Birmingham City University
Encyclopedia
Birmingham City University (abbrev. as BCU; and previously Birmingham Polytechnic and the University of Central England in Birmingham) is a British university in the city of Birmingham
, England
. It is the second largest of three universities in the city, the other two being the Aston University
and University of Birmingham
. Established in 1971, it was designated as a polytechnic
until 1992, when it gained university status.
The university has eight campuses serving six faculties, and offers courses in art and design, business
, the built environment
, computing
, education
, engineering
, English
, healthcare, law
, the performing arts
, social sciences
, and technology
. A proposed £150m campus
in the city centre of Birmingham, part of the Eastside development
of a new technology and learning quarter, is to open in 2013. The university is a designated Skillset
Media Academy, a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning for health and social care, and a member of the million+ group of New Universities
.
Birmingham City University is the West Midlands
' largest provider of higher education
for undergraduate study, and its portfolio of part-time courses is among the biggest in the UK. Roughly half of the university's full-time students are from the West Midlands, and a large percentage of these are from ethnic minorities. The university runs access and foundation programmes through an international network of associated universities and further education colleges, and has the highest intake of foreign students in the Birmingham area.
in 1992, it was run by Birmingham City Council
, was the second polytechnic in Birmingham, the first—Birmingham Polytechnic Institution
—having existed in the mid-19th century for ten years.
The City of Birmingham Education Committee was invited to submit a scheme for the establishment of a polytechnic bringing together a number of different colleges in the city in 1967. Late in 1969, the post of director of the polytechnic was advertised. Although the city lagged behind other parts of the country, Birmingham finally gained a polytechnic in 1971—then the 27th in the UK—designated by the Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher
as the City of Birmingham Polytechnic.
It was formed initially out of five colleges. Some of the colleges' staff fought against the merger but later changed their minds. The colleges were:
The latter's new Perry Barr campus (which began construction in 1971) became the centre of the new Polytechnic, although the institution continued to have a number of different campuses spread across the city. This has sometimes been seen as a weakness of the polytechnic, with the dispersal of sites considered confusing to visitors.
In the early 1970s, the Perry Barr campus was the site of building work for what later became the centrepiece of the polytechnic: the Attwood and Baker buildings. Later in the 1970s, the campus was increased in size with the building of what later became the Cox, Dawson, Edge, Feeney and Galton buildings. In the early 1980s, the William Kenrick Library was added to the site. Although smaller buildings were subsequently constructed, this is largely the Perry Barr campus as it remains today (now called the City North Campus of Birmingham City University).
From its opening, the polytechnic was considered very strong in the field of art and design. As early as 1972, fashion and textile courses were heavily oversubscribed; there were 100 applications for every 30 places. Also in that year, the polytechnic held the Design in a Polytechnic exhibition, which was opened at a reception hosted by Sir Duncan Oppenheim, the chairman of the Council of Industrial Design. Arts courses remained strong at the polytechnic through the 1970s, with twice as many arts students compared to those doing engineering or technology courses.
In 1975, three more colleges were added to the polytechnic:
In the mid 1970s, the polytechnic's then-chairman, William Kenrick, sparked criticism from politicians for saying his students were "second-class" students. In 1978, a lecturer in law, Francis Reynolds, was convicted and fined £150 for preparing instruments of property conveyance without being a solicitor. He did this to challenge the monopoly solicitors held over conveyancing, which he felt led to higher costs.
By 1979, the polytechnic was one of the biggest in the country, though that did not prevent it from being "starved" of resources and money. There was a concern that without sufficient investment, the quality of its degree courses in areas such as engineering could not be maintained to the desired standard.
In 1988, the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
(BIAD) was established from the merging of the polytechnic's Faculty of Art and Design with Bournville College of Art. The extensive archives from these earlier incarnations, including over 10,000 artworks, were housed at the polytechnic's Margaret Street campus.
Following the UK Government's Education Reform Act
in 1989, the polytechnic ceased to be under Birmingham Local Education Authority control and became an independent corporation
with charitable status
. It was funded by the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council and no longer by the local education authority. The polytechnic continued to have close links to Birmingham City Council
, and to this day the Lord Mayor of Birmingham also serves as the University's Chancellor.
The change in status enabled a tighter union between the polytechnic and industry, and by 1989 it had 30 lecturer's posts sponsored by firms.
allowed all polytechnics
to adopt the title of "university". The name University of Central England in Birmingham was approved by the Privy Council
on 16 June 1992. The name change took place in time for the new academic year starting later that year. Students who graduated in mid 1992 were given certificates bearing the name University of Central England, even if the entirety of their study had taken place at the polytechnic. The original design was created by Amba Frog Design after a meeting with delegates from university student councils.
In 1995, two more colleges were absorbed—Birmingham and Solihull College of Nursing and Midwifery, and the West Midlands School of Radiography—and the Birmingham School of Jewellery
opened on Vittoria Street in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter
. The Faculty of Engineering and Computer Technology provided the basis for the creation of the Technology Innovation Centre
(TIC) in 2000. The following year, the Faculty of Health incorporated the Defence School of Health Care Studies.
In 2003, the university proposed a merger with the University of Birmingham
. The University of Birmingham immediately rejected the proposal. In November 2003, the university pursued a merger between UCE and Aston University
-another university in Birmingham, that, according to The Guardian
, "would create an institution of 32,000 students with a £200m turnover". The plans were announced by the then Vice-Chancellor Peter Knight, and approved by lecturers. The new institution would utilise the established Aston University name, and all UCE staff members' jobs and employment conditions would be kept intact, although Vice-Chancellor Knight would not be part of its management team. He estimated a completion date for the merger of August 2006.
The Aston University Council discussed the proposal during a meeting on 3 December 2003 and concluded that it should be rejected. In a statement, the university said that "Whilst the Council respects UCE's distinctive mission, it does not share UCE's analysis of the potential opportunities that might arise from any merger", and cited influencing factors such as Aston's approach to research and teaching, the "significant differences between the missions and strategies" of Aston and UCE, and the negative impact that prolonged discussions would have on both institutions. Aston suggested that it, UCE and the University of Birmingham should instead begin discussions about the three universities' contribution to the future of local and regional higher education.
In August 2005, the University of Central England rebranded itself as UCE Birmingham for marketing and promotional purposes, though the original name remained for official use. This decision was reversed in March 2007, following the arrival of a new Vice-Chancellor, and the fuller title University of Central England in Birmingham was resurrected for all purposes.
In June 2007, it was announced that the University would be renamed, with three possible names being proposed: Birmingham City University, Birmingham Chamberlain University, and Birmingham Metropolitan University. Staff and students (both current and alumni) were asked to complete a survey on what they wished the name to be changed to. On October 1, 2007, Vice-Chancellor David Tidmarsh unveiled the name change from UCE Birmingham to Birmingham City University. 48.2% of those who voted on the survey voted for this name, although 62.1% of staff had voted for Birmingham Metropolitan University. The University of Birmingham Council had previously advised UCE that their preferred choice was Birmingham Metropolitan University, and that it considered Birmingham Chamberlain University "unacceptable" because of Joseph Chamberlain
's historic involvement and association with the University of Birmingham.
The proposed name change was met with mixed reaction from students and student union officials. A common argument was that money should be spend on facilities and building repair work, and some students felt ignored by the establishment. The rationale for the name change was a perceived confusion of the location of the university and to give a "shorter, more powerful name". The rebranding of the university, which included changing signage and stationery, cost £285,084.
The university's current logo, designed by Birmingham-based BHMG Marketing, is based on the tiger in the crest originally used when it was awarded university status. The crest itself originated from the Birmingham College of Commerce, one of the institutions that formed the polytechnic in 1971. In 2009, the logo was revised to include the word "CITY" in upper-case on the first line instead of in lower-case on the second.
