University of Hertfordshire
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University of Hertfordshire
Motto: Seek Knowledge Throughout Life
Established: 1952 Polytechnic College
1992 University status
Type: Public
Chancellor: Lord Salisbury
Vice-Chancellor: Tim Wilson
Students: 23,725[1]
Undergraduates: 19,170[1]
Postgraduates: 4,040[1]
Other students: 515 FE[1]
Location: Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England
Campus: Urban
Affiliations: Alliance of Non-Aligned Universities
[[Association of Commonwealth Universities]]
Website: http://www.herts.ac.uk/

The University of Hertfordshire is a modern university based largely in Hatfield, in the county of Hertfordshire, England, from which the university takes its name. It has more than 23,000 students.

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History

In 1951, the de Havilland company gave land in Hatfield adjoining the A1 to Hertfordshire County Council for educational use in perpetuity; the Council used this to build and operate Hatfield Technical College, which trained aerospace engineers for Hatfield's then-dominant aerospace industry. In 1967 it became an early polytechnic, The Hatfield Polytechnic. With the passage of the Further and Higher Education Act, 1992, the institution gained university status and became self-governing rather than controlled by the county council.

There are three campuses of University of Hertfordshire.

The main site of the university remains the original technical college buildings in Hatfield, though the site has had many new buildings added since. Notable among these is the Learning Resources Centre, a combined library and computer centre which is the largest university building of its kind in Britain. Computer science, engineering, and natural sciences are here, along with halls of residence including Telford Court, and the Roberts Way student village.

Nearby in Hatfield is the de Havilland campus, built on a former BAe site. The Business School and the faculty of Humanities and Education are housed here, along with another library. The law school is based in St Albans, conveniently for the law courts. There were formerly campuses in Watford (Wall Hall) and Hertford (Balls Park), but these were closed when the de Havilland campus opened. A fourth site in Bayfordbury houses the university's observatory and the biology plus geography field stations. The University has particular research strengths in History, Engineering, Computer Science, Life Sciences, Astrophysics, Philosophy and Nursing.

The University of Hertfordshire Students' Union hosts on regular events at the Hatfield campus. These often take place in the Union's Hutton Hall or the peculiarly shaped building commonly known as the "Elehouse", named due to its original architecture being similar to the elephant house at London Zoo (built by Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson (1910-1999)). A new student social space 'The Forum', which will offer a state-of-the-art entertainment venue, bars, shops and cafés, will open in September 2009.

In August of 2007 the university temporarily housed several scout troops (mostly American) before and after the World Jamboree of Scouting held at Hylands Park.

The University of Hertfordshire is also home to HIBT, part of the Navitas group, providing a direct pathway for international students to the university, on campus.

Faculties

The Sports Centre, De Havilland Campus
The Sports Centre, De Havilland Campus
The College Lane Learning Resource Centre
The College Lane Learning Resource Centre
The Learning Resource Centre, De Havilland Campus
The Learning Resource Centre, De Havilland Campus
Accommodation on the College Lane Campus
Accommodation on the College Lane Campus
The Halls of Residence, De Havilland Campus
The Halls of Residence, De Havilland Campus
UH Racing's car in the class 1-200 event FSUK 2006
UH Racing's car in the class 1-200 event FSUK 2006
UH Racing Victorious Silverstone 2007
UH Racing Victorious Silverstone 2007

Hertfordshire was described as "the flagship of the former polys" by the Independent in 2002. [3] As a polytechnic, it was strong in aerospace engineering and computer science. More recently, it has built up its strengths in other areas such as pharmacology, history, geography and astrophysics. Entry requirements have been rising in recent years.

The university has six faculties:

(Schools of Study)

Hertfordshire was one of the first universities in the country to develop a Paramedic Science degree. They are now also providing a Critical Care Paramedic course and an Emergency Care Practitioner course.

The university is also among the first four universities in the country to offer the Postgraduate Diploma in Physician Assistant studies, and the first in the UK to offer the option of a MSc in the field.

UH Key Developments

  • The Forum, opening September 2009 will be a new hub for socialising and watching live entertainment. It includes an entertainment venue featuring a nightclub for 2,000 people that will also host live concerts. Covering an area of 8,000 square metres, the Forum also has a restaurant for 350 people, plus a convenience store and coffee bar to ensure it becomes a superb new focal point for students to meet and socialise.
  • The University of Hertfordshire has invested £200 million over the last ten years developing modern facilities.
  • The 2003/04 academic year saw the opening of the £120m de Havilland campus in Hatfield complementing the existing College Lane site, providing a 21st century environment for teaching and learning.
  • The multi-award winning, Learning Resources Centre is one of the largest in Europe situated on the College Lane campus with similar high standard facilities on de Havilland. Both are open 24 hours a day, 6 days a week with long hours on weekends. They provide over 2,600 study places.
  • StudyNet, a Managed Learning Environment which provides a university wide set of systems and tools for educational delivery. The system allows learning, assessment and interaction to take place in a structured and managed way, fully integrated into and linking all university processes and systems. Facilities include access to email, discussion groups, module materials and assignments and an assignment submission point, as well as interfacing through individual profiles to university systems such as information about student services, administrative functions and social activities.
  • The new Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Postgraduate Medical School was launched in June 2005 to enhance medical provision in the region.
  • The £15m Hertfordshire Sports Village has some of the best university-based sporting and fitness facilities in the country on the de Havilland campus.
  • The £4.5m three-storey Innovation Centre, opened in 2003, providing 800 square metres of office space. It provides facilities for spin-out companies from across the University as well as start-ups.
  • The University bus company, Uno, whose routes stretch across Hertfordshire and into North-West London. Each route runs through the main College Lane campus, and many others serve the De Havilland campus, thus enabling University staff and students access to the University's campuses without the need for a car. The general public may also ride on Uno's buses, albeit without the staff/students discount.
  • The University of Hertfordshire School of Law is increasingly becoming recognised as one of the country's top Law Schools from a new University (post-1992). In October 2005, the School of Law established its own pro bono Law Clinic which provides legal advice to the general public as well as running Street Law projects in the local and regional community to schools, colleges as well as other community groups such as the Women's Refuge. The Clinic was formally opened in June 2006 by Lord Justice Auld who presented a talk entitled 'Access to Justice via Pro Bono' [4]. In June 2008, the School's Mooting Team won the Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition, beating City University in the final which was held in the President's Court of the Royal Courts of Justice, with Lord Steyn as the lead Judge; an outstanding achievement in the oldest, largest and most prestigious mooting competition of them all which 'has a tradition of attracting the very best legal brains as its judges and producing the next generation of them from its competitors.'

