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Aston University

Coordinates: 52°29′10″N 1°53′22″W / 52.4860°N 1.8895°W / 52.4860; -1.8895
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Aston University
File:Aston arms.jpg
Motto"Forward"
TypePublic
Established1966 – gained University Status by Royal Charter
1895 – Birmingham Municipal Technical School
Endowment£1.9 million[1]
ChancellorSir John Sunderland MA, HonDLitt
Vice-ChancellorProfessor Julia King, CBE, FREng
Students9,555[2]
Undergraduates7,030[2]
Postgraduates2,530[2]
Location
Birmingham
,
West Midlands
,
England, UK

52°29′10″N 1°53′22″W / 52.4860°N 1.8895°W / 52.4860; -1.8895
Campus40 acres (160,000 m2), city centre, self contained, grass, trees and paving, pedestrianised, lake and other water features
ColoursBlack and Red
                     

                     
AffiliationsAssociation of Commonwealth Universities AACSB
Websitehttp://www.aston.ac.uk/
File:Aston logo.png

Aston University is a campus university situated at Gosta Green, in the city centre of Birmingham, England.

Aston was granted its Royal Charter as Aston University on 22 April 1966. In keeping with its background in technology, business, sciences, engineering and applied subjects, Aston continues to have a focus on industry and commerce.[3] The university also has a School of Languages and Social Sciences. A majority of undergraduate students are registered on courses leading to a BSc[4] and 70% of eligible undergraduate students at Aston are enrolled on four-year sandwich courses, spending a year abroad or on industry placements.[3][5] The university emphasises its focus on industry placements and graduate employment record:[6] in 2010-11, 87% of first degree graduates found graduate level employment within six months of graduation, compared to the UK national average of less than 70%.[7] This was the 5th highest proportion of all UK universities and colleges. In the 2011 QS World University Rankings, Aston is ranked 334th overall,[8] and 51st for ‘Employer Reputation’.[9]

Aston has also performed well in the National Student Survey, with the 10th highest average satisfaction score of all UK mainstream universities at 80.6% in 2008 and the 13th highest percentage of all UK universities.[7] In the same survey, 89% of Aston students were satisfied with the quality of their course (UK average 82%).

In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, 86% of Research submitted was of "International Significance" and 45% "World Leading" or "Internationally Excellent".[citation needed]

Aston is a relatively small university, serving around 7,500 full-time undergraduates,[2] compared with the 18,840[2] of its near neighbour institution, the University of Birmingham. Aston also has 2,530 postgraduate students (1,315 full time) on MSc, PhD, PGDip and MBA programmes. Aston Business School (part of the university) celebrated its 60 year anniversary in 2007, one of the most established in the UK.[10]

Aston University hosted the British Science Festival in September 2010, said to be Europe's largest public science event.

Aston Business School (ABS) gained its own AACSB accreditation in 2003 and is one of a small number of UK schools to win this international recognition. AACSB International assures quality and promotes excellence and continuous improvement in undergraduate and postgraduate education in business administration and accounting. This accreditation has enabled ABS to establish a BGS Collegiate Chapter and Aston University is the first institution in the UK to be allied with Beta Gamma Sigma.

The university is a lead sponsor of Aston University Engineering Academy, a new university technical college (UTC) which is due to open in September 2012. The UTC is for students aged 14 to 19 wishing to persue further study and careers in engineering, and is located at the edge of the Aston University campus.[11]

History

Aston University was founded in 1895 and granted its Royal Charter as Aston University in 1966. Separated from the Birmingham and Midland Institute in 1895 as The Birmingham Municipal Technical School,[12] it changed its name in 1927 to the Birmingham Central Technical College,[12] to reflect its changing approach to teaching technology. In 1951 The Technical College was renamed the College of Technology, Birmingham[12] and work began on the Main Building at Gosta Green.[12] In 1956, it became the first designated College of Advanced Technology and underwent a major expansion.[12] The first step took place when it moved to an area north of Jennens Road in 1955. It moved into buildings that were constructed between 1949 and 1955 to a design by Ashley & Newman. The college expanded again to a design by the City Architect of Birmingham Alwyn Sheppard Fidler between 1957 and 1965.[13] It officially became the University of Aston in Birmingham on receipt of its Royal Charter on 22 April 1966. Since May 2011 Sir John Sunderland is the current Chancellor of Aston University.