The university is planning a new "flagship" campus in Birmingham City Centre
, next to the existing facilities at Millennium Point. The City Centre campus will be a £123 to £150 million development as part of Birmingham's Eastside
development, and will include 35,000 and 45,000 square metres of accommodation and be the new home for media, arts and engineering learning. Existing facilities at the Gosta Green and Bournville Campuses will be moved to the new facilities as the university seeks to reduce the number of campuses it occupies. However, with the introduction of the high-speed rail line plans in March 2010, these plans have been put on hold.
es:
The university is planning a new "flagship" campus in Birmingham City Centre
, next to the existing facilities at Millennium Point. The City Centre campus will be a £150 million development as part of Birmingham's Eastside
development, and will include 35,000 and 45,000 square metres of accommodation and be the new home for media, arts and engineering learning. Existing facilities at the Gosta Green and Bournville Campuses will be moved to the new facilities as the university seeks to reduce the number of campuses it occupies.
(NTI) is a business and I.T. training centre at Birmingham city centre in association with Aston University
and the University of Birmingham
. Screen Media Lab, part of the Birmingham School of Media, is a purpose built centre for enterprise and innovation in screen media and visual design, part of the School of Media. The International Project Space
(IPS) is an art gallery located at the Bournville Centre for Visual Arts.
Moor Lane is a venue for sports, business training and conferences near to City North Campus. Previously, a dedicated sports centre was located behind The Coppice, a student accommodation block next to the City North Campus, and included tennis courts, bowls, football and rugby pitches, running track and a social club. The university announced a £7 million sports complex would be built on the site, formerly the Ansells Sports Club, with construction to start in mid 2008 for completion in 2009. The centre, City North Sports Centre, opened on 4 January 2010 and includes a fitness suite, workout classes, and a sports hall.
Lawyers at Wragge & Co have advised Birmingham City University on the outsourcing of work for the sports centre to international service company Serco. Under a new 10-year agreement, the FTSE 100 company will run both the sports centre and the existing Pavilion sports facility in Perry Barr.
Hamstead Campus is a purely residential campus located near to City North, in Handsworth Wood
, that includes a Grade II-listed Hall built in 1881. The Coppice and Oscott Gardens are residential campuses located adjacent to City North Campus.
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
(BIAD) is one of the largest faculties of art and design education in the United Kingdom. BIAD provides education for nearly 4,000 students on five major campuses located in the centre and to the north and south of the centre of Birmingham. It was previously home to the Department of Media and Communication until 2008. BIAD comprises five schools: the School of Art
, School of Jewellery, the School of Architecture, the School of Fashion, the School of Textiles and Three-Dimensional Design, and the School of Visual Communication.
The university's business faculty, Birmingham City Business School, is a major centre for business, computing and management education. With over 4,000 students studying on full and part-time courses, it is one of the largest business schools in the UK. It incorporates three academic departments and two specialist centres: the Department of Accountancy and Finance, the Department of Business and Marketing, the Department of Management and Human Resources, the Centre for Leadership and Management Practice, and the Centre for Internal Audit, Governance and Risk Management.
The Faculty of Education, Law and Social Sciences (ELSS) includes elements of the former faculties of Education and of Law, Humanities, Development and Society (LHDS), which offered courses in law, social studies, English (literature, language and cultural studies) and property, construction and planning (it closed in 2008). ELSS has four schools: the School of Law, the School of Social Sciences, the School of Primary and Early Years, and the School of Secondary and Post-Compulsory Education and Training. The latter two provide courses for intending teachers, serving teachers or those simply interested in education issues covering the entire range of school phases from infant to continuing education, at every study level from full-time undergraduate to postgraduate level and PhD.
The Faculty of Health is the university's NHS
-supported healthcare training faculty. It is one of BCU's largest faculties, with nearly 7,000 full and part-time students studying each year, and is among the UK's largest higher education centres for health and social care. The faculty includes the Defence School of Health Care, which is part of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM).
The Faculty of Performance, Media and English
(PME) is the university's newest faculty (introduced in September 2008) and includes four divisions:
The Faculty of Technology, Engineering and the Environment (TEE), based in Millenium Point, is a national centre of excellence for learning, innovation and technology transfer. The faculty was temporarily known as the Faculty of Technology, Innovation and Development (TID) from 2008 until 2009, when the university relaunched the faculty through the merger of three of the more successful departments—the Technology Innovation Centre (TIC), School of Computing, and the School of Property Construction. It now has four divisions:
Former faculties of the university include the Built Environment, which closed in 2005; course provision was moved to BIAD and the Faculty of Law, Humanities, Development and Society (LHDS), which closed in 2008. The Faculty of Computing Information Systems was also closed in 2005, and the computing courses were moved to the Business School.
The university has seven libraries across Birmingham on all campuses that contain around 950,000 books and 9,000 print and electronic journals. Kenrick Library, named after the politician William Kenrick, is located at the City North Campus and is the largest of the university's libraries, covering three floors and featuring more than 320,000 books, 2,000 print journals and more than 4,000 electronic journals. A £3 million refurbishment introduced a suite of individual and group study areas. The other six libraries are:
In 1998, the university was involved in controversy when a book by photographer Robert Mapplethorpe
, Mapplethorpe (1992), was confiscated. A final year undergraduate student was writing a paper on Mapplethorpe's work and intended to illustrate the paper with a few photographs. She took the photographs to the local chemist to be developed and the chemist informed West Midlands Police
because of the unusual nature of the images. The police confiscated the library book from the student and informed the university that the book would have to be destroyed. If the university agreed to the destruction, no further action would be taken.
The university Vice-Chancellor, Dr Peter Knight, took the view—supported by the Senate—that the book was a legitimate book for the university library to hold and that the action of the police was a serious infringement of academic freedom
. The Vice-Chancellor was interviewed by the police, under caution, with a view to prosecution under the terms of the Obscene Publications Act, which defines obscenity as material that is likely to deprave and corrupt. The police focused on one particular image, 'Jim and Tom, Sausalito 1977', which depicts one man urinating into the mouth of another
.
After the interview with the Vice-Chancellor, a file was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service
as the Director of Public Prosecutions
(DPP) has to take the decision as to whether or not to proceed with a trial. After a delay of about six months, the affair came to an end when the DPP informed Dr Knight that no action would be taken as "there was insufficient evidence to support a successful prosecution on this occasion". The original book was returned, in a slightly tattered state, and restored to the university library.
The university runs access and foundation programmes through an international network of associated universities and further education colleges, including:
The university is one of seventeen Skillset
Media Academies in the United Kingdom (the only such Academy in the West Midlands), a status awarded to recognise "centres of excellence in television and interactive media". This stems from its courses at the Faculty of Technology, Engineering and the Environment, the Birmingham School of Media
, and the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
, which is the largest such Institute outside London. With regard to post-production
, the university also has Avid
Mentor status, and is the Midlands' accredited training centre for Apple's Final Cut
editing software. The School of Media is regarded as the UK's number-one media school to offer both theory- and production-based teaching, and is ranked eleventh in The Guardian University Guide 2010.
For health and social care, Birmingham City University was awarded national recognition as a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
, in its institutional audit and major review of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions, gave the university excellent outcomes. The university's Faculty of Health has an on-site virtual operating suite, the first at a university in England. In the Smithers
-Robinson League Table, for initial teacher training, Birmingham City University and three other institutions are consistently ranked top ten. Ofsted
inspection scores for teacher education courses are frequently among the best.
