TEACHING
QUALITY
University of St Mark & St John, Plymouth
102
nd=
NATIONAL
RANK
RANK
51.1%
FIRSTS
2:1s
2:1s
82.9%
COMPLETION
RATE
RATE
Key Stats
n/a
48th=
STUDENT
EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
117th=
RESEARCH
QUALITY
QUALITY
68th
GRADUATE
PROSPECTS
PROSPECTS
Contact details
ADDRESS
Derriford Road, Plymouth, PL6 8BH View on map >
Telephone
Email
Website
Open days
October 18; November 22
University Profile
The Plymouth-based University of St Mark & St John plans to double in size over the next decade, but will still have only 5,000 students when the programme is complete.
The board of governors believes that expansion is needed to enable the university to develop a “credible and critical mass” in each of its specialist subject areas, to make economies of scale and invest in development. The cost will be relatively modest because the spacious greenfield campus has spare capacity following investment in buildings and sports facilitiestotalling £20m in recent years.
But the university has made a commitment to increase staffing levels in line with the growth in student numbers to maintain the small class sizes that are one of its selling points. There will be more students from overseas, but the majority are still expected to come from Devon and Cornwall.
It was already increasing in popularity before full university status arrived in 2013, and there has since been further modest growth in undergraduate enrolments.
Expansion will involve increases in postgraduate teaching and research, but the removal of courses
Professor Cara Aitchison, the vice-chancellor, plans to build on existing strengths, which took the university into our top five for student satisfaction in 2013. It has since been named as the best in the UK for promoting social mobility by securing graduate-level jobs for students recruited from poorer backgrounds. Four in ten students come from working class backgrounds and one in six from places where few go into higher education.
However, the university has fallen significantly in our league table this year after a drop in student satisfaction and a rise in the dropout rate. Our analysis of this year’s National Student Survey shows a drop in student satisfaction from 86.3% to 82.9%; while the projected dropout rate has climbed to more than one in six, well above the 13.4% expected given the subject and student mix.
Graduate prospects remain close to the national average with 64% of graduates landing professional jobs or going on to higher-level study, which is good for a university with St Mark & St John’s student recruitment profile.
Established in 1840 as a Church of England teacher training college in London, with the son of poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge as its first principal, the university describes itself as “arguably the third oldest Higher Education Institution in England.”
The College of St Mark & St John only moved to Plymouth in 1973. Still officially a Church of England Voluntary Institution, it was one of several religious foundations among the latest crop of universities. The attractive modern Chaplaincy Centre is at the heart of the campus, but there is less emphasis on religion in the new university’s promotional material than at some of its counterparts.
The new university lists sport at the top of its list of specialisms, followed by education, languages, journalism and the creative arts. The Elite Sport Scholarship programme produced a gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in swimmer Ben Proud, who is studying sports development and coaching.
Recent campus developments have included extensive refurbishment of the library to provide a new social learning space. There has also seen a new sports centre, refurbished student housing and a new entrance and student centre.
The Journalism and Media Centre opened in 2013, conceived and designed by the lecturers. It includes an iPad teaching room, full iMac classroom, four iMac media editing suites, two of which act as a radio studio, and an editorial meeting room. The three BA programmes – journalism, sports journalism and media production – are strongly vocational, and the new centre is made available to commercial businesses.
Teacher training remains strong and new leadership and business management degrees are closely aligned with the university’s specialisms in education, media production, outdoor adventure and sport.
The university is ideally located on the outskirts of the city, close to the Dartmoor National Park and within easy reach of the sea. The green agenda extends to an on-campus duck pond and nature trail. An orchard planted with local varieties of apple tree celebrates the biodiversity of the campus.
Sports facilities are extremely good: there is a 25-metre swimming pool, climbing wall and both grass and artificial pitches. Plymouth Argyle footballers and Exeter Chiefs rugby players use the university’s training facilities such as the gym, sports therapy centre and sports science lab.
There are residential places on campus for 456 students in 7 halls of residence and 38 village houses; rents compare favourably with most universities. Most first-year students from outside the locality are offered places. If none is available, students are offered accommodation with a homestay family until a room on campus becomes available.
The city centre is a short bus ride from the campus and Plymouth is a lively city that students tend to enjoy. The presence of the much larger Plymouth University, with more than 30,000 students to entertain, ensures a lively student nightlife.
The board of governors believes that expansion is needed to enable the university to develop a “credible and critical mass” in each of its specialist subject areas, to make economies of scale and invest in development. The cost will be relatively modest because the spacious greenfield campus has spare capacity following investment in buildings and sports facilitiestotalling £20m in recent years.
