TEACHING
QUALITY
Edinburgh Napier University
97
th
NATIONAL
RANK
RANK
67.3%
FIRSTS
2:1s
2:1s
75.1%
COMPLETION
RATE
RATE
Key Stats
n/a
72nd
STUDENT
EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
84th=
RESEARCH
QUALITY
QUALITY
80th
GRADUATE
PROSPECTS
PROSPECTS
Contact details
ADDRESS
Craiglockhart Campus, Edinburgh, EH14 1DJ View on map >
Telephone
Email
Website
Open days
October 4
University Profile
Within an overall score for student satisfaction under our Sunday Times analysis that is only average, there are pockets of excellence at Edinburgh Napier, according to the findings of the National Student Survey (NSS), published last month.
Accounting achieved the top score – 98% – for student satisfaction in the subject across the UK, while building, computer science, English and drama all made the top 10s in their subjects. Building, law, biology and human resources management were all first for teachers making the subjects interesting.
This year’s NSS represents something of a comeback for the university in the NSS after a dip in scores in 2013 led to a sharp drop in the Edinburgh Napier’s overall ranking in our league table.
This summer the university also recorded another fillip when it was one of just four universities in the UK – the others being Oxford, Lancaster and Royal Holloway – to gain full certification from GCHQ for its postgraduate MSc in Advanced Security and Digital Forensics.
The seal of approval from the Cheltenham-based intelligence and security operation is part of
The university has recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, now as one of the largest universities in Scotland with 17,500 students, including more than 4,000 international students from 109 different countries. A further 4,000 international students take courses delivered by the university with partners in China, Hong Kong, India and Singapore.
It has invested more than £100m in its Edinburgh campuses, the most recent development being a new student residence in the city centre, which opened in 2013.
At Sighthill, the Faculty of Health, Life and Social Sciences has been brought together on one site for the first time. The student-focused campus includes a five-storey learning resource centre, 25 specialised teaching rooms including clinical skills laboratories, an environmental chamber and biomechanics laboratory, a crime scene room, three IT-enabled lecture theatres and seminar rooms, as well as integrated sports facilities.
The Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Creative Industries has been brought together on the Merchiston campus, where there is a new student hub and reception area, as well as fully soundproofed music studios. The library has been refurbished and is now open 24 hours a day.
Once Scotland’s first and largest polytechnic, the university is named after John Napier, the inventor of logarithms. The 500-seat computing centre is open all hours and students have access to online lecture notes and study aids via Moodle, the university’s Virtual Learning Environment. The web-based system supports learning, teaching and assessment via the student portal and is accessible from smart phones and tablet computers.
The university has plans for continued development of study spaces to access technology-based learning. There are fully networked libraries on each campus and a multimedia language laboratory and adaptive learning centre for students with special needs.
The Craiglockhart campus houses the business school. It features a glass atrium containing a cyber café and two spherical lecture theatres. The Craiglockhart studio has been refurbished and is the venue for an assortment of fitness classes. The Screen Academy Scotland, run in partnership with Edinburgh College of Art, reflects the university’s strong reputation in film education.
There are several smaller sites, mainly in the leafy south of Edinburgh, ranging from a converted church to a former school, as well as outposts in Melrose and Livingston.
For two successive years, the university enjoyed among the biggest increases in applications in the UK, defying the national trend. Although partly fuelled by changes in art and design and nursing qualifications, the demand for places reflected the university’s growing popularity. However, enrolments dropped by around 10% in 2012 and 2013.
The modular system allows movement between courses at all levels, and the option of starting courses in February, rather than September. A model to other universities trying to reduce non-completion rates, Edinburgh Napier uses its students to mentor newcomers, runs bridging programmes and offers pre-term introductions to staff and information on facilities, as well as running summer top-up courses in a variety of subjects and teaching employability skills and personal development.
The latest projected dropout rate of 12.1% represents continued improvement on previous years (when the university at one point had among the highest non-completion rates in the UK) and almost matches the UK average for the subjects on offer.
Agreements with a number of partner universities and colleges enable students to complete their qualifications as undergraduates or postgraduates overseas. A dual degree with the State University of New York (Suny) allows students to complete a degree from Edinburgh Napier and Suny in four years, for example.
Closer to home, some 2,000 “college articulation routes” enable students to use their college qualifications to gain direct entry into year two or three of a university degree.
Widening participation is high on the university’s list of priorities, and more than 31% of undergraduate places go to students from working-class homes.
Many courses include a work placement and Edinburgh Napier students and the Stand Out project aims to improve graduate employment levels, partly by increasing the uptake of opportunities to study abroad as well as by improving links with small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Another employability programme, Confident Futures, is said to be unique in higher education. Workshops are designed to improve students’ confidence and help them to develop skills, attributes and attitudes that will enhance their chances of being successful while at university, and in their careers.
Accounting achieved the top score – 98% – for student satisfaction in the subject across the UK, while building, computer science, English and drama all made the top 10s in their subjects. Building, law, biology and human resources management were all first for teachers making the subjects interesting.
This year’s NSS represents something of a comeback for the university in the NSS after a dip in scores in 2013 led to a sharp drop in the Edinburgh Napier’s overall ranking in our league table.
This summer the university also recorded another fillip when it was one of just four universities in the UK – the others being Oxford, Lancaster and Royal Holloway – to gain full certification from GCHQ for its postgraduate MSc in Advanced Security and Digital Forensics.