In May 2010, the university achieved the highest mark, an Ofsted grade 1 for the quality of training and the management and quality assurance of the training it provides for both its primary and secondary teacher training courses.
conducted by the Higher Education Funding Council for England
, the Birmingham Post
reported that more than 70 per cent of research work submitted by Birmingham City University—including in business and management studies, education, English, social work and social policy, and town and country planning—was "officially recognised as of an international standard", and 15 per cent of that work was "rated as world leading". Its art and design submission was among the ten highest ranked in the country, and Birmingham Conservatoire was rated one of the top three conservatoires, and the best outside London. The university was ranked sixty-third based on average assessment scores.
points for all honours programmes; other courses' requirements vary.
Birmingham City University Students' Union is located at the City North Campus. There are several reception offices located at all the university's campuses. It is affiliated with the National Union of Students, and all students are automatically members of the union. Student media comprises a magazine, Spaghetti Junction (also known as SJ magazine), and a television station, Tiger TV. The Students' Union also has close ties with the student and community radio station Scratch Radio
, which is housed in the main Students' Union building.
The student union of Birmingham Polytechnic was condemned in November 1974 when its council passed a resolution supporting IRA
terrorism. The polytechnic's student radio station, Radio G, was the runner-up in the 1989 Guardian
/NUS Student Media Awards.
, journalist Paul Bradshaw
, photographer Ravi Deepres
, musician Roy Priest (formerly of Sweet Jesus), writer and poet Anthony Mellors and photographer Darren Newbury.
Other notable graduates of the University and its predecessor institutions working in broadcasting
include children's television presenter Kirsten O'Brien
, sports TV presenter Mary Rhodes
, radio and TV presenters Fiona Phillips
, Zoë Ball
, Claire Checketts, Sean O'Neill, Margherita Taylor
and Phil Upton
, radio producer Shantel Kadir
, television and film editors Chris Jarrett
, Andrea Rodway
and Eddy Durnan
, production managers Lisa Hole and Siobhan Regan, TV directors Julia Davies
(for the BBC) and Evelyn Iwato
, and TV producers Ash James
and Adam Tyers
. Indie band Blabbermouth consisted of various graduates, including lead singer Chris Johnson
and lead guitars Jonny Halford.
Several work in broadcast journalism
, such as BSkyB
newsreader Marverine Cole
, multimedia journalist Stacey Spencer
and BBC newsreader Charlie Stayt
. Art and design alumni include fashion photographer Kirsty Hamilton
, Tribune
cartoonist Alex Hughes
, fashion designer Betty Jackson
, and artist Rob Pepper
.
Graduates in the performing arts include musician Nick Duffy
, singer-songwriter Stephen Duffy
, actor Jimi Mistry
(of the Birmingham School of Acting
), comedian Frank Skinner
, singer and The X Factor
contestant Rhydian Roberts
, and bass guitarist John Taylor, founder of Duran Duran
. Other individuals to have studied at what is now Birmingham City University include novelist Jim Crace
, nurse-author Bethann Siviter
, scientist Kevin Warwick
, and politicians Khalid Mahmood
(MP for Perry Barr) and Lynne Jones
(MP for Selly Oak).
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is the second largest of three universities in the city, the other two being the Aston University
Aston University
Aston University is a "plate glass" campus university situated at Gosta Green, in the city centre of Birmingham, England.Established in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School, Aston was granted its Royal Charter as Aston University on 22 April 1966...
and University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
. Established in 1971, it was designated as a polytechnic
Polytechnic (United Kingdom)
A polytechnic was a type of tertiary education teaching institution in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. After the passage of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 they became universities which meant they could award their own degrees. The comparable institutions in Scotland were...
until 1992, when it gained university status.
The university has eight campuses serving six faculties, and offers courses in art and design, business
Business studies
Business studies is an academic subject taught at higher level in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, as well as at university level in many countries...
, the built environment
Built environment
The term built environment refers to the human-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from personal shelter and buildings to neighborhoods and cities that can often include their supporting infrastructure, such as water supply or energy networks.The built...
, computing
Computing
Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and improving computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, healthcare, law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, the performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
, social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
, and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
. A proposed £150m campus
Birmingham City University City Centre Campus
Birmingham City University City Centre Campus is a planned "flagship" campus in the City Centre of Birmingham. It is going to be constructed next to the existing facilities at Millennium Point and will be part of the ambitious Eastside project - Birmingham's biggest physical regeneration scheme...
in the city centre of Birmingham, part of the Eastside development
Eastside, Birmingham
Eastside is a district of Birmingham City Centre, England currently undergoing a major redevelopment project. The overall cost when completed is expected to be £6–8 billion over a period of ten years which will result in the creation of 12,000 jobs. 8,000 jobs are expected to be created during the...
of a new technology and learning quarter, is to open in 2013. The university is a designated Skillset
Skillset
Skillset is the Sector Skills Council which supports skills and training for people and businesses to ensure the UK creative media industries competitive and productive.-History:It was founded 1992 and is jointly funded by industry and government...
Media Academy, a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning for health and social care, and a member of the million+ group of New Universities
New Universities
The term new universities has been used informally to refer to several different waves of new universities created or renamed as such in the United Kingdom. As early as 1928, the term was used to describe the then-new civic universities, such as Bristol University and the other "red brick...
.
Birmingham City University is the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
' largest provider of higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
for undergraduate study, and its portfolio of part-time courses is among the biggest in the UK. Roughly half of the university's full-time students are from the West Midlands, and a large percentage of these are from ethnic minorities. The university runs access and foundation programmes through an international network of associated universities and further education colleges, and has the highest intake of foreign students in the Birmingham area.
History
Before it became a universityUniversity
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
in 1992, it was run by Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council
The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...
, was the second polytechnic in Birmingham, the first—Birmingham Polytechnic Institution
Birmingham Polytechnic Institution
Birmingham Polytechnic Institution was a polytechnic formed in 1843 in Birmingham, England. It was supported by leading Liberals in the city such as George Dawson. The Polytechnic mainly taught languages, chemistry and mathematics and had a library of 4,000 volumes...
—having existed in the mid-19th century for ten years.
Birmingham Polytechnic
In the 1960s, changes were made to the higher education system creating an expansion of polytechnics as a more vocationally orientated alternative to the typical university.The City of Birmingham Education Committee was invited to submit a scheme for the establishment of a polytechnic bringing together a number of different colleges in the city in 1967. Late in 1969, the post of director of the polytechnic was advertised. Although the city lagged behind other parts of the country, Birmingham finally gained a polytechnic in 1971—then the 27th in the UK—designated by the Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
as the City of Birmingham Polytechnic.
It was formed initially out of five colleges. Some of the colleges' staff fought against the merger but later changed their minds. The colleges were:
- Birmingham College of Art and DesignBirmingham School of ArtThe Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, its Grade I listed building on...
(originally the Birmingham Government School of Design, founded in October 1843); - Birmingham School of Music (developed as a department of the Birmingham and Midland InstituteBirmingham and Midland InstituteThe Birmingham and Midland Institute , now on Margaret Street in the city centre of Birmingham, England was a pioneer of adult scientific and technical education and today offers Arts and Science lectures, exhibitions and concerts. It is a registered charity...
around 1859); - Birmingham College of Commerce (established in the early 20th century as a branch school of the Birmingham Central Technical College, which went on to become Aston UniversityAston UniversityAston University is a "plate glass" campus university situated at Gosta Green, in the city centre of Birmingham, England.Established in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School, Aston was granted its Royal Charter as Aston University on 22 April 1966...
); - South Birmingham Technical College (opened in 1961);
- North Birmingham Technical CollegeNorth Birmingham Technical CollegeNorth Birmingham Technical College is now part of Birmingham City University. The college was created in 1967 when Aston Technical College moved to Perry Barr but even then it was being earmarked as part of the proposed Birmingham Polytechnic...
(formerly Aston Technical College, opened in 1966).
The latter's new Perry Barr campus (which began construction in 1971) became the centre of the new Polytechnic, although the institution continued to have a number of different campuses spread across the city. This has sometimes been seen as a weakness of the polytechnic, with the dispersal of sites considered confusing to visitors.