In 1983, Aston University, in partnership with Birmingham City Council and Lloyds Bank, established Birmingham Technology Ltd., which manages the Aston Science Park adjacent to the university site.

Coat of arms

File:Aston arms.jpg
The Aston University coat of arms

The university's arms were granted on 18 March 1955 by Garter, Clarenceux and Norroy and Ulster Kings of Arms to the Birmingham Corporation, for use by the former College of Technology. They were designed to show the College's connection with the City and with the teaching of technology. The arms consist of a shield and crest. The shield has two sections – the field (the main background) which is coloured blue and a chief (the broad band across the top of the shield) of silver. On the field is a diagonal line of five gold diamonds joined one to the other, similar to the first quarter of the Arms of the City of Birmingham and incorporated in the Arms of the College to show its connection with the City. This was adopted by the family of Birmingham which derived its name from the then hamlet of Birmingham, and provided the Lords of the Manor from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries. On the chief is depicted an open book bound in red placed between two black hammers, showing the connection of the University with technology, the book representing learning and the hammers engineering and allied trades.

The crest is also designed to stress the pursuit of knowledge. It consists of a red torch held erect by a forearm between two branches of gold laurel. Having been originally worn on the helmet of a fully armed person, the crest is always placed on the top of the helm. The method of joining the crest to the helm was usually concealed by decoration and, in the University’s arms, this is effected by the use of a wreath and a crown. The wreath is silver, red and black, these colours being taken from the shield. It is surmounted by a mural crown (resembling a wall), which is reserved in modern grants for persons and organisations connected with public corporations. The cloth mantling which hangs down from the top of the helm is the survival of the cloak which was originally worn to protect the armour, coloured in the two principal colours of the shield, blue and gold.[14]

The motto of the University is the same as that of the City of Birmingham: "Forward".

Academic Dress

The academic dress for Graduates of the University is as follows:

  • Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Engineering
    • Gown: Black stuff of special design, having coat-type sleeve, narrow facings which continue round the neck and with extra wide gathers round the back
    • Hood: Black stuff, modified simple shape, faced inside for three inches with University lining
    • Hat: Black mortar board
  • Master of Science
    • Gown: Black stuff of special design, having coat-type sleeve, narrow facings which continue round the neck and with extra wide gathers round the back
    • Hood: Black stuff, modified simple shape, fully lined with University lining
    • Hat: Black mortar board
  • Master of Philosophy
    • Gown: Black stuff of special design, having coat-type sleeve, narrow facings which continue round the neck and with extra wide gathers round the back
    • Hood: Blue stuff, modified simple shape, fully lined with University lining
    • Hat: Black mortar board
  • Doctor of Philosophy
    • Gown: Claret colour cloth robe, having coat-type sleeve, narrow facings which continue round the neck and with extra wide gathers round the back
    • Hood: Modified simple shape, in University Red stuff, faced inside for three inches with University lining
    • Hat: Black cloth bonnet with cord and tassels of University Red
  • Doctor of Science
    • Gown: Same shape as for Doctor of Philosophy but in University Red, with facings on collar of University lining and gold cuffs on sleeves
    • Hood: Same shape as for Doctor of Philosophy but of gold silk and fully lined with University lining
    • Hat: Black velvet bonnet with cord and tassels in gold

Campus

The lake at the heart of the campus with triangular fountain

Established in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School,[15] The university is situated on a 40-acre (16-hectare) campus at Gosta Green, in the city centre of Birmingham, England.[3] As well as being home to over 2,100 students, the Aston University campus has the following amenities available: sports centres, swimming pool, library cafés, restaurants, pubs, shops, travel centre, hairdresser, health centre, dentist, places of worship, opticians, a bank, automated teller machines and plenty of outside space.

