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Birmingham City University

st=

NATIONAL
RANK

63.3%

FIRSTS
2:1s

82.8%

COMPLETION
RATE

Key Stats

n/a

TEACHING
QUALITY

80th

STUDENT
EXPERIENCE

92nd=

RESEARCH
QUALITY

75th

GRADUATE
PROSPECTS

Contact details

ADDRESS

City North Campus, Birmingham, B42 2SU View on map >

Telephone

0121 331 5595

www.bcu.ac.uk

Website

www.bcu.ac.uk

Open days

October 4; November 15

University Profile

If you can’t beat them, join them. Birmingham City (BCU) has proved the old adage and followed the example of its city neighbour by introducing unconditional offers for highly-qualified applicants in 2014. BCU increased the size of its undergraduate intake by almost 800 students in 2013 and has seen further growth in the demand for places in 2014. It made unconditional offers in a range of subjects this year from business to engineering, English, drama and law. To qualify, candidates had to have at least three Bs at AS level or a DDM profile in BTEC while making the university their first choice. BCU opened the first phase of its expanded city centre campus in 2013. Situated next to Millennium Point and opposite the newly opened Eastside City Park, the £125m development will become the university’s main base and help to create a Learning Quarter in Eastside. The first phase houses design-related courses from the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD) and the whole of Birmingham School of Media.

Construction is now under way on the second phase, which will house business, law, social science and English courses, as well as new library, IT and student support facilities from September 2015. A third phase of development, set to open in 2017, will create additional teaching space at both the City Centre and City South campuses. A new building for Birmingham Conservatoire will also open at the City Centre campus in 2017. The Conservatoire is one of the university’s best-known features, together with the School of Jewellery, which is part of BIAD, the largest institute of its kind outside London. The university has been remodelling its estate for some time, and now has four sites in and around the city centre, plus one in the north and another in the south of Birmingham. City North, until recently the main base, will close in 2017. Millennium Point already houses computing and engineering, as well as Birmingham School of Acting, while the Conservatoire is currently located in the city’s convention centre. The City South campus, in Edgbaston, has been refurbished for the Faculty of Health, with a prize-winning library, IT suites, teaching facilities and recreational space. Meanwhile, the Bournville campus, which occupies part of the Cadbury Village, hosts a new college for overseas students to support BCU’s international ambitions. Birmingham City University International College, which provides preparatory courses for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, is a joint venture with global education provider Navitas Ltd. Birmingham City has thrived since adopting its new name in 2007, with record demand for places. The switch from the previous (and rather vague) incarnation as the University of Central England was designed to emphasise the university’s location, reinforce its close relationship with the city and give the university a stronger identity. The university enjoys strong links with business and the professions. As a pioneer in green technology, for example, BCU is attracting support from national and regional partners to help support a green economy with the potential to create thousands of jobs. There is a strong emphasis on making graduates “job-ready”, with support schemes and work placements among a raft of initiatives designed to help develop skills and knowledge for the workplace. High-powered visiting lecturers and an innovative i-learning strategy contribute to this agenda, with students having access to learning tools such as Shareville – a virtual town where students can engage with real-life scenarios. The prize-winning Student Academic Partners scheme has spawned a formal agreement between the university and the students’ union to improve the student experience. Internal student surveys have led to the introduction of internet tutorials in engineering and new help with research for law and social science undergraduates. The university will be hoping for some pay back through the views expressed in the annual National Student Survey in which the university has not thrived to date. Far more successful have been academic assessments of teacher education courses; these consistently produce among the best scores in England in their Ofsted inspections. Almost 46% of the students come from working-class homes and 97% are state educated. Six out of ten come from the West Midlands, many from ethnic minorities. The dropout rate has been improving and at 12.1% now beats the expected dropout level of 13.4% given BCU’s courses and entry grades. With the city’s other universities, BCU is working with schools in the region to encourage more young people to go on to higher education. Many students enter through the network of associated further education colleges, which run foundation and access programmes. The university has been increasing its portfolio of high-tech degree courses such as electronic commerce, communications and network engineering, and electronic systems. The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise recorded some world-leading work in all seven areas covered by the university’s submission. In art and design, 30% were given the top grade, placing Birmingham City in the top ten for the subject. Most research is applied, with an accent on employment in the region. University accommodation is guaranteed for first years whose homes are outside Birmingham. The city’s student scene is highly rated and has become a draw for many young applicants.

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PERFORMANCE