UH Racing

The University of Hertfordshire has one of the most successful Formula Student teams in the World. UH Racing have competed in many countries and have won many awards. The UH Racing cars can accelerate from 0-60 mph in less than 3 seconds and pull over 2g in the corners. Students from the Engineering degrees can join the team, with students from the Sports Science, Marketing, Art and Business Schools, playing a vital role. There are over 400 universities that race at Formula Student events worldwide, with UH finishing in the top 10 consistently.

Awards

Queen's Award for Industry

On 1 July 2004, the University of Hertfordshire was presented with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade in recognition of outstanding achievement. The University received a special message of congratulations from the Queen, and the Vice-Chancellor and International Office staff also attended a special reception at Buckingham Palace.[2]

A Centre for Excellence

In 2004 the University of Hertfordshire was awarded £4.5M by the Higher Education Funding Council for England to establish a Centre for Excellence in Blended Learning. This award enables the university to establish its profile as a leading institution combining established ways of learning and teaching with the opportunities offered by technology to ensure students have the best possible learning experience.[3]

Fair Trade University

In March 2005, University of Hertfordshire was officially certified as a Fair trade university.[4]

National Teaching Fellowships

Seven members of staff have achieved lifelong Fellowship awards as outstanding teachers, as part of the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme introduced in 2000 by the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland.

e-Tutor of the Year

One of the engineering staff at the University of Hertfordshire, Mark Russell successfully entered the e-Tutor of the Year in an annual national competition, launched in 2002 by the Higher Education Academy and the Times Higher Education Supplement.

Rankings

Professional Accreditation

  1. The Royal Aeronautical Society.
  2. The British Computer Society
  3. The Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
  4. The Engineering Council.
  5. The Institution of Electrical Engineers.
  6. The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.
  7. The College of Radiographers.
  8. The Health Professions Council.
  9. The General Social Care Council.
  10. The Nursing and Midwifery Council.
  11. The British Psychological Society.
  12. The Institute of Health Care Development.
  13. The Law Society.
  14. The Institute of Biomedical Science.
  15. The Society of Sports Therapists.
  16. The Arts Therapists Board.
  17. The CFA Institute
  18. The Chartered Institute of Marketing
  19. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

University Symbols

Academic Dress

The University of Hertfordshire prescribes academic dress for its members. Both dress and undress are prescribed, though only dress is used in practice - for example, at the graduation ceremonies, held in St Alban's cathedral.

The academic dress of bachelors of the university is a black stuff gown, with facings and long open sleeves gathered to a point at the elbow with a button. The master's gown is similar, but with spade sleeves. With these, on formal occasions such as graduations, is worn a hood of grey or white silk and stuff. In dress, grey hoods are worn by holders of diplomas below bachelor's level, and white hoods by bachelors. Masters add a border of purple silk. Because of the university's emphasis on interdisciplinary studies, there is no distinction between the academic dress of the various faculties.

In dress, holders of initial doctorates wear red gowns with purple facings; higher doctorates have purple gowns with white facings. In undress all doctors wear master's gowns. The university is unusual among former polytechnics in also prescribing academic dress for undergraduates - the black stuff bachelor's gown with no hood - although, again, this is not used in practice.

Coat of Arms

The University of Hertfordshire Coat of Arms
The University of Hertfordshire Coat of Arms

The University's coat of arms were granted in 1992. The shield is charged with an oak tree taken from the coat of arms of the former Hatfield Rural District, the constellation Perseus and a representation of the letter "H" recalling the emblem of the former Hatfield Polytechnic. The crest, a Phoenix, represents the University's origin in the aviation industry. The two harts supporting the shield represent the County of Hertfordshire. A scroll bears the motto "Seek Knowledge Throughout Life".

Ceremonial Mace

The ceremonial mace was produced in 1999 by craftsman Martyn Pugh. Its design symbolises the University's origins, expertise and associations. Its shape is inspired by the shape of an aeroplane wing symbolising the univesitiy's origin in the aviation industry. The head of the mace is engraved with zodiac symbols representing the university's contribution to astronomy and also contains the DNA double helix representing the biological sciences. [5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2006/07" (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet). Higher Education Statistics Agency. Retrieved on 2008-04-09.
  2. ^ Award for Industry
  3. ^ The Blended Learning Unit
  4. ^ Fair Trade News
  5. ^ [1]

Bibliography

  • Christianson and Piggott, Academic Dress in the University of Hertfordshire, ISBN 1-898543-01-1

External links

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University Alliance

Coordinates: 51°45′12″N 0°14′38″W / 51.75333, -0.24389
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