The University Library is on four floors and contains over 250,000 books, 800 current printed periodicals and has over 700 reader places. It provides online access to over 40 electronic databases and more than 3,400 electronic journals. The Library is open 24 hours a day to Aston students and staff at key times of the academic year.

Around the campus there are also various open-access IT suites, offering computer and internet access 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They offer access to a range of software packages, database systems and computer-aided learning materials. In addition, each of Aston's Schools of Study also has its own computing labs providing additional PCs, Unix workstations or Mac computers for their students.

Aston has plenty of sports facilities available on campus, including a 25m swimming pool, sauna and steam room, two sports halls, 120 station Gym, weights and fitness rooms, two storey dance studio and 35 sports clubs to get involved in. The campus also has two 3G floodlit sports pitches. Clubs train and compete, many in the British University and Colleges Sports Association (BUCS) Leagues. Off campus the Universiry owns a 40 acre sports ground with floodlit pitches, pavilion for all outdoor sports.

Accommodation

Part of the Lakeside student residences
Two of the three 1970s student halls of residence.

Aston University has both standard (shared bathroom) and en-suite accommodation on campus – 2,300 rooms in total, of which 85% are en-suite. All campus accommodation is less than five minutes' walk from the main building, and approximately five minutes' walk from Birmingham city centre. In the 1970s, three tower blocks containing student accommodation were constructed on the Aston University campus; Dalton, Lawrence and Stafford Towers. Stafford Tower has two flats per floor, each with nine single study bedrooms sharing a large kitchen and bathroom. Lawrence and Dalton Towers were demolished on 8 May 2011.[16]

A more recent addition to the Aston University student dwelling stock is the Lakeside complex on campus. Completed in August 1999, it cost £14,240,000 and has flats for approximately 650 students. The building won the Best Public Building award at the 2001 Brick Development Association Awards.

On 5 April 2007, Aston University submitted a planning application for demolition of the three 1970s towers and to replace them with new student accommodation blocks as well as apartments for tutors, retail units and administrative offices. On 5 July 2007, the application was approved and work commenced in January 2008 on phase 1. This is due for completion in 2010 and will consist of two blocks of student accommodation and a car park to the rear. There is also a new artificial sports pitch with another car park beneath. The demolition of the existing towers will take place for phases 2 and 3.[17] The entire scheme is due for completion in 2014. Upon completion there will be 2,345 bedrooms in the development alone, with 650 more rooms provided at other halls such as Lakeside. All the new accommodation is to be en-suite but rooms/flats will be differentiated in terms of size and facilities in order to provide students with a range of different priced rooms. The Aston Student Village project will cost an estimated £215 million.[18] Phase 1 is costing £57 million. Start on site date was 30 October 2008 and opened in September 2010 ready for the new term. Phase 1 buildings consist of two sections at a max height of 18 storeys with 7 and 5 ensuite bedroom apartments sharing a spacious kitchen. On 8 May 2011, both Dalton and Lawrence accommodation towers were demolished to make way for the above improvements.

Departments

All of Aston University's faculties are based on one campus. They are organised into the following four schools:

Aston Business School

Aston Business School

Founded in 1967 it offered its first MBA programme in 1968. In 2006, it opened a new £22m extension including new study rooms and two new lecture theatres.[19]

Aston Business School is consistently high in both the Financial Times and Economist rankings. The FT Global MBA 2009 Rankings placed Aston 12th in the UK, 21st in Europe and 77th in the world. Aston was rated first for employability and MBA graduates receive a 99% salary increase by the FT and first for student diversity by Economist Which MBA 2008. The Aston MBA by distance learning was amongst the top 42 in the Financial Times Online MBA 2009 Listing.