But the university has made a commitment to increase staffing levels in line with the growth in student numbers to maintain the small class sizes that are one of its selling points. There will be more students from overseas, but the majority are still expected to come from Devon and Cornwall.
It was already increasing in popularity before full university status arrived in 2013, and there has since been further modest growth in undergraduate enrolments.
Expansion will involve increases in postgraduate teaching and research, but the removal of courses
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below degree level. Tourism will be one of the few additions at undergraduate level, but the university has already been reorganised into three faculties: education and social services; sport and health sciences, and language and creative industries.Professor Cara Aitchison, the vice-chancellor, plans to build on existing strengths, which took the university into our top five for student satisfaction in 2013. It has since been named as the best in the UK for promoting social mobility by securing graduate-level jobs for students recruited from poorer backgrounds. Four in ten students come from working class backgrounds and one in six from places where few go into higher education.
However, the university has fallen significantly in our league table this year after a drop in student satisfaction and a rise in the dropout rate. Our analysis of this year’s National Student Survey shows a drop in student satisfaction from 86.3% to 82.9%; while the projected dropout rate has climbed to more than one in six, well above the 13.4% expected given the subject and student mix.
Graduate prospects remain close to the national average with 64% of graduates landing professional jobs or going on to higher-level study, which is good for a university with St Mark & St John’s student recruitment profile.
Established in 1840 as a Church of England teacher training college in London, with the son of poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge as its first principal, the university describes itself as “arguably the third oldest Higher Education Institution in England.”
The new university lists sport at the top of its list of specialisms, followed by education, languages, journalism and the creative arts. The Elite Sport Scholarship programme produced a gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in swimmer Ben Proud, who is studying sports development and coaching.
Recent campus developments have included extensive refurbishment of the library to provide a new social learning space. There has also seen a new sports centre, refurbished student housing and a new entrance and student centre.
The Journalism and Media Centre opened in 2013, conceived and designed by the lecturers. It includes an iPad teaching room, full iMac classroom, four iMac media editing suites, two of which act as a radio studio, and an editorial meeting room. The three BA programmes – journalism, sports journalism and media production – are strongly vocational, and the new centre is made available to commercial businesses.
Teacher training remains strong and new leadership and business management degrees are closely aligned with the university’s specialisms in education, media production, outdoor adventure and sport.
The university is ideally located on the outskirts of the city, close to the Dartmoor National Park and within easy reach of the sea. The green agenda extends to an on-campus duck pond and nature trail. An orchard planted with local varieties of apple tree celebrates the biodiversity of the campus.
Sports facilities are extremely good: there is a 25-metre swimming pool, climbing wall and both grass and artificial pitches. Plymouth Argyle footballers and Exeter Chiefs rugby players use the university’s training facilities such as the gym, sports therapy centre and sports science lab.
There are residential places on campus for 456 students in 7 halls of residence and 38 village houses; rents compare favourably with most universities. Most first-year students from outside the locality are offered places. If none is available, students are offered accommodation with a homestay family until a room on campus becomes available.
The city centre is a short bus ride from the campus and Plymouth is a lively city that students tend to enjoy. The presence of the much larger Plymouth University, with more than 30,000 students to entertain, ensures a lively student nightlife.
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Detailed Statistics
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE
CATEGORY
SCORE
RANK
Ranking
-
102= (71=)
Student experience
82.9
48th=
Research quality
0.3
117th=
Ucas entry points
276
115th=
Graduate prospects
64
68th
Firsts and 2:1s
51.1
120th
Completion rate
82.9
83rd=
Student-staff ratio
19.2:1
84th
Services/facilities spend (£)
803
119th
VITAL STATISTICS
Undergraduates
(Full-time)
2,060
Undergraduates
(Part-time)
85
Postgraduates
(Full-time)
280
Postgraduates
(Part-time)
240
Applications/places
3,365/825
Applications/places ratio
4.1:1
STUDENT CITIES
Daniel Whitby, students’ union president
We’re a small institution, everyone is so welcoming and faces become familiar by the end of the week.
Be prepared for 9am lectures.
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Cost of living
Nightlife
Transport
Culture
ACCOMMODATION
Places in accommodation
456
Accommodation costs
£85-£90
Catered costs
£115-£130
Accommodation contact
FEES
UK/EU fees
£9,000
Fees (international)
£9,400-£10,350
Finance website
Graduate salaries
£17,711
BURSARIES/SCHOLARSHIPS
>
Fee waivers for high academic achievement and sports scholars will be offered. Details not available in August 2014.
>
Academic scholarships and targeted bursaries available.
SPORT
Sports points/rank
363.5, 71st
Sport website
Student satisfaction
88.3%
87.5%
83.9%
81.3%