In the early 1970s, the Perry Barr campus was the site of building work for what later became the centrepiece of the polytechnic: the Attwood and Baker buildings. Later in the 1970s, the campus was increased in size with the building of what later became the Cox, Dawson, Edge, Feeney and Galton buildings. In the early 1980s, the William Kenrick Library was added to the site. Although smaller buildings were subsequently constructed, this is largely the Perry Barr campus as it remains today (now called the City North Campus of Birmingham City University).
From its opening, the polytechnic was considered very strong in the field of art and design. As early as 1972, fashion and textile courses were heavily oversubscribed; there were 100 applications for every 30 places. Also in that year, the polytechnic held the Design in a Polytechnic exhibition, which was opened at a reception hosted by Sir Duncan Oppenheim, the chairman of the Council of Industrial Design. Arts courses remained strong at the polytechnic through the 1970s, with twice as many arts students compared to those doing engineering or technology courses.
In 1975, three more colleges were added to the polytechnic:
- Anstey College of Physical Education (founded as a private college for women in 1897);
- Bordesley College of Education (founded as a Local Education AuthorityLocal Education AuthorityA local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...
(LEA) Day Training College for women teachers in 1963); - City of Birmingham College of Education (founded as an LEA Emergency Teacher Training College in 1948).
In the mid 1970s, the polytechnic's then-chairman, William Kenrick, sparked criticism from politicians for saying his students were "second-class" students. In 1978, a lecturer in law, Francis Reynolds, was convicted and fined £150 for preparing instruments of property conveyance without being a solicitor. He did this to challenge the monopoly solicitors held over conveyancing, which he felt led to higher costs.
By 1979, the polytechnic was one of the biggest in the country, though that did not prevent it from being "starved" of resources and money. There was a concern that without sufficient investment, the quality of its degree courses in areas such as engineering could not be maintained to the desired standard.
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
The Birmingham Institute of Art and Design is the largest British university art and design teaching and research centre outside London. It is a faculty of Birmingham City University and the largest, most successful department of the university.-History:BIAD dates back, in various incarnations, to...
(BIAD) was established from the merging of the polytechnic's Faculty of Art and Design with Bournville College of Art. The extensive archives from these earlier incarnations, including over 10,000 artworks, were housed at the polytechnic's Margaret Street campus.
Following the UK Government's Education Reform Act
Education Reform Act 1988
The Education Reform Act 1988 is widely regarded as the most important single piece of education legislation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland since the 'Butler' Education Act 1944...
in 1989, the polytechnic ceased to be under Birmingham Local Education Authority control and became an independent corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
with charitable status
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
. It was funded by the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council and no longer by the local education authority. The polytechnic continued to have close links to Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council
The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...
, and to this day the Lord Mayor of Birmingham also serves as the University's Chancellor.
The change in status enabled a tighter union between the polytechnic and industry, and by 1989 it had 30 lecturer's posts sponsored by firms.
University status
The Further and Higher Education Act 1992Further and Higher Education Act 1992
The Further and Higher Education Acts 1992 made changes in the funding and administration of further education and higher education within the United Kingdom. The most visible result was to allow thirty-five polytechnics to become universities. In addition the Act created bodies to fund higher...
allowed all polytechnics
Polytechnic (United Kingdom)
A polytechnic was a type of tertiary education teaching institution in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. After the passage of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 they became universities which meant they could award their own degrees. The comparable institutions in Scotland were...
to adopt the title of "university". The name University of Central England in Birmingham was approved by the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
on 16 June 1992. The name change took place in time for the new academic year starting later that year. Students who graduated in mid 1992 were given certificates bearing the name University of Central England, even if the entirety of their study had taken place at the polytechnic. The original design was created by Amba Frog Design after a meeting with delegates from university student councils.
Birmingham School of Jewellery
Birmingham School of Jewellery, founded in 1890, is a jewellery school in Birmingham, England. Located on Vittoria Street in the city's Jewellery Quarter, it is the largest jewellery school in Europe...
opened on Vittoria Street in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter
Jewellery Quarter
The Jewellery Quarter is an area of Birmingham City Centre, England, situated in the south of the Hockley area. It is covered by the Ladywood district. There is a population of around 3,000 people in a area....
. The Faculty of Engineering and Computer Technology provided the basis for the creation of the Technology Innovation Centre
Technology Innovation Centre
The Faculty of Technology, Engineering and the Environment is the technology department of Birmingham City University located in the current City Centre Campus in the eastern half of the Millennium Point complex...
(TIC) in 2000. The following year, the Faculty of Health incorporated the Defence School of Health Care Studies.
In 2003, the university proposed a merger with the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
. The University of Birmingham immediately rejected the proposal. In November 2003, the university pursued a merger between UCE and Aston University
Aston University
Aston University is a "plate glass" campus university situated at Gosta Green, in the city centre of Birmingham, England.Established in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School, Aston was granted its Royal Charter as Aston University on 22 April 1966...
-another university in Birmingham, that, according to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, "would create an institution of 32,000 students with a £200m turnover". The plans were announced by the then Vice-Chancellor Peter Knight, and approved by lecturers. The new institution would utilise the established Aston University name, and all UCE staff members' jobs and employment conditions would be kept intact, although Vice-Chancellor Knight would not be part of its management team. He estimated a completion date for the merger of August 2006.
The Aston University Council discussed the proposal during a meeting on 3 December 2003 and concluded that it should be rejected. In a statement, the university said that "Whilst the Council respects UCE's distinctive mission, it does not share UCE's analysis of the potential opportunities that might arise from any merger", and cited influencing factors such as Aston's approach to research and teaching, the "significant differences between the missions and strategies" of Aston and UCE, and the negative impact that prolonged discussions would have on both institutions. Aston suggested that it, UCE and the University of Birmingham should instead begin discussions about the three universities' contribution to the future of local and regional higher education.
In August 2005, the University of Central England rebranded itself as UCE Birmingham for marketing and promotional purposes, though the original name remained for official use. This decision was reversed in March 2007, following the arrival of a new Vice-Chancellor, and the fuller title University of Central England in Birmingham was resurrected for all purposes.
Renaming
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
's historic involvement and association with the University of Birmingham.
The proposed name change was met with mixed reaction from students and student union officials. A common argument was that money should be spend on facilities and building repair work, and some students felt ignored by the establishment. The rationale for the name change was a perceived confusion of the location of the university and to give a "shorter, more powerful name". The rebranding of the university, which included changing signage and stationery, cost £285,084.
The university's current logo, designed by Birmingham-based BHMG Marketing, is based on the tiger in the crest originally used when it was awarded university status. The crest itself originated from the Birmingham College of Commerce, one of the institutions that formed the polytechnic in 1971. In 2009, the logo was revised to include the word "CITY" in upper-case on the first line instead of in lower-case on the second.
The university is planning a new "flagship" campus in Birmingham City Centre
Birmingham City University City Centre Campus
Birmingham City University City Centre Campus is a planned "flagship" campus in the City Centre of Birmingham. It is going to be constructed next to the existing facilities at Millennium Point and will be part of the ambitious Eastside project - Birmingham's biggest physical regeneration scheme...
, next to the existing facilities at Millennium Point. The City Centre campus will be a £123 to £150 million development as part of Birmingham's Eastside
Eastside, Birmingham
Eastside is a district of Birmingham City Centre, England currently undergoing a major redevelopment project. The overall cost when completed is expected to be £6–8 billion over a period of ten years which will result in the creation of 12,000 jobs. 8,000 jobs are expected to be created during the...
development, and will include 35,000 and 45,000 square metres of accommodation and be the new home for media, arts and engineering learning. Existing facilities at the Gosta Green and Bournville Campuses will be moved to the new facilities as the university seeks to reduce the number of campuses it occupies. However, with the introduction of the high-speed rail line plans in March 2010, these plans have been put on hold.