The seal of approval from the Cheltenham-based intelligence and security operation is part of
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the Government’s National Cyber Security Strategy and recognises the expertise being built at Edinburgh Napier in this crucial area of computer science.The university has recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, now as one of the largest universities in Scotland with 17,500 students, including more than 4,000 international students from 109 different countries. A further 4,000 international students take courses delivered by the university with partners in China, Hong Kong, India and Singapore.
At Sighthill, the Faculty of Health, Life and Social Sciences has been brought together on one site for the first time. The student-focused campus includes a five-storey learning resource centre, 25 specialised teaching rooms including clinical skills laboratories, an environmental chamber and biomechanics laboratory, a crime scene room, three IT-enabled lecture theatres and seminar rooms, as well as integrated sports facilities.
The Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Creative Industries has been brought together on the Merchiston campus, where there is a new student hub and reception area, as well as fully soundproofed music studios. The library has been refurbished and is now open 24 hours a day.
Once Scotland’s first and largest polytechnic, the university is named after John Napier, the inventor of logarithms. The 500-seat computing centre is open all hours and students have access to online lecture notes and study aids via Moodle, the university’s Virtual Learning Environment. The web-based system supports learning, teaching and assessment via the student portal and is accessible from smart phones and tablet computers.
The university has plans for continued development of study spaces to access technology-based learning. There are fully networked libraries on each campus and a multimedia language laboratory and adaptive learning centre for students with special needs.
The Craiglockhart campus houses the business school. It features a glass atrium containing a cyber café and two spherical lecture theatres. The Craiglockhart studio has been refurbished and is the venue for an assortment of fitness classes. The Screen Academy Scotland, run in partnership with Edinburgh College of Art, reflects the university’s strong reputation in film education.
There are several smaller sites, mainly in the leafy south of Edinburgh, ranging from a converted church to a former school, as well as outposts in Melrose and Livingston.
For two successive years, the university enjoyed among the biggest increases in applications in the UK, defying the national trend. Although partly fuelled by changes in art and design and nursing qualifications, the demand for places reflected the university’s growing popularity. However, enrolments dropped by around 10% in 2012 and 2013.
The modular system allows movement between courses at all levels, and the option of starting courses in February, rather than September. A model to other universities trying to reduce non-completion rates, Edinburgh Napier uses its students to mentor newcomers, runs bridging programmes and offers pre-term introductions to staff and information on facilities, as well as running summer top-up courses in a variety of subjects and teaching employability skills and personal development.
The latest projected dropout rate of 12.1% represents continued improvement on previous years (when the university at one point had among the highest non-completion rates in the UK) and almost matches the UK average for the subjects on offer.
Agreements with a number of partner universities and colleges enable students to complete their qualifications as undergraduates or postgraduates overseas. A dual degree with the State University of New York (Suny) allows students to complete a degree from Edinburgh Napier and Suny in four years, for example.
Closer to home, some 2,000 “college articulation routes” enable students to use their college qualifications to gain direct entry into year two or three of a university degree.
Widening participation is high on the university’s list of priorities, and more than 31% of undergraduate places go to students from working-class homes.
Many courses include a work placement and Edinburgh Napier students and the Stand Out project aims to improve graduate employment levels, partly by increasing the uptake of opportunities to study abroad as well as by improving links with small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Another employability programme, Confident Futures, is said to be unique in higher education. Workshops are designed to improve students’ confidence and help them to develop skills, attributes and attitudes that will enhance their chances of being successful while at university, and in their careers.
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Detailed Statistics
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE
CATEGORY
SCORE
RANK
Ranking
-
97 (100)
Student experience
81.6
72nd
Research quality
3
84th=
Ucas entry points
348
50th
Graduate prospects
61.2
80th
Firsts and 2:1s
67.3
57th=
Completion rate
75.1
116th
Student-staff ratio
21.6:1
111th=
Services/facilities spend (£)
1,019
114th
VITAL STATISTICS
Undergraduates
(Full-time)
9,210
Undergraduates
(Part-time)
1,510
Postgraduates
(Full-time)
995
Postgraduates
(Part-time)
1,140
Applications/places
22,150/3,040
Applications/places ratio
7.3:1
STUDENT CITIES
Dan Smith, students’ union president
Despite being in the capital of Scotland there are few Scottish people around campus.
There are three campuses here but minimal interaction between them so I am campaigning for a better networking system.
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Cost of living
Nightlife
Transport
Culture
ACCOMMODATION
FEES
Scots/EU fees
£0-£1,820
RUK fees
£6,630 (£26,520 max)
Fees (international)
£10,690-£12,410
Finance website
Graduate salaries
£19,536
BURSARIES/SCHOLARSHIPS
>
For RUK students, household income below £25K, £2,000 a year; household income £25K–£42.6K, £1,000 a year. RUK merit award of £1,000 a year for students with at least BBB at A level or equivalent.
>
Scholarships and other bursaries available.
SPORT
Sports points/rank
352, 72nd
Sport website
Student satisfaction
94.7%
91.6%
91.0%
89.3%
89.0%
88.5%
87.8%
85.5%
85.2%
84.5%
83.2%
82.9%
81.1%
80.7%
80.5%
79.8%
76.8%
63.3%