Aston Business School Undergraduate programmes are consistently ranked in the UK's Top 10 for Business and Management degrees in the Times/Complete University Guides. The MSc programmes were ranked 3rd in the UK and 18th in the world in the 2008 FT Masters in Management rankings. With International Business, Marketing and Corporate Strategy in the top 10 in the world, career progression associated with completion of the Aston MSc was rated first globally by the FT.

In 2007, it was rated one of the top 30 business schools in Europe by the Financial Times.[20] It is one of only 27 business schools worldwide to have triple accreditation from the three largest MBA ranking associations – AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS.[21] In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (2008) it came as the 9th in the UK for research excellence. 15% of research submitted was world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour; a further 45% was internationally excellent. Overall, 95% of Aston Business School research was internationally significant with 95% of academic staff in the School submitted for assessment, including many early career researchers.[22]

School of Engineering and Applied Science

The Chemical Engineering building
  • Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry
  • Computer Science
  • Electronic Engineering
  • Engineering Systems and Management
  • Mathematics
  • Mechanical Engineering and Design

School of Life and Health Sciences

  • Audiology
  • Biology
  • Biomedical Science
  • Optometry
  • Pharmacy
  • Psychology

School of Languages and Social Sciences

  • Modern languages & translation studies
  • International relations, politics & European studies
  • English language
  • Sociology & public policy

Reputation

Rankings

Aston University is ranked consistently in the top 25 in UK higher education rankings providers. In The Complete University Guide 2012, the university was ranked 21st, rated 1st for student life, and one of the UK's friendliest universities by FHM and Virgin Student.[23]

The university is highly regarded for postgraduate level success and has been consistently ranked in the top 10 for the last 15 years.[24] It is in the top 5 for Masters in Management Programmes and top 40 in World rankings.[24] Ranked in The World's top 100 Universities for Graduate Employer recognition (51st).[24] Out of 126 UK Universities and Colleges, it is ranked fifth for being one of the UK's Greenest Universities[24]

In the 2011 National Student Survey, Aston had an overall satisfaction rating of 86%, (UK average 83%). The 2011 Performance Indicators (produced by HEFCE) showed Aston had one of the lowest drop-out rates in the UK at 3.9%.

UK University Rankings 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993
Times Good University Guide 36 25[25] 29[26] 28th[26] 15[27] 13[28] 26=[29] 22 33 36 41 34= 34= 49 47 44 32= 33= 35= 40=
Guardian University Guide 34 36[30] 19[31] 18[32] 30[32] – 19[33] 17[34] 13[35] 52[36]
Sunday Times University Guide 32 35 37 29[37] 32[38] 33[39] 32[38] 32[38] 37[38] 46[38] 33[38] 43[38] 42[38] 41=[38]
Daily Telegraph 12=[40] 51
Complete University Guide 25 17[41] 14[42] 23[43] 12[43]

Students' Guild

Main article: Aston Students' Guild

Aston Students' Guild is a non-profit organisation set up with the aim of involving and representing the student body of Aston. The Guild provides sports clubs, societies and Welfare Services, partially funded by the money accrued from the Guild's commercial services.[citation needed] The Guild is run by a team of permanent staff and by an elected team called the executive who follow the rules set out in the Guild Constitution.

On 29 November 2006, the students voted to disaffiliate the Guild from the National Union of Students.

People

List of Chancellors

  1. The Lord Nelson of Stafford MA, HonDSc, FEng, FICE, FIMechE, FIEE, FRAeS (May 1966 – September 1979)
  2. Sir Adrian Cadbury DL, MA, HonDSc, HonLLD, CIMgt (September 1979 – September 2004)
  3. Sir Michael Bett CBE, MA, CIPD, CIMgt, HonDBA (September 2004 – May 2011)
  4. Sir John Sunderland MA, HonDLitt (Since May 2011)

List of Vice-Chancellors

  1. Sir Peter Venables (April 1966 - July 1969)
  2. Joseph A. Pope (August 1969 - September 1979)
  3. Frederick W. Crawford (July 1980 - August 1996)
  4. Michael T. Wright (September 1996 - November 2006)
  5. Julia King (November 2006 – present)

