University Centre Milton Keynes
Encyclopedia
The University Centre Milton Keynes (UCMK) is a small 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...

 institute in Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...

, 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...

 that is formally part of Milton Keynes College
Milton Keynes College
Milton Keynes College is a general further education and training college, serving the Borough of Milton Keynes. It also serves the surrounding areas...

. The centre was opened on 29 September 2008: its long term aim is to be the seed for a new, independent university in Milton Keynes. The centre currently offers Foundation Degree
Foundation degree
The Foundation Degree is a vocational qualification introduced by the government of the United Kingdom in September 2001, which is available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

s that are accredited by the University of Bedfordshire.

Startup funding was provided by the Milton Keynes Partnership, which purchased the initial building (a former office block) in central Milton Keynes
Central Milton Keynes
Central Milton Keynes is the central business district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and a civil parish in its own right.The district is approximately 2.5 km long by 1 km wide and occupies some of the highest land in Milton Keynes...

, Milton Keynes College was the lead academic partner, and the other participants are the University of Bedfordshire
University of Bedfordshire
The University of Bedfordshire is based in Luton and Bedford, the two largest towns in the English county of Bedfordshire. The university was created by the merger of the University of Luton and the Bedford campus of De Montfort University on 1 August 2006 following approval by the Privy Council...

, the University of Northampton
University of Northampton
The University of Northampton is a university in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England.-History:In 1924, Northampton Technical College was opened at St George's Avenue, site of the current Avenue Campus. A new building for the college was formally opened by the then Duke and Duchess of York in 1932...

, The Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...

 and the University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...

.

Expansion plans

In October 2009, the University of Bedfordshire (acting as lead academic partner) made a successful bid to 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...

 to expand provision at the centre, one of just six such Centres to be achieve this.

Other higher education in the Milton Keynes area

There are already two Universities within 5 miles of UCMK: the Open University and Cranfield University
Cranfield University
Cranfield University is a British postgraduate university based on two campuses, with a research-oriented focus. The main campus is at Cranfield, Bedfordshire and the second is the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom based at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. The main campus is unique in the United...

. However, the Open University is a national university for learners in their own homes and workplaces, with no brief to provide conventional face-to-face teaching. Cranfield University is exclusively a post-graduate institution, without any undergraduate students.

From the mid 1990s, De Montfort University
De Montfort University
De Montfort University is a public research and teaching university situated in the medieval Old Town of Leicester, England, adjacent to the River Soar and the Leicester Castle Gardens...

 (Leicester) operated a small campus in Kents Hill, with some teaching via a video link. In 2003, DMU closed the site as part of a general retrenchment.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK