Aston University: Information and Much More from Answers.com
- ️Thu Apr 26 2007
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Aston University |
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| Motto | Forward |
| Established | 1895 (as Birmingham Municipal Technical School), 1966 Aston University |
| Type | Public |
| Endowment | £1.9 million [1] |
| Chancellor | Sir Michael Bett, CBE |
| Vice-Chancellor | Professor Julia King, CBE, FREng |
| Staff | 1,000+ |
| Students | 8,915 [2] |
| Undergraduates | 6,505 [2] |
| Postgraduates | 2,410 [2] |
| Location | Birmingham, West Midlands, England |
| Campus | 50 acres, city centre, self contained, grass and paving, small lake and other water features |
| Affiliations | Alliance of Non-Aligned Universities Association of Commonwealth Universities |
| Website | http://www.aston.ac.uk/ |
Aston University from the Aston Expressway
Aston University is a "plate glass" campus university, situated on a 40-acre (0.16km²) campus at Gosta Green, near the city centre of Birmingham, England.[3]
Established in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School,[4] Aston achieved university status on 22 April 1966. Following from its background as a technology college, Aston continues to have a focus on industry.[3] A majority of students are registered on courses leading to a BSc[5] and over 70 per cent of undergraduate students at Aston are enrolled on four-year "sandwich" courses, spending a year abroad or on industry placements.[3][6] The university emphasises its focus on industry placements and graduate employment record:[7] in 2004, 81.4 per cent of first degree graduates found employment within six months of graduation, compared to the UK national average of 72 per cent.[8]
Aston is a small university in terms of student numbers, serving 6,762 full-time undergraduates,[2] compared with the 16,340[2] of its nearest neighbour institution, the University of Birmingham. Aston also has 1,800 postgraduate students (861 full time) on MSc, PhD, PGDip and MBA programmes
History
Founded in 1895 as The Birmingham Municipal Technical School, it officially became the University of Aston in Birmingham on receipt of its Royal Charter on 22 April 1966, and acquired its current name in 1997. Sir Michael Bett took over the position of Chancellor on October 21, 2004 from Sir Adrian Cadbury, whose younger brother Sir Dominic Cadbury is Chancellor of the University of Birmingham. Part of Birmingham City University's Institute of Art and Design is also located on the Aston University campus - called its Gosta Green site.
The last gas lamp in Birmingham stood on the Aston Campus. It was removed in 1975.[9]
Branding
The University’s Arms were granted on 18 March 1955 by Garter, Clarenceux and Norroy and Ulster Kings of Arms to the Birmingham Corporation for use by the former College of Technology. They were designed to show the College’s connection with the City and with the teaching of technology. The arms consist of a shield and crest. The shield has two sections – the field (the main background) which is coloured blue and a chief (the broad band across the top of the shield) of silver. On the field is a diagonal line of five gold diamonds joined one to the other, similar to the first quarter of the Arms of the City of Birmingham and incorporated in the Arms of the College to show its connection with the City. This was adopted by the family of Bermingham, which derived its name from the then hamlet of Birmingham, and provided the Lords of the Manor from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries. On the chief is depicted an open book bound in red placed between two black hammers, showing the connection of the University with technology, the book representing learning and the hammers engineering and allied trades. The crest is also designed to stress the pursuit of knowledge. It consists of a red torch held erect by a forearm between two branches of gold laurel. Having been originally worn on the helmet of a fully-armed person, the crest is always placed on the top of the helm. The method of joining the crest to the helm was usually concealed by decoration and, in the University’s arms, this is effected by the use of a wreath and a crown. The wreath is silver, red and black, these colours being taken from the shield. It is surmounted by a mural crown (resembling a wall) which is reserved in modern grants for persons and organisations connected with public corporations. The cloth mantling which hangs down from the top of the helm is the survival of the cloak which was originally worn to protect the armour coloured in the two principal colours of the shield, blue and gold.
The motto of the University is the same as that of the City of Birmingham – "Forward".
The University began rebranding itself into a modern institution, changing the logo from the crest. The new logo incorporates the Aston triangle.
University league tables
- Aston University is ranked 13th out of 109 higher education institutions in The Times 2007 Good University Guide[10]. These league tables also ranked Aston as 9th in the UK for employability of its graduates with 76% entering “graduate level” employment or further study within 6 months of graduation, against a UK average of less than 65%. This makes Aston University the highest-ranking university outside the South of England/London on this factor. Aston also ranked highly on criteria such as low drop-out rates, strong staff-student ratios, a high proportion of First and Upper second class degrees and a high level of spending on student facilities.
- Aston University is also rated No 1 for Student Life, and one of the UK's Friendliest Universities as voted by FHM & Virgin student. [1]
- In the Guardian Guide, Aston University was ranked 18th overall out of 122 Universities and Colleges. Aston has featured in the top 20 of the Guardian Guide three years running. The Guardian tables focus on variables such as teaching quality, spending on student facilities, entry grades, staff-student ratios and graduate success/job prospects.
| Year | Times Ranking | Guardian Ranking | Good University Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 15/113 | na/na | 12/113 |
| 2007 | 13/109 | 18/122 | |
| 2006 | 13/109 | 19/122 | |
| 2005 | 22/119 | 17/122 | |
| 2004 | 32/119 | 13/109 |
http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/gug/gooduniversityguide.php?AC_sub=Business+Studies&x=10&y=13&sub=3
Aston has also been ranked 12th out of 113 Universities in the new "Good University Guide 2008", sponsored by
PriceWaterhouseCoopers and featured in The Telegraph (30/7/07) - www.thegooduniversityguide.org.uk This ranking is produced by
the same people and uses the same methodology as previous Times Good University rankings.
