TEACHING
QUALITY
London South Bank University
122
nd
NATIONAL
RANK
RANK
59.7%
FIRSTS
2:1s
2:1s
72.4%
COMPLETION
RATE
RATE
Key Stats
n/a
112th=
STUDENT
EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
89th=
RESEARCH
QUALITY
QUALITY
121st=
GRADUATE
PROSPECTS
PROSPECTS
Contact details
ADDRESS
103 Borough Road, London, SE1 0AA View on map >
Telephone
Email
Website
Open days
October 11
University Profile
London South Bank (LSBU) hopes to benefit from the £3bn regeneration of the Elephant and Castle area on its doorstep. But the new vice-chancellor, Professor David Phoenix, is not waiting for that to make changes that he hopes will make the university more attractive to students and more successful with business and industry.
In response to new undergraduate enrolments dropping for three years in succession, the university’s four faculties are being remodelled into seven academic schools to create their own brands and become more active.
Prof Phoenix also wants more students to spend part of their course in industry and he plans to create more of a campus feel by knitting together the university’s various buildings with more green spaces. LSBU has already invested over £50m in modern teaching facilities, and developments costing a further £38m are planned. The latest major project upgraded the university’s digital facilities at a cost of £14m.
Although satisfaction scores in the National Student Survey have nudged upwards this year – possibly in response to this heavy investment – falls in the average level of entry qualifications, the completion rate
Students are attracted by a carefully tailored programme of vocational courses that regularly produce the best-paid graduates of any post-1992 university. But about half of them are 21 or over on entry, the mature students’ group that has seen the biggest drop in applications nationally.
Three-quarters of the students are from the capital and more than half are drawn from ethnic minorities. Of about 18,000 undergraduates, just under half study part-time and many are on sandwich courses. Most do not enter with traditional academic qualifications.
The diversity of the intake is encouraged by initiatives such as the summer school for local people to upgrade their qualifications. The courses, some catering for mature students and others for younger age-groups, start at the end of June and are limited to 15 hours a week so as not to affect students’ benefit entitlement.
South Bank has always given a high priority to widening participation in higher education and takes far more students (amounting to 47.5% of the intake) from the lowest socio-economic groups than other universities with similar courses and entry qualifications.
Diploma and degree courses run in parallel so that students can move up or down if they are better suited to another level of study. However, the projected dropout rate of more than one in five is among the highest in the country and well above the expected level.
LSBU is targeting much of its fee income on measures to ensure that more students complete their courses in the expected time. Fees for full-time degree courses are £9,000 a year, but Foundation degrees are available at a number of partner colleges in and around London for a fee of £6,120.
LSBU degrees are also taught at a network of overseas colleges that stretches from China to the Caribbean.
The main campus is in Southwark, not far from the South Bank arts complex. It includes the Centre for Efficient and Renewable Energy in Buildings, a unique teaching, research and demonstration resource for low carbon technologies, and the UK’s first inner city green technology research centre.
The Clarence Centre for Enterprise and Innovation supports start-up businesses - LBSU is one of the top universities for “knowledge transfer partnerships” with firms and other outside organisations. Specialist facilities such as the Centre for Explosion and Fire Research lead the way.
Although the university entered only 87 academics for the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, their average grades were among the best of the new universities. More than 40% of the submission was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.
Some health students are based on the other side of London, in hospitals in Romford and Leytonstone, where there is a smaller satellite campus in Havering to supplement that in Southwark.
The university now trains 40% of London’s nurses and has well-regarded courses in occupational therapy and radiography. Psychology degrees were revamped for 2012–13, making the university one of the first to adopt industry recommendations for an integrated curriculum that provides a deeper knowledge of the subject.
A new student centre opened in 2012, bringing the students’ union and many support services together to make them more convenient and accessible. A new hall of residence has added to the residential places within ten minutes’ walk of the main campus, but first year students cannot yet be guaranteed housing.
The university’s new-look sports centre opened in July after a million-pound makeover, with a multi-purpose sports hall, therapy services and facilities that include a 40-station fitness suite and a sports injury clinic. Southwark council contributed £300,000 to improve the facilities and guarantee public access. The university provides a comprehensive sports scholarship scheme.
In response to new undergraduate enrolments dropping for three years in succession, the university’s four faculties are being remodelled into seven academic schools to create their own brands and become more active.
Prof Phoenix also wants more students to spend part of their course in industry and he plans to create more of a campus feel by knitting together the university’s various buildings with more green spaces. LSBU has already invested over £50m in modern teaching facilities, and developments costing a further £38m are planned. The latest major project upgraded the university’s digital facilities at a cost of £14m.