Chancellors
| Name | Duration |
|---|---|
| Chauhdry Abdul Rashid Chauhdry Abdul Rashid Chauhdry Abdul Rashid JP is a former Lord Mayor of Birmingham. He is one of three councillors representing the Nechells ward in the heart of the city.-Background:... |
2008–present |
Mission statement
Our mission is to be a powerful force for learning, creativity and enterprise, promoting economic, social and cultural wellbeing.
Campuses
Throughout its history the university has been spread across a number of different sites in Birmingham. As of 2008, the university is at the following campusCampus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
es:
- City North Campus is the main university campus located in Perry BarrPerry BarrPerry Barr is an inner-city area in north Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Perry Barr ward and the wards of Handsworth Wood, Lozells and East Handsworth, and Oscott, which elect three councillors to...
, Birmingham. This campus includes the Birmingham City Business School; Faculty of Education, Law and Social Sciences; and a part of the Faculty of Performance, Media and EnglishFaculty of Performance, Media and EnglishFaculty of Performance, Media and English is the newest faculty of Birmingham City University, established in 2009...
; - City Centre Campus located in Millennium Point is the home of Birmingham School of ActingBirmingham School of ActingBirmingham School of Acting is a drama school located in Birmingham, England....
and the Faculty of Technology, Engineering and the Environment (formerly the Technology Innovation Centre). A new campusBirmingham City University City Centre CampusBirmingham City University City Centre Campus is a planned "flagship" campus in the City Centre of Birmingham. It is going to be constructed next to the existing facilities at Millennium Point and will be part of the ambitious Eastside project - Birmingham's biggest physical regeneration scheme...
is being built next to the existing facilities and is set to open in 2013; - Gosta GreenGosta GreenGosta Green is an area in the city of Birmingham, England. It lies at the edge of the city centre, about three-quarters of a mile to the north-east of Birmingham New Street station via Corporation St or the High St....
, the main home of the Birmingham Institute of Art and DesignBirmingham Institute of Art and DesignThe Birmingham Institute of Art and Design is the largest British university art and design teaching and research centre outside London. It is a faculty of Birmingham City University and the largest, most successful department of the university.-History:BIAD dates back, in various incarnations, to...
(BIAD); - Vittoria Street in the Birmingham Jewellery QuarterJewellery QuarterThe Jewellery Quarter is an area of Birmingham City Centre, England, situated in the south of the Hockley area. It is covered by the Ladywood district. There is a population of around 3,000 people in a area....
, home to the School of Jewellery (BIAD); - Margaret Street, home of the School of Fine Art (BIAD), formerly home of the Birmingham School of ArtBirmingham School of ArtThe Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, its Grade I listed building on...
; - Birmingham Conservatoire, based in Birmingham city centre;
- City South Campus, on Westbourne Road in Edgbaston, home to both the —along with the Defence School of Health Care, part of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) located at Selly Oak Hospital—and a moderate amount of student accommodation;
- Bournville Campus, home to the Bournville Centre for Visual ArtsBournville Centre for Visual ArtsThe Bournville Centre for Visual Arts is an art school in Birmingham, England. It is located at Ruskin Hall on Linden Road in the area of Bournville...
(BIAD).
Birmingham City University City Centre Campus
Birmingham City University City Centre Campus is a planned "flagship" campus in the City Centre of Birmingham. It is going to be constructed next to the existing facilities at Millennium Point and will be part of the ambitious Eastside project - Birmingham's biggest physical regeneration scheme...
, next to the existing facilities at Millennium Point. The City Centre campus will be a £150 million development as part of Birmingham's Eastside
Eastside, Birmingham
Eastside is a district of Birmingham City Centre, England currently undergoing a major redevelopment project. The overall cost when completed is expected to be £6–8 billion over a period of ten years which will result in the creation of 12,000 jobs. 8,000 jobs are expected to be created during the...
development, and will include 35,000 and 45,000 square metres of accommodation and be the new home for media, arts and engineering learning. Existing facilities at the Gosta Green and Bournville Campuses will be moved to the new facilities as the university seeks to reduce the number of campuses it occupies.
Facilities
The New Technology InstituteNew Technology Institute
The New Technology Institute, Birmingham is a building, training centre and media studio located in the Learning and Leisure Zone of the Eastside of Birmingham, England....
(NTI) is a business and I.T. training centre at Birmingham city centre in association with Aston University
Aston University
Aston University is a "plate glass" campus university situated at Gosta Green, in the city centre of Birmingham, England.Established in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School, Aston was granted its Royal Charter as Aston University on 22 April 1966...
and the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
. Screen Media Lab, part of the Birmingham School of Media, is a purpose built centre for enterprise and innovation in screen media and visual design, part of the School of Media. The International Project Space
International Project Space
The International Project Space is an art gallery located at the Bournville Centre for Visual Arts, a campus of Birmingham City University's Birmingham Institute of Art and Design in the Bournville district of Birmingham, England.The gallery opened in 2002 and hosts a programme of exhibitions by...
(IPS) is an art gallery located at the Bournville Centre for Visual Arts.
Moor Lane is a venue for sports, business training and conferences near to City North Campus. Previously, a dedicated sports centre was located behind The Coppice, a student accommodation block next to the City North Campus, and included tennis courts, bowls, football and rugby pitches, running track and a social club. The university announced a £7 million sports complex would be built on the site, formerly the Ansells Sports Club, with construction to start in mid 2008 for completion in 2009. The centre, City North Sports Centre, opened on 4 January 2010 and includes a fitness suite, workout classes, and a sports hall.
Lawyers at Wragge & Co have advised Birmingham City University on the outsourcing of work for the sports centre to international service company Serco. Under a new 10-year agreement, the FTSE 100 company will run both the sports centre and the existing Pavilion sports facility in Perry Barr.
Accommodation
Handsworth Wood
Handsworth Wood is a loosely defined area in the north west of Birmingham, England. It is also a ward within the formal district of Perry Barr. Located within the metropolitan county of the West Midlands since April 1, 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, it was previously a part of the...
, that includes a Grade II-listed Hall built in 1881. The Coppice and Oscott Gardens are residential campuses located adjacent to City North Campus.
Faculties and schools
Birmingham City University is a large university and has departments covering a wide range of subjects. The university's system was re-organised into six faculties in September 2008 and are composed of numerous schools and departments.Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
The Birmingham Institute of Art and Design is the largest British university art and design teaching and research centre outside London. It is a faculty of Birmingham City University and the largest, most successful department of the university.-History:BIAD dates back, in various incarnations, to...
(BIAD) is one of the largest faculties of art and design education in the United Kingdom. BIAD provides education for nearly 4,000 students on five major campuses located in the centre and to the north and south of the centre of Birmingham. It was previously home to the Department of Media and Communication until 2008. BIAD comprises five schools: the School of Art
Birmingham School of Art
The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, its Grade I listed building on...
, School of Jewellery, the School of Architecture, the School of Fashion, the School of Textiles and Three-Dimensional Design, and the School of Visual Communication.
The university's business faculty, Birmingham City Business School, is a major centre for business, computing and management education. With over 4,000 students studying on full and part-time courses, it is one of the largest business schools in the UK. It incorporates three academic departments and two specialist centres: the Department of Accountancy and Finance, the Department of Business and Marketing, the Department of Management and Human Resources, the Centre for Leadership and Management Practice, and the Centre for Internal Audit, Governance and Risk Management.