Chancellors of the University
- 1st Lord Nelson of Stafford - May 1966 to September 1979
- 2nd Sir Adrian Cadbury - September 1979 to September 2004
- 3rd Sir Michael Bett - September 2004 to present day
Students' Guild
Aston Students' Guild is a non-profit organisation set up with the aim of involving and representing the student body of Aston. The Guild provides sports clubs, societies and Welfare Services, partially funded by the money accrued from the Guild's commercial services. On 29 November, 2006, the students voted to disaffiliate the Guild from the National Union of Students. The Yes campaign won 53%-47%, with a turnout of only 15% of the student body.
The Guild is run by a team of permanent staff and by an elected team called the executive who follow the rules set out in the Guild Constitution. The executive is made up of full-time sabbatical officers and a number of part-time officers. The executive are overseen by Guild Council, which anyone can attend and which runs throughout the year.
Entertainment in the Guild is split into rooms. The bar downstairs (Lower Ground), known as Einstein’s is open throughout the day serving food and drink. The bar also has a projector screen, a number of flat screen televisions showing SUB-TV and live sporting events throughout the day, pool tables, a jukebox and arcade machines. The ground level contains the The BASE (Guild Hall) and the Blue Room bar; the latter houses a Subway.
The guild hall has been transformed into The BASE, providing a relaxing area, with tables, soft seating and LCD TVs for people to relax in during the day. By night the space is used for meetings and the odd event. Thursday sees Karaoke Night in Einsteins until 2am.
The Guild also provides a full range of services including:
- The Guild website [www.astonguild.org.uk]
- The Entertainment website [www.astonents.co.uk], which contains event information and photos
- The Aston Times – the student newspaper published three times a term
- Wotsup? – a weekly listings newsletter
- Student representation – the core service of the Guild
- Campaigns and Entertainment Committees
- Services provided by the Equalities, International Students and Postgraduate Officers to meet different groups’ needs
Other Guild services include:
| Lower Ground Floor | Ground Floor | First Floor | Second Floor | Third Floor | Fourth Floor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Einstein’s bar | Guild Hall/ The Base | Students’ Advice Centre (SAC) & JobShop | The Loft | Executive secretary office | Aston RAG office |
| Toilets | The Blue Room | Student activities area | Toilets | Executive office | Toilets |
| Bubbles Studio | Subway | Students’ CopyShop | . | Aston Times office | Meeting room |
| Pool tables | Students’ shop | Natwest bank | . | Housing manager | Mature students' common room |
| Live Music Soc (LMS) practice room | Photo Me Booth | Secondhand bookshop | . | General Manager | Aston Links |
| . | Alliance & Leicester cashpoint | Appleby hair salon | . | Marketing Coordinator office | SIS office |
| . | Reception | LGB Office | . | Finance office | AIESEC office & Islamic prayer room |
Outside:
- Nationwide and NatWest cashpoints either side of the guild steps.
Accommodation
Two of the three 1970s student halls of residence.
Aston University has both standard and en-suite accommodation on campus. All campus accommodation is less than 5 minutes' walk from the main building, and approximately 10 minutes' walk from Birmingham city centre.
The university recently published details of its plans to renovate all the student accommodation on campus, starting in 2008 and finishing in 2014. 1000 new rooms will be created in total, which will require the demolition of the 3 1970's tower blocks - Dalton, Lawrence and Stafford - and the 1970s low-rise accommodation. The plans also include the creation of a new five-a-side football pitch and a 250-place underground car park.
See the following link for more information on campus development http://www.emporis.co.uk/en/bu/nc/ne/?id=101869
Alumni
- Jasper Carrot
- Adam Ryland
- David Willey - Bachelor's in Applied Physics
- Kevin Warwick - Scientist
- Lord Drayson
- John Lodge
References
- ^ Financial Statements 2005-2006. Aston University. Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
- ^ a b c d e Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2005/06. Higher Education Statistics Agency online statistics. Retrieved on 2007-03-31.
- ^ a b c Tarleton, Alice (2006-08-01). Aston University. A-Z Unis & Colleges. The Independent. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ Uni. finder > West Midlands > Aston University. HERO. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ Our Degree Programmes. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ Undergraduate Study at Aston University. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ About Aston University. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ Aston University Annual Review 04/05 (PDF) p.3. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ The Last Gas Lamp 1975. Retrieved on 2007-04-11. “The last gas lamp was taken down on Duke Street, Gosta Green in 1975. In the 1930's Birmingham had 35,000 gas lamps, as late as 1967 11,000 still remained.”
- ^ Good University Guide, The Times, 2007
External links
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