ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF BEDFORDSHIRE, UK :

Introduction :
The University of Bedfordshire is the largest higher education institution in the English county of Bedfordshire, providing opportunities for more people to access top quality higher education. It was established in August 2006 by order of the Privvy Council, following the merger between the University of Luton and De Montfort University’s Bedford campus. It was built in the style of Chequers by architects Sir Ernest George and Alfred Yeats and completed in 1911, having undergone renovation and reconstruction over the centuries. The university housed its students in Putteridge Bury Campus, Luton Campus, Butterfield Park Campus, and Buckinghamshire Campus. It works closely with employers on its curriculum, while forging close links with more than 5,500 UK companies to provide a broad range of training and accredited industry courses. In 2011, The University of Bedfordshire is presented with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade.

Bedfordshire has just opened a new, state-of-the-art £34m Campus Centre, as part of a major £89m redevelopment project to enhance our Luton campus. This massive investment will also include the building of brand new £40m en-suite student halls located on campus, on track for completion in 2011-2012, and a new £15m Postgraduate and Continuous Professional Development Centre, scheduled to be ready in 2013. In addition, it also completed a £51m investment in its campuses since 2008.

Bedfordshire has excellent track records on employability, with 92 percent of graduate in work and/or further study within six months of graduation (Destination of Leavers from Higher Education 2009).

Teaching and Learning :
The University of Bedfordshire is committed to working in partnership with its students to create an effective and supportive learning environment tailored to meeting the individual needs. As well as providing a current and lively curriculum, it focuses on students’ personal development and preparation for life beyond university.

Its curricula are designed to help students explore possible career aspirations and to prepare them not just for their current or first post but for lifelong learning and employment in the modern and dynamic global workplace.

The University of Bedfordshire has an excellent teaching record based on its outstanding performance in official inspections conducted by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and other external agencies. It has received ‘excellent’ scores in a number of subjects including Sport, Media, Design, Education and Nursing.

Research :
The University is committed to providing opportunities and widening participation with vocationally focused curricula relevant to a national and international audience. This focused involves three interlocking activities; teaching, research and knowledge transfer.

The University has gained national recognition for its achievements in widening participation and teaching. It is gaining increasing regional and national recognition for the quality of its research and its knowledge transfer work with small and medium-sized companies.

University’s National and International Ranking :
Bedfordshire was ranked 71 of 114 British universities in The Times Good University league table, released in June 2009, 72 out of 113 in The Independent Complete University Guide 2010, and 88 out of 117 in The Guardian University Guide 2008. The Guardian’s league tables are compiled mainly on the basis of teaching data (staff/student ratio, job prospects, inclusiveness), and The Times Good University Guide 2010 ranked Bedfordshire 71 st for research ratings and the percentage of students who complete a degree.

The University of Bedfordshire has been awarded top marks – a ‘confidence’ rating – in Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) audit 2009, which checks how UK universities maintain their won academic standards and quality.

At the subject level, in the National Student Survey 2009, it was ranked 2 nd for Journalism and Marketing, 4 th for HRM, 7 th for Dance and 16 th for Nursing and Social Work.

For more information please visit : http://www.beds.ac.uk