Alumni

See also: Category:Alumni of Aston University and Category:Academics of Aston University

References

  1. ^ "Financial Statements 2005–2006" (PDF). Aston University. Retrieved 26 April 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Table 0a – All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2006/07" (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet). Higher Education Statistics Agency. Retrieved 3 April 2008.
  3. ^ a b c Tarleton, Alice (1 August 2006). "Aston University". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 26 September 2006. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
  4. ^ "Our Degree Programmes". Retrieved 24 March 2007.
  5. ^ "Undergraduate Study at Aston University". Retrieved 24 March 2007.
  6. ^ "About Aston University". Retrieved 24 March 2007.
  7. ^ a b source Sunday Times University Guide 11 September 2011
  8. ^ "QS World University Rankings 2011".
  9. ^ "QS World University Rankings 2010 (Employer Reputation)".
  10. ^ Independent Newspaper Independent.co.uk
  11. ^ http://www.auea.co.uk/Aston-University
  12. ^ a b c d e "History and Traditions". Aston University. 2008. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
  13. ^ Foster, Andy (2007) [2005]. Birmingham. Pevsner Architectural Guides. Yale University Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-300-10731-9.
  14. ^ "Eva London/Aston University Graduation Rings". Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  15. ^ "Uni. finder > West Midlands > Aston University". HERO. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
  16. ^ BBC News 8 May 2011 Aston University tower blocks demolished
  17. ^ "The construction process". Aston University. 2008. Archived from the original on 29 June 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
  18. ^ "Campus redevelopment". Aston University. 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
  19. ^ "Aston Business School". EducationGuardian.co.uk. StudyLink. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
  20. ^ "European Business school rankings". Financial Times. The Financial Times Ltd. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
  21. ^ Hemley, Jo (20 September 2006). "Welcome and Introduction to Aston Business School" (PDF). Aston Business School. p. 3. Retrieved 26 January 2008. [dead link]
  22. ^ "Research Assessment Exercise". Retrieved 17 February 2009.
  23. ^ "Undergraduate study at Aston University". Aston.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  24. ^ a b c d ""Graduate Level" employment success". Aston.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  25. ^ Sadie Gray. "Extras.thetimes.co.uk". Extras.thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  26. ^ a b Naughton, Philippe; Byers, David. "?". The Times. London.
  27. ^ Naughton, Philippe; Byers, David. "The Times Good University Guide 2008". The Times. London. Retrieved 3 November 2007.
  28. ^ Naughton, Philippe; Byers, David. "The Times Good University Guide 2007 – Top Universities 2007 League Table". The Times. London. Retrieved 3 November 2007.
  29. ^ Hosking, Patrick; Wighton, David. "The Times Top Universities". The Times. London. Retrieved 3 November 2007.
  30. ^ "University guide 2011: University league table". The Guardian. UK. 8 June 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  31. ^ "University ranking by institution". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 May 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help) [dead link]
  32. ^ a b "University ranking by institution". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 29 October 2007.
  33. ^ "University ranking by institution". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 29 October 2007.
  34. ^ "University ranking by institution". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  35. ^ "University ranking by institution 2004". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  36. ^ "University ranking by institution". The Guardian 2003 (University Guide 2004). London. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  37. ^ Hosking, Patrick; Wighton, David. "The Sunday Times University League Table". The Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 8 October 2008.
  38. ^ a b c d e f g h i "University ranking based on performance over 10 years" (PDF). The Times. London. 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
  39. ^ "The Sunday Times University League Table" (PDF). The Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 3 November 2007.
  40. ^ "University league table". The Daily Telegraph. London. 30 July 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2007.
  41. ^ "University League Table 2011". Thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  42. ^ "University league table".
  43. ^ a b "The Independent University League Table". The Independent. London. 24 April 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  44. ^ Forbes http://people.forbes.com/profile/ravi-kant/76754
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