TEACHING
QUALITY
Bournemouth University
88
th
NATIONAL
RANK
RANK
64.5%
FIRSTS
2:1s
2:1s
87.3%
COMPLETION
RATE
RATE
Key Stats
n/a
110th
STUDENT
EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
70th=
RESEARCH
QUALITY
QUALITY
71st=
GRADUATE
PROSPECTS
PROSPECTS
Contact details
ADDRESS
Fern Barrow,
Talbot Campus, Poole, BH12 5BB View on map >
Telephone
Email
Website
Open days
October 25; November 15
University Profile
Bournemouth is investing £1m a year to support projects that will improve its teaching and research by bringing the two closer together. It describes its Fusion fund as promoting “the combination of inspirational teaching, world-class research and the latest thinking in the professions which creates a continuous and fruitful exchange of knowledge that stimulates new ideas, learning and thought leadership.”
A worthy aspiration indeed for any university and one which has spawned a project in the School of Tourism, for instance, where staff and students have collaborated on research into the social impact of festivals. Fusion is the latest manifestation of a change of approach from a university that once gloried in the absence of traditional academic disciplines. It appointed 150 academics in three years to “foster the development of an academically-led culture”. The approach won official approval in 2013, when the Quality Assurance Agency made Bournemouth the first university to receive its new “commended” grade, the highest possible.
Not that the university is neglecting capital spending on its two campuses in the Bournemouth area. A £22m academic building is scheduled to open on the Talbot Campus, in Poole, in
The Lansdowne Campus is less than two miles away in the town centre and will be the site of the new Bournemouth International College, which is due to open in September 2015, providing preparatory courses for overseas students, who currently make up just a small proportion of the student body. It also houses the School of Health and Social Care, and serves as the centre of postgraduate study for the Business School. The university is expanding postgraduate opportunities, promising up to 100 doctoral places each year until 2018, many of them fully funded.
Every undergraduate is promised a work placement, typically 40 weeks in length. An independent survey published in 2013 showed that Bournemouth had the highest proportion of graduates (almost 90 per cent) with some form of work experience on their CV – a feature that invariably translates into decent graduate employment prospects. The retail management degree, for example, notched up eight successive years of full employment.
Like the university’s position in our league table, student recruitment has seesawed in recent year – this year’s 21-place fall more than offsetting last year’s 14-place rise – but enrolments were up by 500 students in 2013. The university’s performance in the National Student Survey remains well below average for the sector, depressing its overall ranking.
Virtually all students take up the offer of personal development planning, both online and with trained staff, while 1,400 first years also take advantage of peer-assisted learning, receiving advice and mentoring from more experienced undergraduates. Bournemouth has been increasing its use of education technology, for example to enable its part-time students to study from home or the workplace and reduce the amount of time they need spend on campus.
In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, eight of the ten subject areas contained at least some world-leading research, with art and design and communication, cultural and media studies producing the best grades. Only three universities showed more improvement in overall grades from the previous research ratings in 2001. The new research rankings due in December offer further prospect of improvement.
Bournemouth has particular strengths in media subjects and boasts the National Centre of Computer Animation, a field in which the university was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2012. State-of-the-art equipment includes a motion capture facility for real-time animation, which is used in teaching and available for use by outside companies. The university was designated as England’s only centre for excellence in media practice.
Bournemouth claims a number of firsts in its portfolio of courses, notably in the areas of tourism, media-related programmes and conservation. Degrees in public relations, retail management, script-writing and tax law were all ahead of their time.
Foundation degrees are delivered in five further education colleges in Dorset and Somerset, as well as on the main campus. They support the needs of business in the creative arts, media and tourism. Top-up courses are available for those who wish to turn their qualification into an honours degree.
The southern seaside location and the subject mix attract more middle-class students than at most new universities, although 93% attended state schools. The campuses are served by a subsidised bus service and students are discouraged from bringing cars. The students’ union’s Old Fire Station bar is among many nightlife options. Sports facilities have been improving and in 2012 there was a complete refurbishment of the gym suite, with the addition of a new multipurpose large studio. There is a wide range of accommodation and students based in halls of residence in Poole enjoy a millionaire’s view of the harbour.
A worthy aspiration indeed for any university and one which has spawned a project in the School of Tourism, for instance, where staff and students have collaborated on research into the social impact of festivals. Fusion is the latest manifestation of a change of approach from a university that once gloried in the absence of traditional academic disciplines. It appointed 150 academics in three years to “foster the development of an academically-led culture”. The approach won official approval in 2013, when the Quality Assurance Agency made Bournemouth the first university to receive its new “commended” grade, the highest possible.