The Faculty of Education, Law and Social Sciences (ELSS) includes elements of the former faculties of Education and of Law, Humanities, Development and Society (LHDS), which offered courses in law, social studies, English (literature, language and cultural studies) and property, construction and planning (it closed in 2008). ELSS has four schools: the School of Law, the School of Social Sciences, the School of Primary and Early Years, and the School of Secondary and Post-Compulsory Education and Training. The latter two provide courses for intending teachers, serving teachers or those simply interested in education issues covering the entire range of school phases from infant to continuing education, at every study level from full-time undergraduate to postgraduate level and PhD.
The Faculty of Health is the university's NHS
National Health Service (England)
The National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...
-supported healthcare training faculty. It is one of BCU's largest faculties, with nearly 7,000 full and part-time students studying each year, and is among the UK's largest higher education centres for health and social care. The faculty includes the Defence School of Health Care, which is part of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM).
Faculty of Performance, Media and English
Faculty of Performance, Media and English is the newest faculty of Birmingham City University, established in 2009...
(PME) is the university's newest faculty (introduced in September 2008) and includes four divisions:
- Birmingham Conservatoire, an international conservatoire and junior school and a major concert venue for many of Birmingham’s principal concert promoters and organisations, hosting over 300 events annually;
- Birmingham School of ActingBirmingham School of ActingBirmingham School of Acting is a drama school located in Birmingham, England....
, which merged with the university in 2005 following a period of collaboration; - School of EnglishSchool of English (Birmingham City University)The School of English is part of the Faculty of Performance, Media and English at Birmingham City University. The School offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, is home to the Research and Development Unit for English Studies, and has an association with the National Academy of...
, home to the National Academy of Writing; - Birmingham School of MediaBirmingham School of MediaBirmingham School of Media, known informally as BCU Media, is a school of Birmingham City University in the city of Birmingham, England. It is part of the Faculty of Performance, Media and English , which also includes the Birmingham School of Acting, the Birmingham Conservatoire, and the School of...
, one of the first media schools in the country to teach media as part of the SkillsetSkillsetSkillset is the Sector Skills Council which supports skills and training for people and businesses to ensure the UK creative media industries competitive and productive.-History:It was founded 1992 and is jointly funded by industry and government...
Academy Network. Its courses have received approval from the Broadcast Journalism Training CouncilBroadcast Journalism Training CouncilThe Broadcast Journalism Training Council is an industry-led body offering accreditation to courses for aspiring journalists.-History:In the late 1970s, the National Union of Journalists was pushing for a more structured approach to training for broadcast...
and the Chartered Institute of Public RelationsChartered Institute of Public RelationsThe Chartered Institute of Public Relations is the professional body for PR practitioners in the United Kingdom. Founded in February 1948 as the Institute of Public Relations, by 2009 it had grown to over 9000 members involved in all aspects of the public relations industry, and is the largest...
.
The Faculty of Technology, Engineering and the Environment (TEE), based in Millenium Point, is a national centre of excellence for learning, innovation and technology transfer. The faculty was temporarily known as the Faculty of Technology, Innovation and Development (TID) from 2008 until 2009, when the university relaunched the faculty through the merger of three of the more successful departments—the Technology Innovation Centre (TIC), School of Computing, and the School of Property Construction. It now has four divisions:
- Engineering, Design and Manufacturing Systems (EDMS)
- Computing, Telecommunications and Networks (CTN)
- Digital Media Technology (DMT);
- Property Construction and Planning (PCP).
Former faculties of the university include the Built Environment, which closed in 2005; course provision was moved to BIAD and the Faculty of Law, Humanities, Development and Society (LHDS), which closed in 2008. The Faculty of Computing Information Systems was also closed in 2005, and the computing courses were moved to the Business School.
Libraries and collections
- Conservatoire Library;
- Bournville Library;
- Gosta Green Library;
- Mary SeacoleMary SeacoleMary Jane Seacole , sometimes known as Mother Seacole or Mary Grant, was a Jamaican nurse best known for her involvement in the Crimean War. She set up and operated boarding houses in Panama and the Crimea to assist in her desire to treat the sick...
Library (located at the City South Campus); - Margaret Street Library;
- Vittoria Street Library.
In 1998, the university was involved in controversy when a book by photographer Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men...
, Mapplethorpe (1992), was confiscated. A final year undergraduate student was writing a paper on Mapplethorpe's work and intended to illustrate the paper with a few photographs. She took the photographs to the local chemist to be developed and the chemist informed West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England.Covering an area with nearly 2.6 million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and also the Black Country; the force is made up...
because of the unusual nature of the images. The police confiscated the library book from the student and informed the university that the book would have to be destroyed. If the university agreed to the destruction, no further action would be taken.
The university Vice-Chancellor, Dr Peter Knight, took the view—supported by the Senate—that the book was a legitimate book for the university library to hold and that the action of the police was a serious infringement of academic freedom
Academic freedom
Academic freedom is the belief that the freedom of inquiry by students and faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy, and that scholars should have freedom to teach or communicate ideas or facts without being targeted for repression, job loss, or imprisonment.Academic freedom is a...
. The Vice-Chancellor was interviewed by the police, under caution, with a view to prosecution under the terms of the Obscene Publications Act, which defines obscenity as material that is likely to deprave and corrupt. The police focused on one particular image, 'Jim and Tom, Sausalito 1977', which depicts one man urinating into the mouth of another
Urolagnia
Urolagnia is a paraphilia in which sexual excitement is associated with the sight or thought of urine or urination. The term has origins in the Greek Language .Those who enjoy urolagnia may enjoy urinating on another person or persons, or being urinated upon...
.
After the interview with the Vice-Chancellor, a file was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
as the Director of Public Prosecutions
Director of Public Prosecutions (England and Wales)
The Director of Public Prosecutions of England and Wales is a senior prosecutor, appointed by the Attorney General. First created in 1879, the office was unified with that of the Treasury Solicitor less than a decade later before again becoming independent in 1908...
(DPP) has to take the decision as to whether or not to proceed with a trial. After a delay of about six months, the affair came to an end when the DPP informed Dr Knight that no action would be taken as "there was insufficient evidence to support a successful prosecution on this occasion". The original book was returned, in a slightly tattered state, and restored to the university library.
Partner institutions
- Beijing International Education Institute, China
- Beijing Jiaotong UniversityBeijing Jiaotong UniversityBeijing Jiaotong university is one of the oldest universities in Mainland China.-History:It is a component of Jiaotong University....
, China - Birmingham Metropolitan CollegeBirmingham Metropolitan CollegeBirmingham Metropolitan College is a further and higher education college with eight campuses distributed within Birmingham, England. The college was created in August 2009 as a result of the amalgamation of Matthew Boulton College and Sutton Coldfield College...
, England - Central China Normal University, Hubei, China
- Chinese Service Centre for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE), China
- Europe Economics College, Shanghai (EEC), China
- Guilin University of TechnologyGuilin University of Technology-Departments:*College of Earth Sciences*College of Environment Sciences and Engineering*College of Chemistry and Bio-engineering*College of Civil Engineering and Architecture*College of Mechanical and Control Engineering...
(GUT), China - Hong Kong Institute of Continuing Higher Education (HKICHE), China
- Hong Kong Institute of Vocational EducationHong Kong Institute of Vocational EducationThe Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education is one of the member institutions of the Vocational Training Council offering vocational education to post secondary students in Hong Kong through its nine campuses located across the territory....
, China - Nanjing University of Science and TechnologyNanjing University of Science and TechnologyNanjing University of Science and Technology or NJUST is one of the national key universities under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China...
, China - New Era College, Philippines
- Nilai International College, Malaysia
- The One AcademyThe One AcademyThe One Academy, Malaysia is a Malaysian arts and design academy. Located in Bandar Sunway in the state of Selangor, the Academy is today one of Asia’s top institutions in art, design and creative multimedia, and its graduates have achieved success worldwide in cities such as New York, San...