Although satisfaction scores in the National Student Survey have nudged upwards this year – possibly in response to this heavy investment – falls in the average level of entry qualifications, the completion rate
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and poor graduate prospects drop LSBU to second bottom of our league table.Students are attracted by a carefully tailored programme of vocational courses that regularly produce the best-paid graduates of any post-1992 university. But about half of them are 21 or over on entry, the mature students’ group that has seen the biggest drop in applications nationally.
Three-quarters of the students are from the capital and more than half are drawn from ethnic minorities. Of about 18,000 undergraduates, just under half study part-time and many are on sandwich courses. Most do not enter with traditional academic qualifications.
South Bank has always given a high priority to widening participation in higher education and takes far more students (amounting to 47.5% of the intake) from the lowest socio-economic groups than other universities with similar courses and entry qualifications.
Diploma and degree courses run in parallel so that students can move up or down if they are better suited to another level of study. However, the projected dropout rate of more than one in five is among the highest in the country and well above the expected level.
LSBU is targeting much of its fee income on measures to ensure that more students complete their courses in the expected time. Fees for full-time degree courses are £9,000 a year, but Foundation degrees are available at a number of partner colleges in and around London for a fee of £6,120.
LSBU degrees are also taught at a network of overseas colleges that stretches from China to the Caribbean.
The main campus is in Southwark, not far from the South Bank arts complex. It includes the Centre for Efficient and Renewable Energy in Buildings, a unique teaching, research and demonstration resource for low carbon technologies, and the UK’s first inner city green technology research centre.
The Clarence Centre for Enterprise and Innovation supports start-up businesses - LBSU is one of the top universities for “knowledge transfer partnerships” with firms and other outside organisations. Specialist facilities such as the Centre for Explosion and Fire Research lead the way.
Although the university entered only 87 academics for the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, their average grades were among the best of the new universities. More than 40% of the submission was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.
Some health students are based on the other side of London, in hospitals in Romford and Leytonstone, where there is a smaller satellite campus in Havering to supplement that in Southwark.
The university now trains 40% of London’s nurses and has well-regarded courses in occupational therapy and radiography. Psychology degrees were revamped for 2012–13, making the university one of the first to adopt industry recommendations for an integrated curriculum that provides a deeper knowledge of the subject.
A new student centre opened in 2012, bringing the students’ union and many support services together to make them more convenient and accessible. A new hall of residence has added to the residential places within ten minutes’ walk of the main campus, but first year students cannot yet be guaranteed housing.
The university’s new-look sports centre opened in July after a million-pound makeover, with a multi-purpose sports hall, therapy services and facilities that include a 40-station fitness suite and a sports injury clinic. Southwark council contributed £300,000 to improve the facilities and guarantee public access. The university provides a comprehensive sports scholarship scheme.
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Detailed Statistics
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE
CATEGORY
SCORE
RANK
Ranking
-
122 (118)
Student experience
77.7
112th=
Research quality
2.7
89th=
Ucas entry points
233
122nd
Graduate prospects
49
121st=
Firsts and 2:1s
59.7
97th
Completion rate
72.4
118th
Student-staff ratio
24.2:1
121st
Services/facilities spend (£)
1,250
98th
VITAL STATISTICS
Undergraduates
(Full-time)
10,325
Undergraduates
(Part-time)
4,775
Postgraduates
(Full-time)
1,885
Postgraduates
(Part-time)
2,810
Applications/places
22,820/3,655
Applications/places ratio
6.2:1
STUDENT CITIES
Ilham Abdishakur, students’ union president
It’s not hard to make friends here, it’s like finding a new family.
Finding a suitable rented property takes time, so plan ahead.
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Cost of living
Nightlife
Transport
Culture
ACCOMMODATION
FEES
UK/EU fees
£9,000
Fees (international)
£10,500
Finance website
Graduate salaries
£21,661
BURSARIES/SCHOLARSHIPS
>
Up to 300 scholarships of £2,000 in year 1, based on need. See website for criteria. Progression bursary of £1,000 for those in receipt of these scholarships who are successful at July 2016 examinations.
>
Students with at least ABB at A level or equivalent a scholarship of £1,000 a year. Progression bursary of £500 for all others who are successful at July 2016 examinations.
SPORT
Sports points/rank
131.5, 97th
Sport website
Student satisfaction
91.9%
86.3%
84.1%
83.8%
83.4%
82.6%
81.0%
80.9%
79.5%
77.4%
76.2%
75.9%
74.8%
74.0%
74.0%
73.8%
73.3%
69.8%
68.6%
65.7%