bank of Scotland
• Ian McLeod,Former Executive Director of Wal-Mart and Chief Executive of Celtic Football Club
• Pat Nevin, Former footballer
• Chris Pendergast, Gaelic footballer
• Gregor Virant, Minister of Public Administration of Slovenia

External links

• Glasgow Caledonian University