, Malaysia - Sanjiang University, China
- Silpakorn UniversitySilpakorn UniversitySilpakorn University is a well-known public university in Thailand. The university was founded in Bangkok in 1943 by Italian-born art professor Corrado Feroci, who took the Thai name Silpa Bhirasri when he became a Thai citizen. It is the leading Thai university in the fine arts and archaeology,...
, Bangkok, Thailand - South Birmingham CollegeSouth Birmingham CollegeSouth Birmingham College is an establishment of further education in Birmingham, England providing full-time and part-time courses for young students following their period of compulsory education and for adults...
, England - Tunku Abdul Rahman CollegeTunku Abdul Rahman CollegeTunku Abdul Rahman College, often known as TARC or KTAR, is a public institution of higher learning in Malaysia. It has six campuses located in six states across Malaysia. While having close links to Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman , the college and the university are separate entities...
, Malaysia
Reputation
Skillset
Skillset is the Sector Skills Council which supports skills and training for people and businesses to ensure the UK creative media industries competitive and productive.-History:It was founded 1992 and is jointly funded by industry and government...
Media Academies in the United Kingdom (the only such Academy in the West Midlands), a status awarded to recognise "centres of excellence in television and interactive media". This stems from its courses at the Faculty of Technology, Engineering and the Environment, the Birmingham School of Media
Birmingham School of Media
Birmingham School of Media, known informally as BCU Media, is a school of Birmingham City University in the city of Birmingham, England. It is part of the Faculty of Performance, Media and English , which also includes the Birmingham School of Acting, the Birmingham Conservatoire, and the School of...
, and the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
The Birmingham Institute of Art and Design is the largest British university art and design teaching and research centre outside London. It is a faculty of Birmingham City University and the largest, most successful department of the university.-History:BIAD dates back, in various incarnations, to...
, which is the largest such Institute outside London. With regard to post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
, the university also has Avid
Avid Technology
Avid Technology, Inc. is an American company specializing in video and audio production technology; specifically, digital non-linear editing systems, management and distribution services. It was created in 1987 and became a publicly traded company in 1993...
Mentor status, and is the Midlands' accredited training centre for Apple's Final Cut
Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro is a non-linear video editing software developed by Macromedia Inc. and then Apple Inc. The most recent version, Final Cut Pro X, runs on Mac personal computers powered by Mac OS X version 10.6.7 or later and using Intel processors...
editing software. The School of Media is regarded as the UK's number-one media school to offer both theory- and production-based teaching, and is ranked eleventh in The Guardian University Guide 2010.
For health and social care, Birmingham City University was awarded national recognition as a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
Established in 1997, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education works to ensure that higher education qualifications in the United Kingdom are of a sound standard. It protects the public interest by checking how universities and colleges maintain their academic standards and quality...
, in its institutional audit and major review of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions, gave the university excellent outcomes. The university's Faculty of Health has an on-site virtual operating suite, the first at a university in England. In the Smithers
Alan Smithers
-Method of research and information dissemination:He is best known for his distinctive style of research, which leads to him often being called upon to comment on the issues of the day. His early experience in science led him to the view that educational researchers are wrong in aping the...
-Robinson League Table, for initial teacher training, Birmingham City University and three other institutions are consistently ranked top ten. Ofsted
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
inspection scores for teacher education courses are frequently among the best.
In May 2010, the university achieved the highest mark, an Ofsted grade 1 for the quality of training and the management and quality assurance of the training it provides for both its primary and secondary teacher training courses.
League table rankings
The university's world ranking is 1832 in 2009 and then falling to 1847 in 2010, according to webometrics.info (a web traffic monitoring website).| UK University Rankings League tables of British universities Rankings of universities in the United Kingdom are published annually by The Guardian, The Independent, The Sunday Times and The Times... |
2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1993 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guardian University Guide | 66 | 63 | 56 | 62 | - | 46 | 50 | 40 | 80 | ||||||||||
| Times Good University Guide | 81= | 77 | 71 | 66 | 63 | 78 | 87 | 90 | 87 | 92 | 89 | 89 | 88 | 76 | 71= | 77= | 66= | 63= | 66= |
| Sunday Times University Guide | 82 | 89= | 89 | 77 | 82 | 95 | 93= | 97 | 101 | 88 | 80 | 86 | |||||||
| The Complete University Guide | 58 | 59 | 69 | 67 | |||||||||||||||
| The Daily Telegraph | 67 | 87 | |||||||||||||||||
| FT | 80 | 86 | 83 | 86 |
| UK University Ranking League tables of British universities Rankings of universities in the United Kingdom are published annually by The Guardian, The Independent, The Sunday Times and The Times... for graduate prospects and employability |
2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Times Good University Guide | ||||
| Guardian University Guide | 52 | 49 | 42 | |
| The Complete University Guide |
Research
The university has five Centres of Research Excellence which are the main focus of its research activity. Following the 2008 Research Assessment ExerciseResearch Assessment Exercise
The Research Assessment Exercise is an exercise undertaken approximately every 5 years on behalf of the four UK higher education funding councils to evaluate the quality of research undertaken by British higher education institutions...
conducted by the Higher Education Funding Council for England
Higher Education Funding Council for England
The Higher Education Funding Council for England is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in the United Kingdom, which has been responsible for the distribution of funding to Universities and Colleges of Higher and Further Education in England since...
, the Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
The Birmingham Post newspaper was originally published under the name Daily Post in Birmingham, England, in 1857 by John Frederick Feeney. It was the largest selling broadsheet in the West Midlands, though it faced little if any competition in this category. It changed to tabloid size in 2008...
reported that more than 70 per cent of research work submitted by Birmingham City University—including in business and management studies, education, English, social work and social policy, and town and country planning—was "officially recognised as of an international standard", and 15 per cent of that work was "rated as world leading". Its art and design submission was among the ten highest ranked in the country, and Birmingham Conservatoire was rated one of the top three conservatoires, and the best outside London. The university was ranked sixty-third based on average assessment scores.
Student life
Roughly half of the university's full-time students are from the West Midlands, and a large percentage of these are from ethnic minorities. The university runs access and foundation programmes through an international network of associated universities and further education colleges, and it has the highest intake of international students in the Birmingham area. For 2009 entry, applications rose by 37 per cent from 2008, one of the biggest increases at any university. There are almost six applications per place and course entry requirements range from 200 to 300 UCASUCAS
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service is the British admission service for students applying to university and college. UCAS is primarily funded by students who pay a fee when they apply and a capitation fee from universities for each student they accept..-Location:UCAS is based near...
points for all honours programmes; other courses' requirements vary.
Scratch Radio
Scratch Radio is a community and student radio station based in Birmingham, UK. They are the only student and community radio station in the city, broadcasting online via their website...
, which is housed in the main Students' Union building.
The student union of Birmingham Polytechnic was condemned in November 1974 when its council passed a resolution supporting IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
terrorism. The polytechnic's student radio station, Radio G, was the runner-up in the 1989 Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
/NUS Student Media Awards.
Notable staff and alumni
Current and former staff of the University and its former entities include environmentalist Chris BainesChris Baines
Professor Chris Baines is one of the UK's leading independent environmentalists. He is a gardener, naturalist, television presenter and author.Baines grew up in Sheffield...
, journalist Paul Bradshaw
Paul Bradshaw (journalist)
Paul Bradshaw is an online journalist and blogger, a Reader in Online Journalism at Birmingham City University and a Visiting Professor at City University's School of Journalism in London. He manages his own blog, the Online Journalism Blog , and is the co-founder of Help Me Investigate, an...
, photographer Ravi Deepres
Ravi Deepres
Ravi Deepres is a British artist who works with lens based and screen based media. He has worked extensively with contemporary dance companies, including Wayne McGregor Random Dance Company and Karas , and with the British avant garde music group, :zoviet*France:...