Not that the university is neglecting capital spending on its two campuses in the Bournemouth area. A £22m academic building is scheduled to open on the Talbot Campus, in Poole, in
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2016, and more than £10m has been committed to a new student centre on the campus, where 80% of the university’s 17,000 students are taught. It will open in 2015.The Lansdowne Campus is less than two miles away in the town centre and will be the site of the new Bournemouth International College, which is due to open in September 2015, providing preparatory courses for overseas students, who currently make up just a small proportion of the student body. It also houses the School of Health and Social Care, and serves as the centre of postgraduate study for the Business School. The university is expanding postgraduate opportunities, promising up to 100 doctoral places each year until 2018, many of them fully funded.
Every undergraduate is promised a work placement, typically 40 weeks in length. An independent survey published in 2013 showed that Bournemouth had the highest proportion of graduates (almost 90 per cent) with some form of work experience on their CV – a feature that invariably translates into decent graduate employment prospects. The retail management degree, for example, notched up eight successive years of full employment.
Like the university’s position in our league table, student recruitment has seesawed in recent year – this year’s 21-place fall more than offsetting last year’s 14-place rise – but enrolments were up by 500 students in 2013. The university’s performance in the National Student Survey remains well below average for the sector, depressing its overall ranking.
In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, eight of the ten subject areas contained at least some world-leading research, with art and design and communication, cultural and media studies producing the best grades. Only three universities showed more improvement in overall grades from the previous research ratings in 2001. The new research rankings due in December offer further prospect of improvement.
Bournemouth has particular strengths in media subjects and boasts the National Centre of Computer Animation, a field in which the university was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2012. State-of-the-art equipment includes a motion capture facility for real-time animation, which is used in teaching and available for use by outside companies. The university was designated as England’s only centre for excellence in media practice.
Bournemouth claims a number of firsts in its portfolio of courses, notably in the areas of tourism, media-related programmes and conservation. Degrees in public relations, retail management, script-writing and tax law were all ahead of their time.
Foundation degrees are delivered in five further education colleges in Dorset and Somerset, as well as on the main campus. They support the needs of business in the creative arts, media and tourism. Top-up courses are available for those who wish to turn their qualification into an honours degree.
The southern seaside location and the subject mix attract more middle-class students than at most new universities, although 93% attended state schools. The campuses are served by a subsidised bus service and students are discouraged from bringing cars. The students’ union’s Old Fire Station bar is among many nightlife options. Sports facilities have been improving and in 2012 there was a complete refurbishment of the gym suite, with the addition of a new multipurpose large studio. There is a wide range of accommodation and students based in halls of residence in Poole enjoy a millionaire’s view of the harbour.
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Detailed Statistics
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE
CATEGORY
SCORE
RANK
Ranking
-
88 (67)
Student experience
78.1
110th
Research quality
4.3
70th=
Ucas entry points
336
63rd=
Graduate prospects
63.6
71st=
Firsts and 2:1s
64.5
71st
Completion rate
87.3
54th=
Student-staff ratio
21.6:1
111th=
Services/facilities spend (£)
1,372
83rd
VITAL STATISTICS
Undergraduates
(Full-time)
12,220
Undergraduates
(Part-time)
2,785
Postgraduates
(Full-time)
1,625
Postgraduates
(Part-time)
1,340
Applications/places
21,755/4,270
Applications/places ratio
5.1:1
STUDENT CITIES
Ellie Mayo-Ward, students’ union officer
When I first got here, my tutor took us all out for coffee.
It can be difficult to get on with flatmates who are strangers, so this year we are introducing biographies so you can choose who you want to live with.
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Cost of living
Nightlife
Transport
Culture
ACCOMMODATION
Places in accommodation
3,200
Accommodation costs
£100-£155
Accommodation contact
FEES
UK/EU fees
£9,000
Fees (placement year)
£790
Fees (international)
£9,500-£12,500
Finance website
Graduate salaries
£20,899
BURSARIES/SCHOLARSHIPS
>
Around 400 bursaries of £2,000 in year 1 with priority for those from low-income families or from low-participation areas.
>
Care leaver's bursary of £6,000 Year 1, £5,000 Years 2 and 3.
SPORT
Sports points/rank
965, 30th
Sport website
Student satisfaction
90.2%
85.9%
83.9%
83.8%
82.4%
82.1%
81.1%
80.1%
78.7%
78.3%
78.0%
77.6%
76.8%
75.3%
67.6%