, musician Roy Priest (formerly of Sweet Jesus), writer and poet Anthony Mellors and photographer Darren Newbury.
Other notable graduates of the University and its predecessor institutions working in broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
include children's television presenter Kirsten O'Brien
Kirsten O'Brien
Kirsten O'Brien is an English television presenter and stand-up comic.She is known for presenting SMart, and presented Smile and Totally Doctor Who alongside Barney Harwood on CBBC....
, sports TV presenter Mary Rhodes
Mary Rhodes
Mary Rhodes is a regular sports presenter on BBC World throughout the week and often presents the sport on the BBC One Weekend Bulletins. She has held this role since 2000, but prior to this was with BBC News 24 since its 1997 launch. She hosted the daily magazine programme 110%...
, radio and TV presenters Fiona Phillips
Fiona Phillips
Fiona Phillips is an English journalist, broadcaster and television presenter.-Early life:Phillips was born in Kent and Canterbury Hospital in 1961. Her grandparents ran the Duke's Head pub in Church Street St. Paul's. Phillips attended Kingsmead Primary School...
, Zoë Ball
Zoë Ball
Zoë Louise Ball is an English television and radio personality, most famous for becoming the first female host of the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show and for her earlier work presenting the 1990s children's show, Live & Kicking.-TV career:The daughter of the children's TV presenter Johnny Ball and his...
, Claire Checketts, Sean O'Neill, Margherita Taylor
Margherita Taylor
Margherita Taylor is a British broadcaster, TV and radio presenter.Taylor studied media and communications at the University of Central England, majoring in video production for her degree. She found fame in 1993 when Birmingham based radio station BRMB offered her a slot as a DJ as part of a...
and Phil Upton
Phil Upton
Phil Upton is a British radio presenter in the West Midlands region.-Early life:Born the same day as David Cameron, he attended King's Norton Boys' School in Cotteridge from 1978-85....
, radio producer Shantel Kadir
Radio producer
A radio producer oversees the making of a radio show. There are two main types of producer. An audio or creative producer and a content producer. Audio producers create sounds and audio specifically, content producers oversee and orchestrate a radio show or feature...
, television and film editors Chris Jarrett
Video editing
The term video editing can refer to:* Linear video editing, using video tape* Non-linear editing system , using computers with video editing software* Offline editing* Online editing...
, Andrea Rodway
Video editing
The term video editing can refer to:* Linear video editing, using video tape* Non-linear editing system , using computers with video editing software* Offline editing* Online editing...
and Eddy Durnan
Video editing
The term video editing can refer to:* Linear video editing, using video tape* Non-linear editing system , using computers with video editing software* Offline editing* Online editing...
, production managers Lisa Hole and Siobhan Regan, TV directors Julia Davies
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
(for the BBC) and Evelyn Iwato
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
, and TV producers Ash James
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and Adam Tyers
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
. Indie band Blabbermouth consisted of various graduates, including lead singer Chris Johnson
Chris Johnson
-Sports:* Chris Johnson , Australian rules footballer with Brisbane* Chris Johnson , Australian rules footballer with Melbourne and Carlton* Chris Johnson , Jamaican...
and lead guitars Jonny Halford.
Several work in broadcast journalism
Broadcast journalism
Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are "broadcast", that is, published by electrical methods, instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. Broadcast methods include radio , television , and, especially recently, the Internet generally...
, such as BSkyB
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
newsreader Marverine Cole
Marverine Cole
Marverine Cole is a British radio and television presenter and news reporter from Birmingham, England. She has worked for BBC Midlands Today, BBC Radio WM, Imagine FM, ITV Central News, Sky News, and Touch FM....
, multimedia journalist Stacey Spencer
Online journalism
Online journalism is defined as the reporting of facts when produced and distributed via the Internet.As of 2009, audiences for online journalism continue to grow...
and BBC newsreader Charlie Stayt
Charlie Stayt
Charles Stayt is a British journalist and presenter, currently working freelance with the BBC as a presenter of BBC Breakfast.-Early life:Stayt was born in 1962 in Gloucester in Gloucestershire, in the West of England...
. Art and design alumni include fashion photographer Kirsty Hamilton
Fashion photography
Fashion photography is a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items. Fashion photography is most often conducted for advertisements or fashion magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, or Elle...
, Tribune
Tribune (magazine)
Tribune is a democratic socialist weekly, founded in 1937 published in London. It is independent but supports the Labour Party from the left...
cartoonist Alex Hughes
Alex Hughes
Alex Hughes is an English freelance cartoonist, caricaturist and illustrator, whose work is published in Tribune and has been used in PC Pro, Red Pepper and by the BBC's The Midlands at Westminster and Five's Live With Christian O'Connell...
, fashion designer Betty Jackson
Betty Jackson
Betty Jackson is a British fashion designer based in London, England. She was born a Lancashire. In 2007, her achievement within British fashion was honoured with a CBE...
, and artist Rob Pepper
Rob Pepper
Rob Pepper is an English artist known mostly for his daily drawings, using the Conscious Reflex Drawing technique, to redefine his associations with objects, people and places. His daily drawings have produced the exhibits 'Doxology', 'Life Stills' and 'A Texas Compendium' and book The Voice and...
.
Graduates in the performing arts include musician Nick Duffy
Nick Duffy
Nick Duffy is a musician, artist, illustrator, and filmmaker.Nick is the elder brother of singer/songwriter Stephen Duffy. They are both co-founders of the folk-pop group The Lilac Time. Nick is a multi-instrumentalist, and has been a frequent contributor to Stephen's solo recordings...
, singer-songwriter Stephen Duffy
Stephen Duffy
Stephen Anthony James Duffy is an English singer/songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He was a founding member and vocalist/bassist of Duran Duran. He went on to record as a solo performer under several different names, and is the singer and songwriter for The Lilac Time with his older brother...
, actor Jimi Mistry
Jimi Mistry
-Early life:Mistry, was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England to an Indian Hindu father and an Irish Roman Catholic mother. He was brought up a Roman Catholic and attended St. James' Catholic High in Cheadle Hulme before his family moved to Cardiff where he attended Radyr Comprehensive School...
(of the Birmingham School of Acting
Birmingham School of Acting
Birmingham School of Acting is a drama school located in Birmingham, England....
), comedian Frank Skinner
Frank Skinner
Frank Skinner is a British writer, comedian and actor. He is best known for his television presenting, often alongside David Baddiel, with whom he also collaborated for the football song "Three Lions."He is a radio presenter on the Saturday morning slot on Absolute Radio.-Youth and early career...
, singer and The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
contestant Rhydian Roberts
Rhydian Roberts
Rhydian James Roberts , popularly known as Rhydian, is a classically trained Welsh baritone and crossover artist. He rose to fame on The X Factor in 2007...
, and bass guitarist John Taylor, founder of Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
. Other individuals to have studied at what is now Birmingham City University include novelist Jim Crace
Jim Crace
James "Jim" Crace is a contemporary English writer. The winner of numerous awards, Crace also has a large popular following. He currently lives in the Moseley area of Birmingham with his wife...
, nurse-author Bethann Siviter
Bethann Siviter
Bethann Siviter is a British Registered Nurse originally from the United States; in the few years she has been in the UK, she has become a well-known nursing author, speaker and advocate for nursing students, healthcare assistants and the art of nursing practice. The author of a best selling...
, scientist Kevin Warwick
Kevin Warwick
Kevin Warwick is a British scientist and professor of cybernetics at the University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom...
, and politicians Khalid Mahmood
Khalid Mahmood
Khalid Mahmood is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Perry Barr since 2001.-Political career:...
(MP for Perry Barr) and Lynne Jones
Lynne Jones
Lynne Mary Jones is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Selly Oak from 1992 until the dissolution of parliament in April 2010.-Early life:...
(MP for Selly Oak).